My darlings, will you LOOK at what I had for breakfast this morning?
[Mrs. M, those two lidded bowls in the background are the grey-and-white Noritake Arroyo dish pattern I was telling you about.]
That’s hot coffee-milk (half coffee, half milk) made from Dunkin’ Donuts hazelnut ground coffee, and with real sugar in it instead of the Splenda I couldn’t face this morning. And HOMEMADE PECAN ROLLS. My mother made them for me because I had to deal with so much barfing over the last few days. Do you need a closer look there, Droolykins?
Awwwww, yeahhhhhh. FROM SCRATCH. With BUTTER. And so many pecans, it’s like a pecan PARTY. (Not a very good party for the pecans.)
I hope we all agree that there are certain times when the word “diet” is not only an incomprehensible word in a foreign tongue but actually an abomination not to be borne by the ears of the pure? I hope none of us follow that diet Oprah was on in the late ’90s, where even MAJOR HOLIDAYS such as Christmas and Thanksgiving were NO EXCUSE for eating ker-razy junk food like turkey and mashed potatoes. You could have naked baked sweet potatoes in their skins and you could have some plain green beans lightly steamed and that’s IT. Otherwise you might as well declare EVERY day a holiday. Have cranberry sauce on Thanksgiving? Then you might as well go ahead and have doughnuts every morning! JUST LET GO ENTIRELY, FATTY!
Anyway, this morning things looked very grim: I was up twice in the night with Henry, once with Elizabeth, and then Elizabeth spent the rest of the night in our bed shoving me off my side and pinning down the covers, and then I couldn’t get back to sleep after nursing Henry at 4:30, in part because the pinehole CAT kept STEPPING ON MY HAIR. I gave up the sleep fight at 5:15, because at that point if I DO fall asleep, it’s just going to be unpleasantness when the alarm goes off less than an hour later. But to go to the kitchen and remember the pecan rolls? And to have them heated up and sugarbutter-melty, with a cup of hot hot milky coffee? The sun may not be up yet, but WHO CARES? It is a beautiful day!
Edit: Okay, okay, settle down, I got the recipe from my mom!
Swistle’s Mom’s Pecan Roll Recipe
In mixer bowl:
1 c. flour
1/4 c. sugar
1 t. salt
1 pkg dry yeast (2-1/4t.)
In saucepan:
1/2 c. water
1/2 c. milk
1/4 c. butter (1/2 stick)
Also:
1 egg
2 1/2 c. additional flour (approx.)
2 T. butter (to spread on rectangle)
1/4 c. sugar and 1 t. cinnamon (to sprinkle on rectangle)
To spread on bottom of pan:
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. (1 stick) butter
2 T. light corn syrup
1/2 c. 1 to 1-1/2 c pecans (see comments)
In mixer bowl, combine 1 c flour, sugar, salt, and yeast. In saucepan, heat water, milk, and butter until very warm. Add with egg to flour mixture. Blend at low speed, then beat at medium speed for 3 minutes. By hand (see comments), stir in 2 c flour until dough pulls away cleanly from sides of bowl.
On floured surface, knead dough in about 1⁄2 c flour until smooth, elastic, and bubbled under surface, about 10 minutes. Put in greased bowl, cover with plastic and cloth, and let rise in warm place for about 1 hour until doubled. Then punch down well and rest under inverted bowl for 15 minutes.
In small bowl, combine brown sugar, butter, and corn syrup. Spread evenly on bottom of greased 9×13-inch pan. Sprinkle on the pecans.
In small bowl, combine sugar and cinnamon. Roll dough into 12×20-inch rectangle, spread on 2 T butter, and sprinkle on the cinnamon mix. Roll up dough from long side, forming a 20-inch-long roll, and seal edge.
Cut roll into 20 1-inch slices, and place them cut-side-down in the 9×13-inch pan. Cover and let rise for about 1 hour until doubled.
Bake at 375° for 25-30 minutes until deep gold. Cool 1 minute, then invert onto rack, holding pan upside-down to let topping drip off.
Comments:
I got this recipe from my friend Judy when we lived in the Midwest 25 years ago. Everything she made was especially yummy, and she wasn’t the sort to stint on butter. Take out several sticks right at the start, so they’ll be room temperature when you need them.
For the pecans, I err on the side of generous — which doesn’t seem to hurt the final product. In the last batch, for example, I finished off a bag of pecans and found I actually had more like 1 1/2 cups — in fact a generous 1-1/2 cups heading toward 1-3/4 — and I wondered if I might be reaching the point of diminishing returns, but no. It’s okay to settle for 1 cup — I’ve done it myself many a time — but when they’re done you’ll find yourself picking your rolls with an eye to which one are the most nutty, whereas with 1-1/2 cups there’s no fighting. [Swistle note: This is absolutely accurate. Skimping leads to fighting, and to sad-looking, picked-over rolls when the good ones are gone. With 1-1/2 cups, every roll is excellent.]
I just noticed the recipe says a HALF c. pecans. No … definitely more than 1/2 c. I’d say. 1 c. minimum.
I use a Kitchen-Aide mixer, and keep using it even where in the first paragraph it says “By hand … ” switching to the dough hook as it gets thick. Then I let the dough hook knead it for the 10 minutes. Judy made hers by hand, and hers were certainly as good. [Swistle note: I don’t think that can be possible. But I’ll admit Judy made some nummy treats.] While adding those 2 to 2-1/2 c. of flour, I do it just a half-cup at a time and let the dough hook get that mixed in before I add the next half cup. I think that works better than just dumping it all in at once, which is what I used to do.
The last couple times I made them, I used bread-machine yeast, since that’s what I happened to have on hand. It worked fine.
These are easy and satisfying to make. Yes, you do have to be around the house for several hours and you have to check to see how the rising is coming along and so forth, but they’re not at all hard to make. Or to eat. —Swistle’s Mom
You are so PERKY! I’m not sure pecan rolls would make me feel any less suicidal about the lack of sleep. But it does sound like they are MAGICAL. And therefore I want some too!
I was up half the night with my baby too! Where are my frigging pecan rolls??
Mmm they do look yummy and I agree with you. Sometimes there are just times when having something yummy far outweighs (NO PUN INTENDED) the diet because it just helps you feel better. Enjoy!
Mmm they do look yummy and I agree with you. Sometimes there are just times when having something yummy far outweighs (NO PUN INTENDED) the diet because it just helps you feel better. Enjoy!
Mmm they do look yummy and I agree with you. Sometimes there are just times when having something yummy far outweighs (NO PUN INTENDED) the diet because it just helps you feel better. Enjoy!
sara = hahaha!
I wish my mom would make me stuff!
also, even though getting up early sucks, there’s a certain peace and quiet about being up that early in the morning. I kind of enjoy the quiet, solitude and just waking up slowly without having to talk to anyone. If I can drag myself out of bed, it’s always worth it.
Those pecan rolls have my attention in a big way. I’m actually drooling. YUMMMM
The sad thing is I don’t care for nuts but I’m drooling over your Noritake. I do have homemade banana bread to munch on. Notice I did not say banana NUT bread.
Yummmm! I have been wanting bagels and cream cheese for the past few days (pregnancy craving!), but now my mind is dreaming about those pecan rolls.
Is your mom available for hire? I don’t have a mom to make me pecan rolls and I’d sure love some.
I need a drooly bib. I adore pecan rolls.
My mouth is watering. I love that your mom made those for you. My mom hardly ever sees me without presenting me with a loaf or container of cookies. If I have been sick, I’ll get a whole pan of lasagna. I hope I grow up to be a mom like that.
I hate diets that tell you to get used to eating bland, uninteresting food for the rest of your life. Why would anyone WANT to stick to that?
What a nice way to start your morning (you know, after all the nighttime crap). Nope, no pecan rolls or banana bread or anything yummy here. jealous and a bit drooly!
you are killing. me. with. drool.
i’m not sure which to drool over more: your breakfast or your china!
Amen, sister!
Amen, sister!
Amen, sister!
I LOVE MOMS! I sort of want my mommy now too! In an emotionally crippled kind of way!
I will TOTALLY be the Bring Food mom.
Is there a RECIPE available for these medicinal rolls?
When my family was sick the ENTIRE MONTH OF JANUARY, my mom didn’t bring rolls. sniff.
They look divine. So delicious that I may have to do my cheaters version of homemade pecan rolls this weekend.
Or, you could post your mom’s recipe.
Mmmmmm, I wish I had your breakfast! That was really sweet of her to make that for you!
Hope all the kiddos are feeling better!
I could totally do three months of nausea, but the idea of facing NINE PLUS MONTHS of getting up in the middle of the night is what scares me about another baby.
But then again, with pregnancy there is the added bonus of eating ANYTHING I WANT and worrying about it much, much later. Hmmmmmm…
Oh those pecans look SO yummy! It’s okay to cheat once in a while… especially if you’ve been dealing with sick kids; It’s like a “free pass”.
Forgot to mention in my last comment on your last post: Thank you, Thank you, for mentioning using baking soda for getting out the smell out of clothing and bedding when a kid has been sick. That never occured to me… but I will now.
By the way, I’ve been reading your blog for months now and wanted you to know that I enjoy it.
A barf war victory is certainly an occassion for a hiatus from the diet.
KEEP BELIEVING
Heidi D.- When I tried it, I was just assuming it wouldn’t work. I mean, we have FEBREZE, how could BAKING SODA work where Febreze had failed? And then it was like some kind of miracle. Also: the only thing I’ve found that gets out the scent of moth balls is hanging things outside in the fresh air for a couple of days. This is another of those so-simple tricks that seems like it COULD NOT WORK if Febreze-soaking and seven trips through a hot-water washing machine haven’t—and yet it does. Not that moth balls come into my life very often.
Swistle! I’m happy you had such a yummy start to your day. . . it looked very good. That’s a good mother for you. Sorry about the short/interrupted night!
ugh im soooooo jealous and hungry for something totally rediculous now! Thanks! haha but you did deserve them!
I NEED THAT RECIPE!!!!
I want that breakfast too!
Your mom totally rocks!
Nice. Niiiice.
Posts like this make me miss my mom.
Sorry for the puking that went on and the lack of sleep. That is one of the worst parts of parenting IMO.
The pecan rolls DO look yummy though. YUM!
You deserve every bite. So enjoy it and never ever feel guilty.
Yum!
As soon as I think I’m tired, I think about you.
You deserve those pecan rolls. Eat the bejeebus outta them!
P.S. My word verification is “schwep” – maybe we can make a verb?
THEY LOOK HEAVENLY!!!
That beats the crap out of the chocolate pop tart I had for breakfast this morning.
so… recipe? recipe? recipereciperecipe??
oh, if only i could be as happy about so little sleep….sigh. and really, this fatty would LOVE to eat donuts every morning, but i don’t think my fabulous clothes would appreciate it.
Breakfast of champions. Meanwhile my husband just put a brand new sleeve of thin mints in front of me. Is he trying to kill me?? But hmm, they go surprisingly well with a glass of chardonnay. Not that I would recommend that for your breakfast, but hey maybe if all the ralphing continues. You probably could use a little pick me up in the morning.
Yum. Glad the yummy goodness perked up your day.
also, what time is it now? b/c my husband just ate the last thin mint.
this is just wrong.
Droooool. I’m allergic to most nuts, so they make me more think about unbearable itching than deliciousness, but they remind me of the cinnamon rolls my father made every Christmas.
If it makes you feel less guilty about your diet, there’s research that says that nuts are fine for diets because they’re so filing that people who snack on them eat the same number of calories per day as people who don’t. Plus there’s all the protein and fiber. And anyone who had as bad a night as you did clearly needs sugar for energy. So really, it’s practically health food.
Thanks for the recipe!! Every winter my entire family gets sick – and my mom spends her time in Hawaii. What a nice mommy you have!
Holy Cats.
Hand to God, I got a chill and started to salivate when I saw the close up. I really feel for anyone allergic to nuts because really at times like these.
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HMOG I swear I am not a psychopath! I am simply hypnotized by the rolls and have apparently been struck dumb. What I MEANT to say in the previous two comments was nut allergies = sad face!
There is a time for pecan rolls, and that time is NOW!
(Or anytime one has survived one’s large family puking about, whilst one pukes. That is wrong in so may ways.)
CELEBRATE YOUR TRIUMPH.
many*
Ohh I have what she’s having …
glad the troops are on the mend – and what a great pick me up – hold my hand !
I will have to try them.I so need them.
Mm, a breakfast of champions right there! I would be eating those for breakfast, midmorning snack, lunch, afternoon tea, dinner, midnight snack, etc.