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–+ servings
One halved dinner roll on a speckled plate with honey pooling in the crumb

Texas Roadhouse Rolls with Cinnamon Honey Butter

Soft, square, faintly sweet Texas Roadhouse rolls baked crowded into one dish so they pull apart at the table. The whipped cinnamon honey butter is part of the recipe, not an afterthought, and the dough can wait overnight in the fridge.
Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 2 hours
Servings 12 rolls
Author Nayla
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Ingredients
 

For the Rolls

  • 2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast 1 standard packet
  • 1/2 cup warm water 100 to 105°F
  • 1 cup whole milk scalded, then cooled to lukewarm
  • 6 tbsp unsalted butter melted and slightly cooled
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar divided
  • 2 large eggs room temperature
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 4 1/2 to 5 cups all-purpose flour scooped and leveled, divided
  • 3 tbsp unsalted butter melted, for brushing the baked rolls

Cinnamon Honey Butter

  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter very soft, room temperature
  • 3 tbsp powdered sugar
  • 3 tbsp honey plus more to taste
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1 pinch salt optional

Equipment

  • Stand Mixer (optional)
  • Mixing bowls
  • Bench scraper or knife
  • Baking sheet
  • Rolling Pin

Instructions
 

Mix the Dough

  1. Proof the yeast. Stir the yeast, the warm water and 1 teaspoon of the sugar together in a small bowl. Leave it for 5 to 10 minutes, until it is foamy. If nothing happens, the yeast is dead and the batch will not rise, so start again with a fresh packet.
  2. Combine the dry and the sweet. Whisk 4 1/2 cups of the flour and the salt together in a large bowl. Make a well in the middle, then add the remaining sugar and the eggs.
    Sugar poured into a bowl of flour with an egg in the middle
  3. Pour in the liquids. Add the yeast mixture, the cooled scalded milk and the 6 tablespoons of melted butter. Stir until a soft dough comes together that is slightly tacky but not wet, adding the last half cup of flour only if it still sticks to the bowl.
    Warm liquid poured from a glass into the flour and sugar
  4. Knead and rise. Knead 5 minutes with a dough hook, or 8 to 10 minutes by hand, until the dough is smooth. Cover it and leave it somewhere warm until doubled, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours. It is ready when a dent pressed with two fingers stays put.

Shape and Rise Again

  1. Shape twelve rolls. Punch the dough down, divide it into 12 equal pieces and roll each one into a smooth ball. Arrange them in a buttered 9-by-13-inch dish in three rows of four, leaving a small gap between them.
    Twelve smooth dough balls risen in a buttered white dish
  2. Second rise. Cover the dish and leave the rolls somewhere warm for 30 to 45 minutes, until they are puffed and touching. Heat the oven to 350°F (175°C) toward the end of this rise.

Bake and Butter

  1. Bake. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, until the tops are pale gold and the sides where the rolls touch are still light. An instant-read thermometer in the center roll should read 190°F.
  2. Brush with butter. Brush the 3 tablespoons of melted butter over the tops the moment the dish comes out of the oven, then let the rolls sit for 5 minutes before serving them warm.
    Melted butter brushed over the baked squares straight from the oven

Cinnamon Honey Butter

  1. Whip the spread. Beat the very soft butter, powdered sugar, honey, cinnamon and the pinch of salt for a full 2 minutes, until the mixture is pale and roughly doubled in volume. Serve it at room temperature so it spreads without tearing the rolls.

Notes

Make ahead: after the first rise, punch the dough down, cover it tightly and refrigerate it up to 24 hours. Shape the rolls straight from the fridge and allow about 90 minutes for the second rise instead of 45.
Storage: baked rolls keep 2 days in an airtight bag at room temperature. Do not refrigerate them, because cold air stales enriched bread quickly. Freeze baked and cooled rolls up to 3 months and reheat from frozen, wrapped in foil, at 300°F for 15 minutes.
Doneness: the tops should be pale gold rather than deep brown, and an instant-read thermometer in the center roll should read 190°F.
Substitutions: bread flour gives a chewier roll, so hold back a quarter cup of it. Instant yeast can be stirred in with the flour and the first rise runs about 15 minutes shorter. Buttermilk in place of the whole milk adds a slight tang.
The nutrition estimate covers the rolls only, not the cinnamon honey butter. Nutrition values are an estimate.

Nutrition

Calories: 280kcal | Carbohydrates: 44g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 55mg | Sodium: 200mg | Potassium: 80mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 12g | Vitamin A: 320IU | Calcium: 45mg | Iron: 2.4mg
Nayla
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