Stollen Butter Rolls

I finished the letter. Not a letter exactly — thirty-one pages, handwritten, in the good notebook I bought specifically for it. A record of Marcus Calvin Simms as I knew him: born 1962 in Birmingham, raised by his grandmother when his mother was unable, the first in his family to attend college, the man who learned to cook by watching his grandmother and by being stubborn about it. The man who proposed to me with a ring from a grocery store bubble machine because we were twenty years old and broke and certain. The man who drove with his children in the back seat and narrated everything he saw out the window as if the world were a thing being described for the first time and deserved the attention. The man who wept quietly at sunsets and good hymns and his newborn children.

I sealed it in an envelope and wrote Caleb's name on the outside and put it in the cedar box, alongside Bernice's watch and the pearl earrings and Marcus's recipe cards and CJ's first hat and Shanice's Valentine's card. The box is almost full. That is a good problem to have — a cedar box full of the things that matter, waiting for the people who will need them.

Three weeks to the anniversary. I am ready. I have been getting ready for months without knowing that is what I was doing. Writing about Marcus in thirty-one pages is its own form of marking the sixth year — not with grief alone but with witness. This is who he was. This is what I remember. This is what Caleb will someday read about the grandfather he never met. The table and the letter. The food and the page. Both ways of keeping someone.

Marcus’s recipe cards are in that cedar box, right alongside the watch and the earrings and the letter I just sealed for Caleb. He wrote in his careful, deliberate hand — the same hand that narrated the world out a car window — and these stollen butter rolls were among the ones he made every year without being asked, because his grandmother had made them and he believed some things deserved to continue. I made them this week, alone in the kitchen, and it was the quietest and most purposeful hour I’ve had in months. If you are keeping someone through food, this is a good place to begin.

Prep Time: 30 min | Cook Time: 25 min | Total Time: 2 hr 55 min (includes rise time) | Servings: 24 rolls

Ingredients

1 package (1/4 oz) active dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water (110°–115°F)
1 cup warm whole milk (110°–115°F)
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened, plus 3 tablespoons melted for brushing
1/3 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 teaspoon fine salt
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
2/3 cup golden raisins
1/2 cup dried currants
1/3 cup candied citron or mixed peel, finely chopped
1/2 cup slivered almonds, lightly toasted
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
1/2 teaspoon grated orange zest
Powdered sugar, for dusting

Instructions

Activate the yeast. In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water and let stand 5–8 minutes until foamy.
Mix the dough. In a large bowl, combine warm milk, softened butter, sugar, eggs, salt, almond extract, and vanilla. Stir in the yeast mixture. Gradually add flour, 1 cup at a time, mixing until a soft dough forms.
Add the fruits and nuts. Fold in the raisins, currants, candied citron, toasted almonds, lemon zest, and orange zest until evenly distributed.
Knead and first rise. Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead 6–8 minutes until smooth and elastic. Place in a greased bowl, turning to coat. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and let rise in a warm place for 1 1/2 hours, or until doubled.
Shape the rolls. Punch dough down. Divide into 24 equal pieces and shape each into a smooth ball. Arrange in two greased 9x13-inch baking pans. Cover and let rise 45 minutes until puffy.
Bake. Preheat oven to 350°F. Bake rolls 22–25 minutes until deep golden brown and cooked through. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should read 190°F.
Finish and serve. Brush warm rolls immediately with melted butter. Cool 10 minutes in the pan, then dust generously with powdered sugar before serving.

Nutrition (per serving)

Stollen Butter Rolls — The Recipe Cards in the Cedar Box