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Soft, buttery Parker House Rolls are a holiday classic. Serve these homemade dinner rolls with Cranberry Butter to make them even more festive for your Thanksgiving table!
This post is sponsored by Fleischmann’s® Yeast as part of the Bake It Yourself Blogger Program. Thank you for continuing to support the brands that make My Baking Addiction possible.
Well, October is officially over, friends. If you’re at all like me, this means your Halloween decor is coming down and it’s time to start thinking about Thanksgiving.
If you’ve been following My Baking Addiction for some time, you know that I love Thanksgiving and that I’m pretty much a total control freak when it comes to Thanksgiving dinner.
This year, I’m sticking with my absolute favorite staple recipes like mashed potatoes, sausage and apple stuffing, and sweet potato casserole, but there’s a new roll in town, my friends. Soft, buttery, Parker House Rolls.
WHAT ARE PARKER HOUSE ROLLS?
Even if you’ve never had Parker House Rolls, I am willing to bet that you’ve at least heard of them. You may have wondered what exactly is a Parker House Roll.
Parker House Rolls were invented at the Parker House Hotel in Boston in the late 1800s. These dinner rolls are known for being brushed with butter before the dough for each roll is folded in half, then brushed with butter as soon as they come out of the oven.
These classic rolls are made with an enriched dough, or one that has milk, eggs and butter added to it (similar to Go-To Dough or Maple Chai Cinnamon Rolls). They bake up soft and fluffy and, of course, super buttery.
CAN YOU MAKE PARKER HOUSE ROLLS AHEAD OF TIME?
One of the biggest questions I see asked in relation to Parker House Rolls is if they can be made ahead of time.
This question makes sense – after all, there’s a lot to do to get a holiday meal on the table. Of course people want to spread some of the labor out over the course of a few days.
Luckily, with this recipe, the answer is absolutely YES!
This Parker House Rolls recipe comes from my friends over at Fleischmann’s® Yeast and I love it because you can make these dinner rolls all in one day or spread the process out over two days if you wish.
Because this recipe uses Fleischmann’s® RapidRise® Yeast, it only requires a 10 minute resting period before you get to shaping and the final rise of the dough.
The RapidRise® Yeast is already saving you a good bit of time, but you can make these even more holiday-schedule-friendly by placing the kneaded dough in a greased bowl, covering it with plastic wrap and allowing it to rest in the refrigerator for anywhere from 12 to 24 hours.
15 minutes of work and your roll dough will be ready to shape and bake the next day. How easy is that?
HOW TO SHAPE PARKER HOUSE ROLLS
The shape of Parker House Rolls is a big part of what makes them…well, Parker House Rolls. So how exactly DO you shape them?
The easiest way is to roll out the dough, then cut it into even rectangles. I like to use a pizza cutter or a dough blade to make cutting the dough super easy.
Then, brush each rectangle with melted butter and, using the dull edge of a knife, crease each rectangle slightly off-center and fold each one at the crease.
Arrange your rolls on greased baking sheets with the shorter side of each roll facing down. After baking, brush the rolls with extra butter and serve them alongside tart and sweet Cranberry Butter for an extra special touch!
HOW TO MAKE CRANBERRY BUTTER
Serving these homemade rolls with Cranberry Butter is certainly optional, but really does make them extra festive for the holidays.
Flavored compound butters are easy to make but look so impressive on a holiday table alongside Parker House Rolls or Potato Rolls. Plus, it’s another element you can make in advance, shortening your day-of to-do list!
I like to make my Cranberry Butter in the food processor, making it easier to mix the cranberries evenly throughout the softened butter.
(Psst! Forgot to set your butter out to soften ahead of time? Follow my tips for how to soften butter quickly!)
In addition to dried cranberries, I add honey, orange juice and zest, and just a pinch of cinnamon to this butter. You might want to make extra, because you’ll definitely want to have some of this sweet-tart butter left over for your morning toast.
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Parker House Rolls
Ingredients
- 4-3/4 to 5-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- ⅓ cup sugar
- 2 envelopes Fleischmann's® RapidRise Yeast 4 1/2 teaspoons
- 1-1/2 teaspoons salt
- ¾ cup milk
- ¾ cup water
- ¼ cup butter
- 1 egg
- ¼ cup butter melted, for brushing rolls
Instructions
- Combine 2 cups flour, sugar, undissolved yeast and salt in a large mixer bowl. Heat milk, water, and 1/4 cup butter until very warm (120 to 130 degrees F). Stir into flour mixture. Beat 2 minutes at medium speed of electric mixer, scraping bowl occasionally. Add egg and 1/2 cup flour; beat 2 minutes at high speed. Stir in enough remaining flour to make a soft dough. Knead on lightly floured surface until smooth and elastic, about 8 to 10 minutes. Cover; let rest 10 minutes. (Or, if desired, place dough in a greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and allow to rise in refrigerator for 12 to 24 hours.)
- Divide dough in half; roll each half to a 12-inch square, about 1/4-inch thick. Cut each into 6 (12 x 2-inch) strips. Cut each strip into 3 (4 x 2-inch) rectangles. Brush each rectangle with melted butter. Crease rectangles slightly off center with dull edge of knife and fold at crease. Arrange in rows, slightly overlapping, on greased baking sheets, with shorter side of each roll facing down. Allow 1/4-inch of space between each row. Cover; let rise in warm, draft-free place until doubled in size, about 30 minutes.
- Bake in preheated 400 degrees F oven for 13 to 15 minutes or until done. Remove from sheets; cool on wire rack. Brush with 1/4 cup melted butter.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Cranberry Butter
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup dried cranberries
- 2 tablespoons orange juice
- 1 cup unsalted butter softened
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 tablespoon orange zest
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- Pinch of kosher salt
Instructions
- Place dried cranberries in a small bowl. Add in orange juice and stir to combine. Allow the cranberries to sit for about 30 minutes to absorb the orange juice.
- Once the cranberries have absorbed the juice, place the butter, honey, orange zest, cinnamon and salt into the bowl of a food processor and combine until smooth. Scrape the sides of the bowl and pulse a few times. Add in cranberries and remaining juice and pulse a few more times to combine the cranberries into the butter. At this point, give the butter a taste, if you want it sweeter, gradually add a little more honey to taste.
- At this point, you can spoon the butter into an airtight container and place in the refrigerator. You can also transfer the butter to a piece of plastic wrap or parchment and form it into a log. Just twist the ends of the plastic wrap or parchment and refrigerate until firm.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
What quantity of yeast is in an envelope of Fleischmann’s yeast. In many parts of the world you can’t find Fleischmann’s yeast so it would be useful to give the amount required for this recipe as not everyone in the world has access to Fleischmann’s yeast.
Hi James-
One packets is equal to 1/4 ounce which equals approximately 2-1/4 teaspoons. Hope this helps.
-Jamie
I made these with homage stew last week. This recipe makes a lot of rolls and guess what not a single roll left. My DIL looked at me and said “I hate you”. Which she meant lovingly because she ate too many. Sooo good.
Yay! So happy to hear you enjoyed them. They are our favorite rolls!
-Jamie
I am a stubborn soul who got used to using Active Dry instead of Rapid Rise. Is there any chance you could help me figure out the difference in rise times for your recipe if I were to use the active dry I have on hand? Thank you!!
Hello! I haven’t attempted this recipe with active dry yeast, so I am not sure of the result. If you happen to give it a try, I’d love to know how they turned out. Thanks so much for stopping by.
-Jamie
he Difference Between Active Dry Yeast & Instant Yeast
The difference between these types of dry yeast is simple: active dry yeast has a larger granule and needs to be dissolved in water before using, while instant yeast has a more fine texture and can be mixed right into dry ingredients.https://www.thekitchn.com/whats-the-difference-between-active-dry-yeast-and-instant-yeast-54252
Can these be made & frozen & pulled out later to bake
Hi Christine!
I have no tried freezing them before baking, so I am not really sure about doing so.
-Jamie
these are my favorite to order out, but I have a sneaking suspicion they are more than 240 calories at a restaurant:glad i can make this at home now it would be a hit in our house definitely going to give it a try
Thanks so much for stopping by, Mary! I appreciate you taking the time to comment. Happy Baking!
-Jamie
I don’t care for sweetened yeast rolls like hawaiian rolls. Do these taste similar?
Hello! These do not taste sweet. They are definitely savory rolls. Hope this helps!
Jamie