Warm, soft, tender, and slathered in cinnamon-spiced honey buttery goodness, these Honey Dinner Rolls are the rolls everyone leaves the table talkin’ bout!
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Y’all may not be able to see me right now, but I got one hand in the air while the other holds a honey roll in my hand. The toes are tapping, the hips are swinging, and life just doesn’t get any better than this.
Y’al these Honey Butter Rolls deserve to be at your holiday table. Made with milk, warm cinnamon, sweet honey, and loads of rich butter, these dinner rolls are the closest thing to a taste of heaven!
The Lowdown on These Honey Butter Dinner Rolls
Cuisine Inspiration: Classic Southern
Primary Cooking Method: Baking
Dietary Info: Vegetarian, can be made gluten-free with ingredient swaps
Key Flavor: It’s all about that honey butter, y’all. Sweet, buttery, with a kiss of cinnamon
Skill Level: Easy peasy! No pro skills required
Soft and Fluffy Goodness
These honey rolls are as soft as a cloud and fluffier than your favorite pillow. They bake up all light and airy, just like a good dinner roll should.
Crazy Easy to Make
No fancy techniques to make this honey butter dinner rolls recipe, boos, just mix, knead, and let these babies rise. And with Fleischmann’s® RapidRise® Instant Yeast, you get that fluff without a long wait!
That Butter Tho
This butter is the WORD ON THE STREET. I mean, we’re talking about warm cinnamon, sticky honey, and creamy butter all in one sweet package! You’re gonna be slatherin’ it on everything.
Ingredients you’ll need to make Honey Butter Dinner Rolls
For the Dough
- All-Purpose Flour: The foundation of our rolls.
- Granulated Sugar: Just a touch of sweetness to get that flavor poppin’.
- Sea Salt: Balances out the flavors and keeps the dough from being bland.
- Fleischmann’s® RapidRise® Instant Yeast: This yeast makes the dough rise quickly, so you can get to eating sooner. No need to proof, simply toss it right in!
- Milk: Gives the rolls a tender crumb.
- Unsalted Butter: Adds richness to the dough. If all you have is salted butter, just reduce the added salt a smidge.
- Eggs: They add that extra fluffiness and richness. No sub here – eggs are key, boo!
- Honey: For a hint of natural sweetness and extra moisture. Maple syrup would be another option if you’re lookin’ to switch it up.
For the Cinnamon Honey Butter
- Unsalted Butter: This is what makes the honey butter so creamy. Salted butter is cool too, just skip the extra salt in the butter mix.
- Honey: Sticky, sweet, and everything nice.
- Ground Cinnamon: You can’t have cinnamon honey butter without cinnamon, duh!
- Sea Salt: A pinch to balance out the sweetness.
How to make Honey Butter Dinner Rolls
What to serve with homemade dinner rolls
- With a Big Ol’ Pot of Soup: These rolls are perfect for dunkin’ into bowls of brisket chili, creamy potato soup, or some classic chicken noodle.
- Breakfast Spread: Go all out with some crispy bacon, bacon quiche, and breakfast casserole. Or, spread on some homemade apple butter or strawberry preserves to really bring out that honey sweetness!
- Beside a Hearty Weeknight Dinner: Pair these rolls with some fall-apart tender Italian pot roast, buttery mashed potatoes, and green bean casserole.
- At a Holiday Table: These rolls go hand-in-hand with roasted turkey legs, cornbread dressing, and cranberry sauce.
Recipe Substitutions
- Flour: Swap the all-purpose flour with a good gluten-free flour blend that’s designed for baking.
- Honey: You can use maple syrup for a rich, sweet flavor or even agave if you’ve got it on hand. Just keep the quantity the same.
- Butter: Salted butter works just fine if that’s all you’ve got. Just ease up on the added salt in the dough. And if you’re outta butter for the dough, you could sub in margarine.
- Yeast: If you don’t have Fleischmann’s® RapidRise® Instant Yeast (u should, boo!), you can use active dry yeast, but make sure to let it proof in warm milk with a bit of sugar first.
Recipe Variations and Additions
- Spreadable Cinnamon Honey Butter: The same ingredients can be mixed into softened butter for a more solid, yet still spreadable result. I absolutely LOVE prepping a batch of this spread to keep in the fridge for waffles, toast, pancakes, and even sometimes baking!
- Make ‘Em Cheese Rolls: Mix in a handful of shredded cheddar or Parmesan into the dough for cheesy honey yeast rolls. The combo of cheese with that sweet honey butter? Insane.
- Cinnamon Sugar: Sprinkle some cinnamon and sugar on top of the rolls before baking for a sweet, crusty finish.
- Sweeten It Up: Toss in a little brown sugar or vanilla extract into the honey butter for extra sweetness.
Expert Tips and Tricks for making the best honey butter dinner rolls recipe
- Warm Up Your Milk Right: Get that milk nice and warm, around 110-120°F. If it’s too hot, it can mess with the yeast, but too cool, and the yeast won’t activate right. Think baby-bottle warm.
- Get That Dough Tacky, Not Sticky: Add flour a little at a time until the dough is soft and just tacky to the touch. Knead it well to get that smooth, elastic texture. For tips on how to improve your kneading technique, definitely check out this article!
- Give Your Rolls Room to Rise: Make sure they’re spaced just enough to grow a bit in the pan. They’ll double up during the second rise, so don’t crowd ’em!
- Brush with Butter While Warm: As soon as those honey butter dinner rolls come out of the oven, brush them with extra melted butter. It makes all the difference, boo!
How to store & reheat Honey Butter Dinner Rolls
You can store these rolls in an airtight container on the counter. As for that cinnamon honey butter, it can be refrigerated for up to a week or frozen for a couple of months. Thaw it on the counter, no microwaving!
To reheat the rolls, wrap them in foil and warm in a 350°F oven until they’re nice and toasty.
How long will Honey Butter Dinner Rolls last in the fridge?
Kept at room temp, they’ll stay soft and yummy for a good 2-3 days. But if you’re anything like me, they might mysteriously disappear in 24 hours. I’m not saying I eat them all… But I’m also not saying I don’t!
Can I freeze honey yeast rolls?
These rolls freeze like a dream! Pop ’em in a freezer-safe bag, and they’ll stay fresh for up to 3 months. When you’re ready to enjoy, just thaw them at room temp, reheat in the oven, and brush with some melted butter.
Frequently asked questions
Yes! No stand mixer or hand mixer is necessary to make these. Kneading is really optional as well but if you select to do a little kneading to soften the dough, do it by hand. Start out by stirring with a spoon until you can’t anymore and then knead it with your hands. Just keep on kneading until all the flour is incorporated and the dough is soft to the touch and only slightly sticky. You’ll feel the burn, but it’s worth it! If you sense that something has gone wrong in your process, you can easily troubleshoot with this information.
When completely baked, dinner rolls will pull away from the sides of the pan and feel firm to the touch. The bread might even sound a bit hollow when tapped. If you’re really not sure, use a thermometer; it should read somewhere between 190-200F when inserted to the middle of a roll.
Absolutely! You can prep the dough and let it rise, then cover it tightly and pop it in the fridge overnight. Just let it come back to room temperature before you shape and bake.
Y’all ready to get ROLL-IN’? (I had to!). With just a handful of ingredients and a lil’ elbow grease, you’ll be sitting down to freshly baked, butter-smothered honey dinner rolls in no time. They’re perfect for dunkin’, spreadin’, and just plain munchin’. Get into it, boos!
My Favorite Biscuit and Roll Recipes
- Garlic Stuffed Cheese Rolls
- Sour Cream Biscuits
- 7 Up Biscuits
- Cheddar Rosemary Dinner Rolls
- Hawaiian Sweet Dinner Rolls
- Flaky Biscuits
Honey Butter Dinner Rolls
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Ingredients
For the Dough
- 5 cups all-purpose flour plus 1/4 cup for shaping
- 2 tbsp granulated sugar
- 1 1/4 tsp sea salt
- 2 1/4 tsp Fleischmann’s® RapidRise® Instant Yeast (1 packet)
- 1 1/2 cups whole milk
- 6 tbsp unsalted butter melted (plus 1 tbsp, softened, for pan)
- 2 large eggs plus 1 yolk beaten
- 3 tbsp honey
For the Cinnamon Honey Butter
- 4 tbsp unsalted butter melted and cooled
- 2 tbsp honey
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/8 tsp sea salt
Instructions
For the Dough
- In a large mixing bowl, mix 4 cups of flour, sugar, salt and yeast together with a wooden spoon. Make a well in the center of dry ingredients.
- Heat milk in saucepan over medium heat until very warm (110-120F), but not scalding.
- Add milk to the well along with melted butter, eggs and honey. Stir together until evenly mixed. The dough will look like thick muffin batter. Start adding the remaining cup of flour in 1/4 cup increments, watching closely as a tacky dough forms. Use your hands to continue to combine the dough for about 5-8 additional minutes until a stiffer and tacky dough forms (you can also knead for additional time here if you want a softer product in the end). You want to make sure the flour is incorporated and the dough is soft to the touch and only slightly sticky.
- Cover lightly with plastic wrap and a wet towel and place in a warm spot to proof, until doubled in size, about 40 minutes. Transfer the dough to a lightly greased bowl and cover with a wet towel and place in a warm spot to proof until doubled in size, about 40 minutes
- Heat oven to 350 F degrees and place the rack in center position.
- Grease 13×9 inch pan with 1 tablespoon softened butter.
- Lightly flour work surface. Remove dough from bowl and cut into three large, even pieces. Cut thirds into six pieces each. If using a scale, each ball was about 70-75 grams each.
- Place the ball of dough on the work surface, cupping your hands gently over the dough, press slightly and work in a circular motion to shape into a tight round.
- Place rolls in the prepared pan. Cover lightly with plastic wrap and wet towel and return to a warm place until rolls are doubled in size, about 35 minutes.
- Remove the plastic wrap and place in a preheated oven. Bake until golden brown, or until a thermometer registers 190-200F, about 35 minutes.
- Cool in a pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes.
- Top with cinnamon honey butter (recipe follows). Serve immediately.
For the Cinnamon Honey Butter
- In a small bowl, stir together melted butter, honey, ground cinnamon, and salt until well combined.
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Easy Recipe ~ Delicious!!
Didn’t work for me. Dough never came together
Can they be made with regular active yeast instead of instant?
These dinner rolls are incredibly amazing!! My family loved it.
What a great idea to use cinnamon honey butter on these dinner rolls! It definitely adds a warm, comforting flavor that is perfect for fall and Thanksgiving!
These cinnamon honey rolls are so light and tender, with such a sweet delicious taste. I love eating them warm on their own straight out of the oven.
There is nothing like the aroma of freshly baking bread. Thanks for this great recipe!
These were so delicious they only lasted 5 minutes on the table!