DOROTHY SUE SULLIVAN has lived all of her life in Lyles, Tennessee. Granddaughter JENNIFER SULLIVAN BROWN (Bon Aqua, Tennessee) calls her Granny and shares that she has the most patient and caring heart—a constant caregiver to anyone who’s in need. The Sullivan kids always loved to stay at their grandparents’ house, and Jennifer remembers how sweet it was to be awakened by the smell of homemade waffles and syrup. Jennifer shares, “Every holiday, our family often bypasses desserts, looking for Granny’s rolls. Knowing how much everyone loves them, I wanted to capture this recipe exactly how Granny does it. So before I made them the first time, I attempted to get precise instructions from Granny, though she is someone who typically doesn’t measure anything—she cooks from experience and from her gut. I could hardly wait to try my attempt and see how my rolls compared to hers. My rolls on the first attempt were not nearly as good as Granny’s, so I knew I must’ve missed something in the directions. Eager to get them right, I asked Granny if I could watch her make the rolls so I could double-check what I had written down. I immediately realized what I had done wrong! While Granny had indicated five tablespoons of shortening were needed, she neglected to mention that it was five HEAPING tablespoons—basically equivalent to half a container of Crisco. I burst out laughing as I told her how precisely I had measured my five tablespoons. HEAPING definitely made the difference! Still, no matter how often I make these rolls, nothing will ever compare with the taste of Granny making her very own.”
5 heaping tablespoons vegetable shortening (read story above), plus extra to prepare container and baking pan
1 cup whole milk
¾ cup sugar, divided
2 (.25 ounce) packets yeast
¼ cup lukewarm water
2 cups cold water (additional cubes of ice may be required)
3 cups all-purpose flour (or more as needed), plus extra for rolling out dough
1 In a saucepan over medium heat, add the shortening, milk, and ¼ cup of the sugar and bring to a slight boil.
2 While the mixture is heating on the stove, pour the yeast packets into a medium bowl and fill with the lukewarm water and the remaining ½ cup sugar, and mix. Let it sit until the shortening mixture begins to slightly boil. Make sure the sugar dissolves.
3 Remove the shortening mixture from the heat and add 2 cups of cold water to bring it to a lukewarm temperature. (You may add ice cubes to help cool it down.)
4 Combine the shortening and yeast mixtures and mix well. Add enough flour to the combined mixture to make a soft dough.
5 Place the dough into a greased, seal-tight container so the dough can rise and double in size, approximately 12 hours.
6 Once the dough has risen, preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9 × 11-inch baking pan.
7 On a floured surface, roll the dough out as you would for biscuits, and cut out rolls with a 2-inch round cutter. Take the cut dough and barely stretch it. Fold it in half and place it upright in the greased baking pan. Once the pan is full, place in the oven and bake until the rolls are golden brown on top, approximately 20 minutes.
MAKES APPROXIMATELY 30 ROLLS.