MINDY LEE HENDERSON (Franklin, Tennessee) describes her grandma, MAMIE LEE BOOTH (Nashville, Tennessee), as perfect, petite, and feisty! Mindy was named after Mamie and has fond memories of her dancing to music from the radio and sitting with her feet over the heat vent when she would rest. From her earliest memories, she can see Mamie in the kitchen, rolling out the dough for these rolls with a rolling pin that Mamie’s dad had made for her mother. Mindy shares, “We never sat down to eat without a huge plate of rolls on the table. Mamie would make these rolls tea-size . . . so I could safely eat six each meal without thinking a thing about it. And I had my tradition—three with butter and honey and three with milk gravy. Mamie went to heaven at the age of ninety-seven, and she filled my heart with many sweet memories. Not only do I have this delicious recipe, but tucked away safe and secure is that hand-carved rolling pin that has been passed down through the generations of my family.”
¾ cup sugar
1 cup vegetable shortening, plus extra for preparing pans
2 cups water, divided
2 (.25 ounce) packages yeast
2 large eggs, slightly beaten
6 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon salt
1 In a large bowl melt the sugar and shortening in 1 ½ cups of the hot water; let cool.
2 Dissolve the yeast in the remaining ½ cup of warm water (use a yeast thermometer to make sure the water is between 110 and 115 degrees). Add the yeast and eggs to the shortening mixture. Add the flour and salt and stir with a wooden spoon. No kneading is required.
3 Let the dough rise overnight in a large bowl in the refrigerator.
4 Roll into the desired shape (round or crescent) and place on greased pans, baking trays, or muffin pans. Let rise 1 ½ to 2 hours.
5 Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and bake 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly browned on top.
MAKES 4 DOZEN ROLLS.