Cloverleaf Rolls

Yesterday was a looong Sunday of meetings, and Scott wanted bread when he got home in the evening, so we tried this new recipe for cloverleaf rolls from allrecipes.com. Cloverleafs are a favorite here because they carry a maximum amount of butter on top, and then you can pull them apart and put more butter on the inside. ;)

• 2 (.25 ounce) packages active dry yeast
• 1/2 cup warm water (110 degrees F to 115 degrees F)
• 1 1/2 cups warm milk (110 to 115 degrees F)
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup shortening
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 5 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

In a mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in water. Beat in milk, sugar, egg, shortening and salt and 2 cups of flour until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough. Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour. Punch dough down. Roll into 90 balls; place three balls each in greased muffin cups. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 45 minutes. Bake at 375 degrees F for 12-14 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on wire racks.

These were pretty simple and turned out fabulously. Happy butterfest! :D