Scant ½ of a large pkg Vanilla COOK & SERVE Pudding – NOT instant!
(My sister uses butterscotch pudding instead of vanilla, but I don’t like the butterscotch flavor that it adds.)
¾ cup butter (needs to be real butter not margarine)
¾ cup brown sugar
Cinnamon to taste - I use quite a bit. I also sprinkled a little cinnamon in the butter/sugar mixture I think.
1 – 1 ½ cup roughly chopped nuts (I prefer pecans)
21-24 frozen dough rolls – Rhoades is my preferred brand
(I usually make 2 at one time so I use the entire pudding mix and double everything else)
1. Remove
frozen rolls from freezer and let sit on the counter while prepping the
other parts. Rolls will soften slightly and make it possible to cut in
half (with kitchen shears or with a large knife)
2. Spray 1 Bundt pan very well with pam.
3. Sprinkle a small amount
of the powdered
pudding in the bottom of the Bundt pan. And then sprinkle in a little
cinnamon. Cut the frozen rolls in half with kitchen scissors (not
absolutely necessary but I like the way the pieces pull apart better if
they are cut in half.
4. Sprinkle about 1/3 of the nuts in the bottom of the Bundt pan.
5. Melt
butter in a saucepan. Add the brown sugar & stir until dissolved.
Bring to a boil and boil for about 1 minute until the mixture comes
together and the butter is not separated out. Remove from heat.
6. Place
about half of the roll pieces in the pan. Sprinkle a bit more of the
powdered pudding mix over the rolls – some cinnamon, and a few of the
nuts.
7. Place
remaining roll pieces in the pan. Sprinkle with remaining pudding
powder, some more cinnamon and nuts. Gently pour the brown sugar/butter
mixture over the rolls. The pan will not look very full at all (less
than
½). Trust me – you don’t want to put more than 21-24 rolls in or they
will overflow like some of mine did yesterday because the Bundt pans
that I borrowed were smaller ones than I was used to.
8. Spray a piece of Saran wrap liberally with Pam. Loosely cover Bundt pan with Saran Wrap. Let rise for several hours.
9. Bake
at 350 for about 25 – 30 minutes. Lay a piece of foil loosely over the
top for the first 20 minutes so the tops of the rolls don’t get too
dark. It is a little difficult to tell when they are done. Don’t take
them out too early or the bread will still be doughy. If anything, I
err on the side of overcooking them but don’t let them get too dark – no
one wants to eat burned rolls.
10. When
removed from the oven, let sit for 5 minutes, then turn onto a platter
large enough to catch any caramel sauce runoff. Gently lift the edge of
the Bundt pan with a fork and let the steam escape. Hold at an angle
(with the edge maybe ½ - 1” off the plate) for 60 seconds to let the
bread loosen from the pan and the sauce congeal and release from the
pan. Completely remove the Bundt pan. It is too hot to serve
immediately – wait 5-10 minutes. It is best if served within an hour so
it doesn’t get completely cold.
This
works well to make about midnight and then bake first thing in the
morning. Yesterday I made them at 1pm and then began baking at 5:30pm.
They were rising in a warm kitchen. If you do them at midnight, the
kitchen needs to be pretty cold or they will over-rise by morning. If
they do puff up too much, just push the dough back down a little and it
always turns out just fine. They seem to be very forgiving and
adaptable for your personal taste.
For
the orange rolls I used white sugar and left out the
cinnamon. Instead I used a rasp and grated a little orange rind into
the pan and on top of the rolls. I also added a little orange juice to
the boiled mixture. However, I added too much (3/4 cup) and it turned
out too thin. I could have boiled the sugar butter mixture longer and
it would have thickened up. I still like pecans with the orange – but
they are optional.
