Tuesday Tip- Freezing Butter

I go through butter... a lot of butter...no I mean A LOT of butter. When I first started actively baking, it felt like I was buying butter every couple of days. Those days are over. I now buy my butter in bulk, 4 pounds at a time. I never thought I would be "that girl" who walks out of the store with her arms full of butter. Buying butter in bulk allows me to save some money (usually around $1.50/lb). While it's not a huge savings, it does add up after awhile, especially at the rate I go through it.

While there have been streaks where I probably went through 4 lbs of butter in a few days, I usually spread it out a little. I store my butter in the freezer. Here I go again with the freezer but it truly is convenient. I try to always have 1 lb in the fridge ready to use. The rest hangs out in the freezer. According to articles I've read, butter can be frozen for up to 6 months. Sometimes I'm lucky if it lasts a month.

Oh, and for the record, that's 3 sticks (3/4 of a pound) of butter sliced up waiting to become part of a batch of strawberry meringue buttercream frosting. If you haven't experienced meringue buttercream, you are missing out!

Pecan Rolls

You have to know, these are SUPER easy but look and taste like you slaved away in the kitchen. You can con all of your friends and family into thinking you are a whiz in the kitchen with this recipe. You might want to throw a little flour on your face and bang around a few pots and pans to make it seem like something is really going down in the kitchen. You actually assemble these the night before and bake them in the morning.

Pecan Rolls

20-24 frozen dinner rolls (I use Rhodes. How many depends on the baking dish.)
1/2 pecan pieces (I usually use less but you can adjust to your taste)
1 small box of cook and serve butterscotch pudding (MUST be cook and serve, NOT instant)
1/2 c. butter, melted
1/2 c. brown sugar
3/4 tsp. cinnamon

Grease a 9x13 baking dish. Sprinkle the pecan pieces on the bottom of the dish. Place the frozen rolls on top of the pecans. Feel free to place them close together. They like being next to one another. Sprinkle the pudding mix over the rolls. Mix together the melted butter, brown sugar and cinnamon and pour that on top of the rolls. Spray a piece of wax paper with non-stick spray and place it "spray side down" on top of the rolls. Let sit for 8 hours to allow the rolls to rise. Go to bed and dream about the goodness you will consume the next morning.

When you wake up, you will find that the rolls have grown. It's a good thing. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and remove the wax paper. Place the dish in the oven and bake for 25-30 minutes. The tops will be a medium shade of brown. Remove the pan. Lay a piece of foil over the pan and flip the pan upside down on a baking sheet or large serving platter to dump the rolls out. The foil is completely optional but it makes clean up a whole lot easier and this recipe is about easy. Now you see that I'm not crazy for putting the pecan pieces on the bottom because the bottom now becomes the top. Talk about sticky, sugary heaven!

Enjoy!
-E