Food You Can Eat: Treasured Butterhorns

First things first:  I don’t know what makes these “treasured” versus just regular old, run-of-the-mill, garden variety butterhorns.  If we treasure them so much, then shouldn’t we actually dip them in bronze rather than eat them?  Anyway, this is the last of the breakfast pastry recipes from my grandmother’s collection that I wanted to try, so I’ll be able to go back to making breakfast burritos smothered in green or red chile each morning.  God, how I have missed those.

A caveat before we get started:  I was never a fan of these when I was a kid.  I think because they reminded me of croissants (which I still don’t like), but most likely because they weren’t smothered in chocolate (which is still an excellent idea).  But, I find that as I venture deeper into my dotage, these sounded pretty appetizing so I made them and sure enough these are quite good.

Here’s what you’ll need:

4 Cups Flour

½ tsp. Salt

3 Egg Yolks

1 Pkg. Yeast (not quick rising)

1 Cup Butter, softened

2 Tbsp. Sugar

1 Cup Lukewarm Milk

1 tsp. Vanilla

Swirl yeast in warm milk and set aside.  Work flour and butter with a pastry blender until mixed.  Add salt to flour mixture.  Mix together sugar, egg yolks, milk/yeast and vanilla.  Add to flour mixture and mix well.  Form into a ball, cover and store in a refrigerator overnight.  Be sure that covering does not touch the dough.

Divide dough into four equal pieces and roll portions of the dough into circles less than ¼-inch thick.  Spread melted butter onto each piece.  Cut into 4 to 6 pie-shaped pieces and roll starting with the wide end and ending with the narrow point.

Let rise for at least 2 hours while covered with a damp (not wet) cloth.  Bake on an ungreased cookie sheet in a 375-degree oven for 8 to 10 minutes.  Don’t let them brown.

While still warm, frost rolls with a glaze of powdered sugar, milk and vanilla extract.