Honey Butter Rolls Recipe

Pour warm milk into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment. Or use a regular large mixing bowl.

Sprinkle yeast and ½ teaspoon sugar on top of the milk. Give it a light stir with a spoon and allow to sit for 5 minutes. The mixture should be frothy after 5 minutes. If not, start over with new yeast.

With the stand mixer running at low speed, add the honey, egg, egg yolk, melted butter, salt, and 3 cups of flour. Beat on low speed for 1 minute, then add the remaining ½ cup of flour.

Beat on low speed for 1 minute as it all combines. The dough should be thick, yet soft. And only slightly sticky. It should pull away from the sides of the bowl as it mixes. When it does, it is ready to knead.

If the dough is too sticky to handle, add more flour, 1 tablespoon at a time. Make sure to not add too much extra flour. The dough must be soft and slightly sticky.

Form dough into a ball and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead for 2 minutes, then place into a greased bowl. Turn the dough over to coat all sides. 

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place it in a warm environment* to rise for about 2 hours until doubled.

Once doubled in size, punch down the dough to release any air bubbles. Remove dough from the bowl and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface.

Punch down again to release any more air bubbles if needed. Using a sharp knife, cut the dough in half. Cut each half into 8 equal pieces for a total of 16 pieces that are about ¼ cup each– golfball size.

Shape into balls and arrange in a greased 9×13-inch baking pan. Loosely cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise for about 1 hour until doubled in size and puffy.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Bake the rolls for 18 to 21 minutes until the tops are golden brown and the edges of each roll look cooked.

While the rolls bake, mix the topping ingredients together to make creamy honey butter. Remove the rolls from the oven when they are done and brush or spread a generous amount of honey butter onto each warm roll.

Serve with any remaining honey butter.

Cover leftovers and keep them in the refrigerator for up to 1 week or freeze for up to 3 months, then thaw them overnight in the refrigerator. Warm up in a 300-degree F oven for 10 minutes.