Copycat Texas Roadhouse Rolls

Have you ever been to the restaurant chain Texas Roadhouse? When the first one opened in my hometown (hey, Buffalo!!), our family headed over to check it out. It was a hit for our family with three kids because they gave us peanuts to eat while we waited for our food, and we could throw the peanut shells on the floor. Yes, you heard me right. Peanut shells straight on the floor. It was the best ever.

Until you started eating the Texas Roadhouse rolls. Then you realized that the rolls were even better than the thrill of peanut throwing.

Soft, tender, buttery, with a touch of sweetness, these rolls were the stuff my carb-loving dreams were made of. You could imagine how thrilled I was when a couple decades later (geez, I'm old) I stumbled across a copycat recipe for Texas Roadhouse Rolls.

You know what? They were even better than I remembered.

Get to your kitchen post haste. Bake up a batch of Copycat Texas Roadhouse Rolls. Schmear them with honey butter and eat four or twelve in one sitting. Then bask in the glory of homemade rolls. You're welcome.

Let's get cooking!
Erin

P.S. This recipe has a lot of instructions, but don't be daunted! At the bottom of the post, I documented the baking process with some lousy cell phone pics to (hopefully) help remove the fear factor.

Copycat Texas Roadhouse Rolls
From Like Mother Like Daughter
Makes about 3 dozen rolls

2 cups milk (I used 2%)
1/2 cup warm (110 degrees) water
1 tablespoon active dry yeast
1/2 cup sugar, divided
1/2 cup honey
About 8 cups all-purpose flour, divided
2 eggs, lightly beaten
3 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled
2 teaspoons salt
Oil for greasing the bowl
Extra butter for brushing tops of rolls
Honey Butter for serving, recipe below

**SEE BELOW THE RECIPE FOR STEP-BY-STEP PHOTOS.**

Heat milk in a small saucepan. As soon as little bubbles form and milk starts to simmer, remove from the heat. Set aside to cool until milk is just warm (about 110 degrees.)

Meanwhile combine water, yeast, and 1 tablespoon sugar in the bowl of your stand mixer. Let the mixture rest until the yeast gets bubbly and frothy, about 5 minutes. Add remaining sugar, honey, 3 1/2 cups flour, and warm milk to the yeast mixture. Mix together on low until combined, about 2 minutes. Stir in eggs, butter, and salt. At this point, your dough will be quite runny.

Add additional flour 1/2 cup at a time until dough separates from the sides of the bowl. (I added an additional 4 1/2 cups flour at this point, for a total of 8 cups.) The dough will still be pretty sticky, but it will pull away from the sides of the bowl as the mixer spins. Allow the dough to rest for 5 minutes.

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured counter. Knead dough for 5 minutes. If the dough starts to get sticky, add additional flour 1 tablespoon at a time. (I added about 3 additional tablespoons of flour as I kneaded the dough.)

Place dough in an oiled bowl. Turn the dough so the top and sides are coated with the oil. Loosely cover bowl with greased plastic wrap. Allow dough to rise in a warm place until it's doubled in size, about 1 hour. (I like to turn my oven on for a minute, then turn it off and allow the dough to rise in the OFF oven. I also experimented with allowing the dough to rise in the laundry room while I was drying some clothes. The dough rose more quickly in the briefly warmed oven.)

Punch down the dough for about 30 seconds. Lightly flour your counter and use a rolling pin to roll dough into a rectangle about 1/2" thick. Fold rectangle in half so it's 1" thick. Pinch edges and roll them under so the two halves are sealed.

Use a pizza cutter to cut dough into 2" squares. Place rolls on greased or parchment-lined baking sheets and cover with greased plastic wrap. Allow rolls to rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.

Meanwhile preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake rolls until golden brown, about 12-15 minutes. Rub the tops of warm rolls with butter. (I like to peel back the wrapper from a stick of butter and just use the whole stick to spread on top of the rolls.) Serve warm with Honey Butter.

Honey Butter

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, at room temperature
1/4 cup honey
1/8 teaspoon salt

Whisk together all of the ingredients. Store in the fridge if you're not serving right away.


Instructions for Copycat Texas Roadhouse Rolls WITH PICTURES

2 cups milk (I used 2%)
1/2 cup warm (110 degrees) water
1 tablespoon active dry yeast
1/2 cup sugar, divided
1/2 cup honey
About 8 cups all-purpose flour, divided
2 eggs, lightly beaten
3 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled
2 teaspoons salt
Oil for greasing the bowl
Extra butter for brushing tops of rolls
Honey Butter for serving

Heat milk in a small saucepan. As soon as little bubbles form and milk starts to simmer, remove from the heat. Set aside to cool until milk is just warm (about 110 degrees.)

Meanwhile combine water, yeast, and 1 tablespoon sugar in the bowl of your stand mixer. Let the mixture rest until the yeast gets bubbly and frothy, about 5 minutes. (See picture below.)

Add remaining sugar, honey, 3 1/2 cups flour, and warm milk to the yeast mixture. Mix together on low until combined, about 2 minutes. Stir in eggs, butter, and salt. At this point, your dough will be quite runny. (See picture below.)

Add additional flour 1/2 cup at a time until dough separates from the sides of the bowl. (I added an additional 4 1/2 cups flour at this point, for a total of 8 cups.) The dough will still be pretty sticky, but it will pull away from the sides of the bowl as the mixer spins. (See picture below.) Allow the dough to rest for 5 minutes.

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured counter. Knead dough for 5 minutes. If the dough starts to get sticky, add additional flour 1 tablespoon at a time. (I added about 3 additional tablespoons of flour as I kneaded the dough. See picture below.)

Place dough in an oiled bowl. Turn the dough so the top and sides are coated with the oil. Loosely cover bowl with greased plastic wrap. (See before picture below.)

Allow dough to rise in a warm place until it's doubled in size, about 1 hour. (I like to turn my oven on for a minute, then turn it off and allow the dough to rise in the OFF oven. I also experimented with allowing the dough to rise in the laundry room while I was drying some clothes. The dough rose more quickly in the briefly warmed oven. See after-rise picture below. The dough is big and puffy!)

Punch down the dough for about 30 seconds. Lightly flour your counter and use a rolling pin to roll dough into a rectangle about 1/2" thick. Fold rectangle in half so it's 1" thick. Pinch edges and roll them under so the two halves are sealed. Use a pizza cutter to cut dough into 2" squares. (See picture below.)

Place rolls on greased or parchment-lined baking sheets and cover with greased plastic wrap. Allow rolls to rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour. (See picture below.)

Meanwhile preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake rolls until golden brown, about 12-15 minutes. Rub the tops of warm rolls with butter. (I like to peel back the wrapper from a stick of butter and just use the whole stick to spread on top of the rolls. See picture below.) Serve warm with Honey Butter.

Apple Crisp

A trip to the apple orchard here in Central Illinois is one of my family's fall traditions. It gives us a chance to go out into open country and appreciate nature a little more.

My boys and any friends who come along love running down the rows of apple trees and seeing who can pick the fruit highest up the tree. The kids usually eat their weight in apples before we're done filling up our bags — it's all part of the experience. 

We pick more apples than we need. At home, we make at least one apple pie before we switch over to apple crisp.

This year, Jonathan and Golden Delicious apples were ready when we went picking. I've never used either in baking and am surprised at how well these apples melt down while keeping some firmness.

When it comes to making the crisp topping, I'm not a purist. With this dessert, I added some shredded coconut and chopped nuts, just because I had a small amount of each taking up space in the pantry. When you're mixing things up with brown sugar, cinnamon and butter, it's bound to taste delicious.

Mangia! Mangia!

Andrea

Apple Crisp

4 cups apples, peeled and sliced (A mixture works best. Add a Granny Smith for tartness.)
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
3/4 cup old fashioned oats
1/2 cup flour (white or whole wheat)
1/8 cup to 1/4 cup shredded coconut
1/8 cup to 1/4 cup chopped pecans
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger or ground cloves
1/2 cup butter, softened

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease an 8 x 8 inch baking pan with butter or cooking spray. Place apples in pan to evenly cover the bottom. (If you double the recipe, use a 9 x 13 inch pan.)

In a medium bowl, mix brown sugar, oats, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger (or cloves.) Place butter in bowl. Using a pastry cutter or two butter knives, blend butter into dry ingredients until crumbs form.

Generously sprinkle crisp topping over apples to cover. (You might have some topping left over. Save it in the fridge or freezer to use on oatmeal.)

Place on the middle rack in your oven and bake for 30 to 40 minutes or until the topping is browned and the apples are bubbly.

Let cool for 5 to 10 minutes. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.

My boys Max and Sam and their friend John goof around after picking apples.

Packet Potatoes

It's finally starting to feel like summer here in Illinois: hot and humid. That means the last thing I want to do for dinner is turn on the oven. Thank goodness for my grill.

These potatoes come out tender and mellow with just a little bit of crispness around the edges. The combination of garlic and rosemary is a savory favorite of mine and milk adds sweetness that tastes so good with the onions.

This is an ideal side for a main dish like grilled chicken or London broil. The leftovers hold up well and can be turned into breakfast after a quick toss in a skillet with some chopped red or green bell peppers to freshen them up. Serve alongside some fried or scrambled eggs.

Mangia! Mangia!
Andrea

Packet Potatoes
Inspired by Guy Fieri

3 pounds potatoes (Yukon or Russet or Idaho), thinly sliced into rounds
1 small to medium yellow onion, thinly sliced
3/4 cup milk (2% or whole)
1 tablespoon minced garlic
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, diced
3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon dried or fresh rosemary leaves, crushed or chopped

Heat grill to medium.

Mix all ingredients in large bowl.

Take a 20-inch sheet of aluminum foil and fold it in half. Place half of the potato mixture on foil and fold up edges about a 1/2 inch. Repeat for the remaining potatoes.

Top with another piece of foil and crimp around all edges, wrapping bottom foil up.

Place foil packets on heated grill and cook for 15 to 20 minutes.

Wearing oven mitts, use a large flat spatula to remove foil packets from grill and place on a cookie sheet. Let sit for 5 minutes.

Remove top piece of foil and serve — straight from the packet or after you transfer potatoes to a serving dish for a nicer presentation.

Buttermilk Spoonbread

What to do with half a carton of buttermilk? Make spoonbread!

I stumbled on this easy and light recipe a few summers ago while looking for culinary inspiration beyond banana bread to use up the buttermilk sitting in my fridge. The result is a tangy and souffle-like concoction that makes a great side dish to any grilled meat. It's also a tasty vegetarian entree when accompanied by a salad or some green vegetables.

This spoonbread is in my favorites file because my son Sam asked for it again more than once.

Mangia! Mangia!
Andrea

Buttermilk Spoonbread
Adapted from Relish.com

Butter to coat casserole dish
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
1/2 cup stone-ground yellow or white cornmeal
2 tablespoons butter
3/4 teaspoon salt
3 eggs, separated
3 green onions, thinly sliced
1/2 cup shredded cheese such as cheddar or colby, optional

Preheat over to 375 degrees. Butter the sides and bottom of a 1 1/2 quart (4 cup) casserole dish.

Warm buttermilk in a saucepan over medium heat. Add cornmeal and stir frequently, until thickened and smooth. This should take about 3 minutes. Stir in butter and salt. Remove from heat and let cool.

While buttermilk mixture cools, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form.

Whisk egg yolks into the cornmeal mixture. Stir in green onions and the cheese, if using. Gently fold in the egg whites, a little at a time, into the cornmeal mixture. Be careful not to mix or you will deflate the egg whites.

Pour batter into prepared casserole dish. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes. The spoonbread should be puffed and golden brown on top and set in the center. Note: The top may split, which is totally OK! Serve warm.