Nut Rolls

~Out of Season~
Hey. I know this recipe is posted out of season. In three years, it just never made its way to the blog right before the holidays. Besides, I got a request for it today. Crazy, huh? So while every other food blogger in the world is posting Irish recipes this week, here I go with a traditional eastern European Christmas recipe. It's okay; I've been accused of quirky before. Just promise me you will come back here in, say, eight months and pretend like this post couldn't be more timely.

This recipe is a Keeper that goes back several generations. It was given to my mom by her Aunt Lois. Aunt Lois got it from her mother-in-law, whose family brought it with them from Lithuania in God-knows-what-year-but-let-me-tell-ya-it-was-a-loooong-time-ago.

Every holiday season of my childhood, we were never without these gems lined up on every square inch of counter space. I'm sure Mom gave many of them away, but all I remember is we snacked on these morning, noon, and night for about three months each year. It seems like we constantly had one on the counter from early November until mid-January. Each one unwrapped and re-wrapped so many times that the foil was a crinkly mess by the time we got down to that last end piece. Each time one disappeared, another reappeared in its place. Did I ever mention my dad's never-ending, unstoppable sweet tooth before? Heck, maybe Mom didn't give any of them away...

So. You know when you really think a lot of someone, but going out and buying them an actual Christmas gift seems a bit much? Well, The Dougster (aka HotDog) and I solve that dilemma each year with these nut rolls. It's become a tradition to gift our good friends and neighbors with these Keepers every year. Well, almost every year. What's that saying? "If the good Lord's willing, the creek don't rise, and the holiday frenzy doesn't get the best of you." Yeah, that.

Nothing fancy. I still wrap them in foil like Mom did. When they are gifted, we adorn each roll with either a stick-on bow or tied with curly ribbon. (Okay, maybe we DO get fancy.) We deliver them in person with wishes for the happiest of holidays. Then we go home, brew a pot of coffee, and eat the ugly ones that didn't make the cut - wrapping and rewrapping until the foil is a crinkly mess, down to the last piece.

Aunt Lois' Nut Rolls
dough
1 cup sugar
1 pound butter
1 can evaporated milk
1 cake yeast
1 teaspoon salt
8 eggs
filling
1 pound box brown sugar (2 1/4 cups)
2 cups sugar
1 pound butter
4 pounds walnuts
1 can evaporated milk

First, plan to make the dough the day before you intend to actually bake the nut rolls. Since this recipe makes 12 rolls, give yourself plenty of time on baking day.

To make the dough, warm the evaporated milk to 110 degrees F. Stir in the yeast.

Mix all of the dough ingredients with an electric mixer until the dough comes away from your mixing bowl clean. (Or, in my case, until your old mixer can't continue under the strain, and you have to finish it by hand.) Place in a large bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate overnight.

To make the filling, grind or finely chop the walnuts. I find a food processor works well.

Melt the butter. Combine all the filling ingredients in a large bowl or container. I like to use a rectangular container so I can mark off 12 equal squares.

To assemble and bake those rolls, preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Take the dough from the refrigerator and divide into 12 equal balls. Sprinkle sugar on your counter or table and roll a ball of dough in sugar until it is 12-14" by 8-10". Spread a "square" of filling on it, leaving about an inch on all sides. Slowly make each roll, starting from one of the long sides.

Tuck the ends under and move to a baking sheet, seam side down. Sprinkle each with a little more sugar. Plan to bake three rolls per baking sheet; otherwise, they will spread out too much. It helps to line your baking sheets with parchment or wax paper, which I learned after this batch.