LYNETTE SESLER (Nashville, Tennessee) was born in Charlotte, Tennessee, also where her grandmother, VERA PEARL CORLEW, was born and raised. Vera was known as Granny Pearl to her five grandchildren. Lynette shares that “Granny Pearl always put family and God first and foremost in her life. She passed these characteristics on to my dear, sweet mother, and I am so thankful she did. Granny Pearl was a great example of strength and courage. And when it came to the kitchen, I remember these homemade rolls and the way she’d cook a grilled cheese sandwich—she’d let the cheese ooze out of the sandwich, causing it to burn on the edges. They tasted like no one else’s.” Granny Pearl passed away in 1976.
2 cups whole milk
⅔ cup vegetable shortening
½ cup sugar
2 (.25 ounce) packages yeast
3 cups self-rising flour, divided, plus extra for rolling out dough
Butter to grease pan
1 In a large saucepan stir together the milk, shortening, and sugar and bring nearly to a boil. Set aside and cool to lukewarm.
2 Remove ½ cup of the mixture, put in a small bowl, and add both packs of yeast. Stir until dissolved. Add the dissolved yeast mixture back to the reserved liquid. Add 2 cups of the flour to make a thick batter.
3 Let the batter rise approximately 2 hours or until doubled. Then add 1 cup of the flour to make the dough, and mix well. Either refrigerate for later use or make the rolls.
4 TO MAKE THE ROLLS, preheat the oven to 365 degrees. Place the dough on a lightly floured surface (preferably a biscuit board). Knead the dough until it is easy to roll out with your rolling pin. Cut out rolls with a 2-inch biscuit or round cookie cutter and place in a buttered 9 × 13-inch pan. Bake for approximately 20 minutes or until lightly browned.
MAKES ABOUT 24 ROLLS.