Buttery Cloverleaf Rolls.
Let me tell you about something I excel at.
This something involves food.
Obviously.
I have no other identities.
Unless you count shoes and spending money.
[But it’s not like there’s anything else in life.]
So here it is. I am really, really fabulously great at taking the *best* part of a dish and hogging it all to myself. For instance: muffin tops, crunchy, burned and bubbly cheese on macaroni, the crusty topping on my mom’s signature potato chip casserole, the caramely topping on sweet potato casserole, all of the candied cookie pieces in ice cream, the entire graham cracker crust of a cheesecake, the maraschino cherry in a manhattan (okay… the best part here is debatable), the toasty, butter almonds that come in green beans, and the bacon out of, well… everything.
The second best thing I’m good at is leaving the junky part where I found it. Muffins on the counter? Now they have no top. Mac and cheese in the fridge? No more crunch left for you! Chubby Hubby in the freezer? It’s plain old chocolate now. Manhattan’s during happy hour? Alright… you’ve got me there. The jig is up.
I also put empty containers back in the fridge and throw my wrappers on the table when the garbage can is closer.
I’m
a
brat.
Every time a holiday rolled around, I not only looked forward to stealing the terrific tops off of everyone’s favorite treats, but I reallllly looked forward to these incredibly flakey, buttery cloverleaf rolls that my grandma would get from a local Shop and Save.
How sick is this: the minute I spied the rolls, I would count them, count the number of guests, and figure out how I would be able to stack two or three on my plate without looking like a completely selfish twit. I also said a quick little prayer hoping that most party goers would choose the underrated, firmer poppyseed roll nestled in the corner of the basket. I may have even hyped up the poppyseed rolls. This is no lie. I LOVED THOSE ROLLS!
You could taste the butter with every bite. Plus, I figured I deserved to have more than one because I skipped over all the vegetables. Riddle me that.
I guessed they would be impossible to make. Like… totally mind-blowing and day-consuming. I mean, how do you get yeasted bread to look like a clover?
Well. Guess what? I was wrong. Again. Thank goodness.
Sooooo simple. I’d like to add even more “o’s” to that “so” but I also want you to keep reading and not want to punch me in the face. Last week, I made these with half whole wheat flour and served them as a dunker with sweet potato soup. But I must admit – they are best when made with only all-purpose flour. Just do it! They are a must must must make. Actually, I almost believe they are foolproof? You don’t have to do anything special (except look cute…. which uh, you totally do today!) to make ’em look gorgeous, which is why I showed you that hideous mess on a cutting board that I call the second picture of this post. Make dough, rolls into balls, shove into muffin tins, shove into mouth.
Oh… but not before dousing each roll with melted butter six or seven times. What? You think I’m joking?
Buttery Cloverleaf Rolls
Ingredients
- 4 1/2 teaspoons (2 packets) active dry yeast
- 1/2 cup warm water
- 1 1/2 cups warm milk
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 large egg
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 5 1/2-6 cups all-purpose flour, or more if needed
- melted butter for brushing
Instructions
- In the bowl of your electric mixer (with an attached dough hook), combine warm water, yeast, olive oil and 1 tablespoon honey and mix with a spoon. Let sit until foamy, about 10-15 minutes. Add warm milk, remaining honey, egg and butter, and mix on low speed until just combined, then add in 2 cups of flour and salt. Mix on low speed, gradually increasing to medium as flour becomes incorporated. Slowly add the remaining flour 1 cup at a time, stopping at 5 cups. Knead the dough on medium speed for 4-5 minutes, then check to see if the dough is sticky. If it is too sticky, add a bit more flour and knead until it becomes smooth, but you want some stick to it. Remove dough from the bowl and form into a ball with your hands, covering with a bit more flour until it is no longer sticking to your hands.
- Brush a large bowl with melted butter. Add dough to the bowl, turning once or twice to cover in butter. Place a towel over top and let rise in a warm place for 1 1/2-2 hours. Punch dough down, then transfer to a floured workspace. Tear small pieces of dough off the larger piece, and roll into balls slightly larger than one inch wide. You will end up with about 90 dough balls. Brush a muffin tin with melted butter, then add 3 dough balls to each tin. Cover and let rise again, in a warm spot, for about an hour.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Brush the tops of each clover with a hefty glug of melted butter. Bake for 11-12 minutes, or until tops are just golden brown. Remove from over and brush tops with melted butter again, repeating the brushing another few times as the rolls cool. Remove from the tins and serve.
- The muffins are best when eaten on the same day they were baked, however if you’d like to make them the day before, make sure to let them cool completely and store in an air-tight container.
Notes
Did you make this recipe?
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I appreciate you so much!
They’re so fluffy I’m gonna die!
206 Comments on “Buttery Cloverleaf Rolls.”
These are so cute! Perfect for Thanksgiving or any night of the week! Love it! Thanks, I am on such a bread kick, and your right, getting a dough hook was the best thing! I make so much bread, but it’s so fun! I’m even making rolls for my Husbands lunch. Thanks for your advice!!
It’s the best!!
Oh no. You leave empty containers in the fridge?
I think I now owe Roo $10 as one of my arguments for why women are better than men is that *they* only do that. Oh well. I think I’ll just not tell him….Yes.
These rolls are so cute! They look perfect for nestling a pat, okay, who am I kidding, a *giant dollop* of butter inside! I love love love some hot bread during fall nights, as winter quickly approaches. I seriously can’t make enough soup during the week. I think Roo is convinced that I’m prepping him for a nursing home…perhaps.
These look awesome and I love your story about taking the “best parts” of things. I will literally size up an entire bday cake at a party and make sure that I get a piece with maximum frosting. Or with brownies, that I get the perfect part of edge/center/gooey/crispy. I am all about the best of’s :)
I have never made real bread. I know, crazy. But I haven’t I need to start, clearly.
Mmmmm I just love the sound of this!
These look amazing.. though I swear that I just don’t get kneading. My dough never comes out looking so perfect like that. I must be doing something wrong.
Do you use a dough hook with an electric mixer? It has seriously changed my life.
I seriously love all your Despicable Me references!!
:)
You are a brat.
But that’s okay because I do the same thing – every Thanksgiving and Christmas my aunt makes this broccoli cheese casserole, which I used to love to eat but can’t anymore and it’s tragic. But anyways, we would call “dibs” on who could take the very first scoop like months in advance. My cousins, sister, and I would try to be the first one to send out a text to say that we “got dibs”. And then at Thanksgiving, we called dibs for Christmas.
I usually won.
Hahahah… I know exactly what you are talking about. My in-laws make that too!
These cloverleaf rolls remind me of being a kid. The ones we had weren’t homemade like those little lovelies but I remember a basket full of ones baked up and buttery..I just might have to try to make those. I need a few more people in the kitchen though so I don’t eat them all. ugh :)
mmm these would be awesome with a nice hot bowl of stew!!! Can’t wait to try them out!
A+ for presentation! …..That is a great memory from the rolls- everyone had that kind of item. Mine was the chocolate layer cake. I HAD to have the largest cut. Mmmmmm… and ice cream in a side bowl please! (now it’s the pour of a glass of red wine ;) my pour better be a good one!)
I still have to have the biggest cut of chocolate cake…
I really like the second picture of the post! It’s an excellent action shot.
I love the texture of this bread, it looks perfect and delicious!
Thanks!
I love these rolls too!!! It’s all about the fluffiness and of course, the butter!
Those look so delicious! A few years ago, I made some cloverleaf rolls that had pureed butternut squash in them. They were so good, I need to find that recipe here somewhere.
Those sound incredible. Love that idea.
These look awesome, I bet they are better than store bought by a LANDSLIDE.
I steal the entire graham crust-so good! Ive never tried making these but they totally rock
I know… me too. Best part ever.
These looks so yummy, added to my must make list! And I totally agree with you, if you’ve left extra of something else (veggies) then you should make up for it with the rolls. Or another way to look at it is, you’re trying to help them stay healthier by leaving all the veggies and eating the high carb rolls! Yeah, that sounds good, I’ll have to use that one myself :-)
Totally! You are so wise.
These remind me so much of my grandmother, I’m making them immediately. Thanks :)
Perfect for Thanksgiving! I’m thinking you could prep these ahead of time, and once the balls of dough are in the muffin tin, you could freeze them? What do you think?
And, then thaw on counter, or fridge?
Thanks!
Haha, I knew someone was going to ask! There weren’t instructions with the recipe so I can’t be sure, but I think you are right. The only thing that is a pain is that you have to freeze the whole muffin tin? I would never have room in my freezer for that! However… maybe if they were flash frozen the little balls would stick together and then you could pop in a bag, but I really think they would fall apart.
Actually, now that I think about it, it may be best to just freeze the 90 little balls and then thaw, place in a muffin tin and bake?
You and Jenna from ELR have got me thinking about nothing but rolls this morning!! They look so perfect! And for the record, I’m a total brat too – muffin tops, empties in the fridge, failing to refill the Brita…. we may have been twins in a past life. ;)
I love bread. I love bread rolls. I want them!
You and Jenna have the cutest damn rolls today! I can taste the butter through the screen :)
aw these are just what my garandmother made on every single holiday. Amazing memories right there, and I had completely forgot about them until I saw these pictures. I guess they were always over shadowed by her other great recipes in my mind, but these were just as good if not better!
BAHAHA! love the quote at the end…that pretty much made my week!
I love muffin tops and I am forever greatful that Seinfeld dedicated an entire episode to this subject morning.
Top of the Morning to You!
Yuuum!!!! I love homemade bread!! My great aunt makes these incredible rolls that she bakes whenever we visit her…….I may or may not have once told my sister that she wouldn’t like them just to get her to give me her roll. :P
That last picture is killer! Beautiful!
There’s nothing like homemade bread. These rolls look so perfectly light and fluffy. I can almost smell them through the photos! haha
I agree about using the all purpose flour. I used to try to sub in whole wheat, but the texture just isn’t the same. We can get our fiber elsewhere anyway. :)
Those look just like the rolls they serve at a lunch cafe I love. I could care less about the lunch – I just go for the rolls. They serve them with a strawberry butter that is TO.DIE.FOR
I solve all “dibs” problems by just not sharing. I totally make food and then put it away and not tell anyone. Then my husband sees on my blog that I made, oh say, Biscoff Rice Krispie treats, and asks when that was?
Yes, I have issues.
This EXACT same thing happens in my house all.the.time. I get around it a bit more easily since my husband travels, but about 2-3 times a week I get a text… ‘so when did you make that?!’
Goodness gracious, these look absolutely gorgeous……mmmmmm…
My grandmother (an amazing cook and baker) used to make these every holiday when I was little. We now buy then from some little bakery in Bethel Park I believe or maybe Loafers in Peters Twp. I’ve never quite mastered the art of anything involving yeast; its totally my nemesis in the kitchen. I’m a celiac so I probably shouldn’t care, but my sister LOVES these rolls – must conquer yeast so I can make these for Thanksgiving.
My parents have called me the “biscuit queen” for years because I always load my plate up with the biscuits/crescent rolls/etc at holiday meals. I remember a few years ago doing the same thing you did (count out the guests and figure out how many I get to eat).
There is NOTHING like biscuits and crescent rolls. I am not a bread person but I can’t pass up flakey, buttery rolls!
MMM!!! My mom used to make these all the time! They are delicious! I am a total bread person, I could live off of bread and butter with a little salt!
I could eat these rolls for breakfast, lunch, and dinner! A perfect Thanksgiving recipe.
Hahah – umm, if that makes you a brat than I am too :) These look absolutely amazing. There are so many delicious looking rolls floating around this morning! It’s really making me want to make some this weekend!
You do realize that I may never recover from this post?
Looks I’m going to have to take something other than pie as my Thanksgiving offering this year. I had no idea these were so easy! Also: I made the crockpot caramel apple crumble the other night. It was easy and delicious, and made my house smell good all afternoon. Perfect.
Light bulb!! =)’
These buttery rolls look so good! Warm biscuits are the best.. I definitely hog food at holidays ..and also I hide good leftovers in the fridge so no one else can eat them until I am ready to!! Lol.. so embarassing!
That, my dear, looks like the perfect Thanksgiving roll! Bookmarking this one for sure. They make me almost as happy as unicorns. ;)
is there a way to make these without an eletric mixer with a dough hook? i don’t have one!
Definitely! You just have to mix with a spoon and knead by hand – click to the original recipe I linked in the post – they don’t use a dough hook.
thanks so much! these look great, can’t wait to make them!
Rolls are one my favorite parts of the holidays!!! Every time I see rolls like these I think of Thanksgiving :)
I have to say, right here right now – I ADORE YOU. This putting honey in your dough recipes is so freakin’ brilliant!!! I wish I’d thought of that! Truthfully, because the last couple times I’ve made bread by hand it’s been too bitter, and I’m too scared of the “science of bread” to experiment. Thank you so MUCH for showing me the golden gooey light. I’m going to home and make these rolls RIGHT.NOW.
Well, except I’m at work and I can’t leave. Stupid employment. Anyway, I’m basking in your brilliance and totally going to make these this week at some point. I have a new tub of butter at home just begging to be a part of this.
(And:OMG AGNES! YES! My daughter and I say that second fluffy line all the time.)
“Burned and bubbly cheese”, Chubby Hubby! YES, YES, YES!!!!!
Oh man, Jessica!
You and I DEFINITELY need to get together and EAT one day!!!
Beautiful rolls, my dear.
Could these be any more awesome? I love baking bread, especially when it’s both easy and impressive.
Although I have to ask… does anyone else think that the tops kind of look like a crazy, three-cheeked butt? Maybe I’m the only weirdo here. :P
I definitely thought so too.
My aunt makes a very similar version to this roll for Thanksgiving that we call Shamrock rolls — very similar recipe but she doesn’t make them in a muffin tin, they lay flat while they bake. Hence the more shamrocky shape. She literally makes hundreds of rolls because everybody eats 3 or 4 of them. The entire month of November is devoted to her baking shamrock rolls and pumpkin rolls, then freezing them for Thanksgiving dinner. So basically, my point is I understand your love of these.
Thanks for the link to Agnes!!! I want that to be my text message sound.
A-okay with me sista! I do the same thing with muffin tops…ever heard of filling only pies because that is what you get with me around-I love me some crust!!! Crustless pizzas…a crunchy carby pattern is evolving and I never want it to end! :D
I love clover leaf rolls, but I must confess that I buy them! You have inspired me to make them myself! I am going to make them, bake them and then freeze them for Thanksgiving. Thanks, Jessica! :-)
My family has always bought them too, and I really can’t believe how easy they are!
Great start to my morning. . . I just came from reading about Jenna’s rolls to these!
Mmmm.