Texas Moppin Rolls Recipes

TEXAS MOPPIN' ROLLS

Steps:

• Combine yeast, honey and warm water in large bowl; stir until completely dissolved. Add salt, hot red pepper flakes, onion, Monterey Jack cheese and Cheddar cheese; stir until thoroughly mixed. Add 6 cups of the flour, 2 cups at a time, mixing after each addition until the flour is completely incorporated.
• Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface. Knead 6 to 8 minutes, adding enough of remaining flour to form a fairly stiff dough. Rinse and dry the bowl, then oil surface of dough and place dough in bowl. Cover with a clean, dry cloth and let rise in a warm, draft-free place about 1 hour, or until doubled.
• Punch down dough. Knead briefly to expel large air bubbles. Divide dough into 24 equal pieces (about 65 grams each). Roll each piece into a fat oval.
• Place rolls in a lightly greased 13x9x2-inch baking pan (three rolls across, four down). Let rise about 20 minutes, or until nearly doubled.
• While rolls are rising, preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place on middle rack of oven and bake 35 to 40 minutes, or until top crust
• is browned. Remove rolls from pan and let cool on racks.
• NOTES:.
• With so many different palates to please, our abbey cooks are usually pretty cautious about spicy seasonings. As a result, sometimes monastery food is a bit bland, so I like to create breads with strong flavors. Every time I serve these rolls, one of the brothers is sure to comment on how he expected "just another roll" and got a mouthful of pepper and cheese bread with an attitude. These rolls are actually pretty mild compared to a lot of Tex-Mex food, so feel free to increase the amount of crushed red pepper.
• I used ordinary dried crushed red pepper (hot red pepper flakes) for this recipe, but if you keep fresh jalapenos or other hot peppers in the fridge, by all means use them. Three 3-inch jalapenos, minced fine, provide moderate heat. You can experiment with other peppers as well.

TEXAS CINNAMON ROLLS

Steps:

• Sift flour before measuring. Add sugar, baking powder and salt and sift again into a large mixing bowl. Cut shortening into dry ingredients.
• In a small bowl, mix together egg and milk, then add mixture, a small amount at a time, to flour/shortening mix. Handle lightly.
• When dough is formed, roll out on floured board to 1/8 inch thickness.
• Spread dough with 1 tbsp of the softened butter, sprinkle with 2 tbsp of the brown sugar and the 1/2 tsp cinnamon. Roll tightly, beginning at the edge nearest you. Cut into 2-inch slices.
• Cream together the remaining 2 tbsp butter and 2 tbsp brown sugar. Spread onto the bottom of a heavy baking pan that will hold the slices fairly close together.
• Place slices into the pan and bake at 375 for 18-20 minutes.
• Because this recipes does not have a topping, you can make you own. I make one by mixing melted butter with powdered sugar. Sometimes I add raisins and/or chopped nuts.