You know those people you read or hear about that you think you would kind of hate if you met in person? Those people who seem to do it all, and do it well, without a hair ever falling out of place? Those people who own two successful small businesses, work from home, have 3 (soon to be 4) children, are best-in-class smart and have a great body? Those people who tell you they’re going to do a project and the next time you see them (within a week) you can count on them having finished it, whether it was painting an entire suite of bedroom furniture or sewing new window coverings for the whole house?
Yeah, my sister Sarah is one of those people.
Yet somehow, if you met her, you’d realize she’s kinda impossible to hate.
She’s all that and more, but she’s also one of the kindest, most thoughtful, humblest people you’ll ever meet, and this post is dedicated to her and her fabulous buns.
Oh, I didn’t mention she is an amazing cook and baker, and makes the best homemade buns? She will be the first to tell you that she doesn’t love being in the kitchen and isn’t anything to write home about when it comes to cooking and baking skills, but this is one occasion where she’d be wrong.
These buns are just one example of several versions of homemade buns and garlic bread I’ve had at her house, and every one has been amazing. But this time, at long last, I managed to boss her into taking pictures of the evidence – I think she just thought it would be easier to give in than to argue with me about it amidst the mayhem of our Thanksgiving dinner prep :). I can’t prove her wrong often, so I wanted solid proof, photo proof, of her bun baking prowess.
It all started when we were planning our Thanksgiving dinner with the three in-town sisters, and, thinking I was hosting, I asked her to do buns, adding, “After all, you make the best buns.”
SHE replied, “Oh, I’m supposed to MAKE the buns? Can I just pick some up?”
Me: “Um, NO? You make the BEST buns. So unless you can find someone else who makes the best buns and who is willing to sell them to you, then yes, you are expected to MAKE said buns.”
I may not be the big sister, but I am definitely kinda the bossy one.
And then I ended up not hosting as planned due to work conflicts, so I tossed her the ham out my van window on the way to work so she could cook it for me and we all descended on her house that evening instead, and here is a story you will not believe.
In between me reheating the turkey, gravy, stuffing, and applesauce, Sarah slicing the ham and cooking and mashing her potatoes, and Chelsea working on her veggies and cheese sauce, all in/on the same single stove and oven, and all with 6 children aged 5 and under running around, with all 3 of us sisters currently pregnant and taking up more than our usual share of kitchen space, while the men chatted in oblivion on the patio, Sarah calmly pulls out her tray of WARM, HOMEMADE, CRESCENT ROLL BUNS right at the second we are all sitting down for dinner.
She did homemade buns, my friends, and she did them right. And she promises me they’re incredibly easy, impossible to mess up, I could’ve done it, blah, blah, no big deal at all.
I was dumbfounded.
Eventually, like me, you will accept that she cannot be fathomed, only appreciated, and you will just relax and enjoy her buns. Maybe you will even try to make them, since she was kind enough to share the recipe :)
Thank you, Sarah, for putting up with your bossy little sister, for taking these pictures for me, for bringing your fabulous buns to family dinners, and for generally never failing to impress me. I love you :)
- ½ cup warm water (about 110 degrees F)
- ½ cup warm milk
- 1 large egg
- ⅓ cup butter, softened
- ⅓ cup white sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3¾ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 package active dry yeast (2¼ tsp)
- ¼ cup butter, softened
- In a large bowl or the bowl of your stand mixer, dissolve sugar in warm water and milk. Add yeast and let sit 10-15 minutes until yeast is foamy.
- Stir in egg, salt and ⅓ cup of softened butter with paddle attachment on electric mixer or with a wooden spoon. Stir in sugar and flour until well mixed.
- Switch to dough hook on electric mixer (or knead by hand) - knead dough for 5 minutes. Place dough into large, greased bowl, cover with a clean dish towel and place in a warm, draft-free spot to rise for 1 hour.
- Turn dough out onto lightly floured surface. Divide dough in half. Roll each half into a 12 inch circle and spread half of the ¼ cup of softened butter on each round, spreading butter right to the edges.
- Cut each circle into 8 wedges. Roll wedges starting at wide end; roll gently but tightly. Place point side down on ungreased cookie sheet. Cover with clean kitchen towel and put in a warm place to rise for 1 hour.
- Meanwhile, near the end of the hour, preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Bake in preheated oven for 10 to 14 minutes, until golden.
- Best served warm :)
hi! i am currently making these for thanksgiving dinner – a gluten free version :) i just noticed though that you have “sugar” in the procedure twice, but only once in the ingredients list. is there supposed to be additional amount of sugar in step 2? i’m just going to pretend there isn’t, and hopefully they come out yummy, but just wanted to let you know :)
Whoops, sorry about that! I fixed it…you’re right to just pretend it wasn’t there :) Let me know how the gluten free version works out!
Yes, one can’t help but love Sarah, but she sure can make me feel incompetent :).
I regularly make crescent rolls using a slightly different recipe and recently discovered this method of shaping; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f8wPowCbtbo – so easy.
When I made them earlier this week, I experimented. I rolled out two rectangles, spread melted butter on them, then some pizza sauce, salami slices and shredded cheese. Rolled them up, cut into 12 pieces, let them rise again, baked a few minutes longer then for regular crescent rolls and, viola, I had pizza rolls. The kids had them to school and loved them (warm or cold).
Pizza rolls sound delicious!! Thanks for the link – even when Sarah told me how easy it was I knew I would have trouble with the technical aspect of shaping :)
I’ve always wanted to try making crescent rolls homemade! Yours look absolutely beautiful!!
such a sweet post about your sister :) I have TWO older sisters just like that. We are lucky. :) These crescent rolls – could they look any more perfect? simply glorious. I want one right now with my chicken noodle soup :)
These look so good and professional! So much better than the canned stuff!
Those do look like some fabulous buns ;)
I have an older sister who is the exact same…everything gets done effortlessly. Maybe the eldest sibling steals magic “super-power” nutrients before anyone else is born? Who knows?! It’s certainly frustrating though. :P
These crescent rolls look Perfect! I may have to face my fear of yeast and make a batch!
OH,my gosh, these are picture perfect, gorgeous dinner rolls! I’m hoping I have time to make them for Thanksgiving…my boys would go nuts for them!!!!
Holy shnikeys those are some perfect buns. How the heck did she get them so perfect. She’s welcome to stop by here any time she likes. I would demolish the whole batch in one sitting I’m sure. I just can’t get over how perfect they are.
PS My sis is the same way. There is nothing she cannot do. It makes me want to kick her in the shins most of the time.
I love that she makes these from scratch, so much better than that damn scary tube. And I love you are the bossy one even though you aren’t the oldest. I have seven sisters and the bossy one is #3
Seven sisters, how fun!! Any brothers? Where do you fall in the lineup? (if you say #3 I will laugh :))
These look so perfect! I’m pretty sure I would eat the whole basket!
your sister sounds awesome! can she come here + host a holiday dinner for me sometime? ;-) those homemade crescents look just divine, too. YUM!
Such a sweet write-up about your talented and amazing sister. Make sure she reads it :)
They are so pretty and uniform and PERFECT! When I saw what they looked like, I thought for sure they were made with a refrigerated dough. I am impressed!
they look like they’re from a pillsbury can! but i’m sure taste much better, and i had a seriously delicious muffin at Bible study the other day that was baked by Sarah, the talent runs in the family i’m sure :)