Homemade Dinner Rolls are soft, fluffy, and well worth the wait! These are sure to impress your family during the holidays and all year long.

Here's what you'll need:

• All-Purpose Flour
• Salt
• Granulated Sugar
• Active Dry Yeast
• Milk
• Unsalted Butter
• Egg

Additional Supplies:

• Plastic Wrap
• Non-stick Baking Spray
• 9x13 inch Baking Dish
• Stand Mixer with dough hook (optional)
• Digital Thermometer

For Cinnamon Butter:

• Butter
• Powdered Sugar
• Ground Cinnamon

The Process

Start by making sure your butter and egg are at room temperature. Then, measure out 1 teaspoon salt, 3 tablespoons sugar, 5 tablespoons softened butter, and 3 cups of flour separated equally into two bowls.

*Tip: scoop the flour into your measuring cup and level with a butter knife to avoid adding too much flour.

Heat 1 cup of milk on low on the stove or in the microwave to 110-115°F. (If you heated your milk over this threshold, just wait for it to cool down until it reaches a temperature that falls within this range.) In a bowl or cup, mix together the warm milk, 1 packet of Active Dry yeast, and 1 tablespoon of granulated sugar. Give it a stir and let it sit for 5-10 minutes until the yeast looks like it has puffed up.

Add the first half of flour, butter, egg, sugar, and salt to the bowl of the mixer. Stir in the yeast mixture with a wooden spoon or with the dough hook on low speed until it's mostly incorporated.

Next, add the second half of flour and mix on medium speed for 3-5 minutes until the dough looks smooth and starts to pull away from the sides of the bowls. Do not worry if the sides of the bowl aren't completely clean. You want the dough to be tacky or sticky and not too dry because dry dough will result in dry rolls. However, if your dough seems way too soft or runny, add more flour a couple tablespoons at a time until the consistency is right. 

*To mix by hand: add the second half of flour to the bowl and use the spoon to help combine. Once most of the flour is combined, pour the dough onto a a clean, flat work surface. Knead the dough by hand, working in the rest of the flour until smooth, about 5-8 minutes. If the dough is way too sticky to work with, sprinkle a little flour at a time. You still want the dough to be slightly sticky or tacky though, so once the dough is smooth, use a spatula to help scrape the dough into the greased bowl and off of your hands if needed.

Grease a large bowl with non-stick spray. Use a spatula to remove the dough from the mixing bowl and into the greased bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and place in a warm, draft-free area to let rise for 1-2 hours or until doubled in size.

*Tip: Turn your oven on warm for 5-10 minutes before you start. When you're ready to start the dough, make sure to turn off the oven. This creates a warm, NOT hot, environment for your dough to rise faster. OR place in the oven (not on) and turn the oven light on.

Once the dough has risen, punch it down and place on a clean surface. (I normally move the dough around in the bowl to pick up any excess dough stuck to the sides first.) I don't flour the work surface. The more you move the dough the less it sticks. But if your dough is for some reason too hard to work with, very lightly dust the surface with flour.

Cut the dough into 15 equally sized pieces. If one is too big, just cut away a chunk and add it to another. (If you are using a square or round baking dish, you may need to make 16 balls instead.)

Next, shape the balls of dough. To do this, I put my hand in the shape of a "C" or backwards "C" depending on what hand you're using. Then, rotate your hand in the "C" motion while pressing the dough against the work surface with the bottom of your hand. (Clockwise if left-handed, counterclockwise if right-handed.) This creates a ball with a small, tight seem only on the bottom.

Grease the baking dish with non-stick spray. Place the dough balls in the pan. If using the 9x13" pan, place them 3x5. Cover the top with plastic wrap. Let the dough balls rise for another 1-2 hours. This dough took 1 hour and 20 minutes for each rise. The goal is make sure the balls have once again doubled in size and have filled any gaps in the baking dish.

Bake the rolls at 350°F for 20 minutes. While the rolls are baking, melt the rest of the stick of butter, or more if you wish. Once the rolls are done, immediately brush the tops with the melted butter. This produces a soft top to the rolls. Serve them while they're hot and definitely with some cinnamon butter!