Buttery Cornmeal Crescent Rolls
Light, flaky and absolutely soft and tender, these buttery cornmeal crescent rolls are decadent, delicious and perfect for any occasion.
A few weeks back, my Aunt Marilyn sent me a new roll recipe that uses cornmeal and milk as the base.
Enter: major skepticism. But I trust my Aunt implicitly, so I gave them a go. Before I offer my verdict, let me explain that I don’t need a new roll recipe. I have several that I love and use all the time.
I’d much rather spend my time looking for new double-chocolate-anything recipes than roll recipes.
But let me tell you, these cornmeal crescent rolls have skyrocketed to my new favorites. I feel slightly disloyal to my other faves, but the truth cannot be withheld. They are deliciously unreal.
If making them six times (yes, six!) in the last three weeks, including making 100 of them for a church function, is any indication, then yes, they are my new favorites.
Light, flaky and absolutely soft and tender, these rolls are decadent in their butteryness and while you can’t taste the cornmeal as a main, strong flavor, the subtle texture and lightness it provides is essential to the success of these beauties.
I can’t stop making them. I really can’t. Please, oh please, someone join me in my happy carb-induced nirvana.
FAQs for Buttery Cornmeal Crescent Rolls
I’d suggest making the dough, letting it rise, shaping the rolls, and then letting the rolls refrigerate overnight. But if you don’t have the fridge space to do that, pop the dough in the fridge right after you make it (no rising) and let it rise the next day out of the fridge (it will probably puff and rise a bit overnight in the fridge, too).
I’ve used 50% wheat and 50% white flour with good results!
Yes, I bake and cool the rolls then freeze in ziploc bags. You then gently rewarm them, and the texture is still great.
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Buttery Cornmeal Crescent Rolls
Ingredients
- 2 cups milk
- ⅔ cup (113 g) yellow corn meal
- 1 ½ tablespoons instant yeast
- ½ cup (113 g) 1 stick butter
- ⅓ cup (71 g) granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 large eggs
- 5 ½ – 6 cups (781-852 g) cups flour (see note)
Instructions
- Heat the milk to just below a boil so bubbles are just appearing around the edges (this is called scalding milk). Add the cornmeal and cook and stir until thickened, lowering the temperature if needed so the mixture doesn’t boil (see picture below the recipe for an idea of what the consistency should be).
- Pour the cornmeal/milk mixture into the bowl of a stand mixer or a large bowl and let cool until lukewarm. Add the yeast, butter and sugar (if you dissolved active dry yeast with a bit of water and sugar until it foamed, add it now). Mix.
- Add the salt and eggs. Mix well. Add the flour gradually until a soft dough forms. Knead for 5-8 minutes.
- Transfer the dough to a lightly greased bowl covered with lightly greased plastic wrap and let rise until doubled.
- Divide the dough into three portions and roll each into about an 8-10 inch circle. Brush the top lightly with butter. Cut into 8 wedges and roll each wedge up starting from the wide end so it forms a crescent roll shape.
- Place each roll on a lightly greased or silpat- or parchment-lined baking sheet, spacing about 1-2 inches apart to allow for rising. Cover lightly with greased plastic wrap. Let the rolls rise until doubled.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes, until lightly browned. Brush with butter while still warm.
Notes
Recommended Products
Recipe Source: adapted slightly from my Aunt Marilyn who got the recipe from her friend, Anne K.
Here is a picture of what the consistency of the cornmeal/milk mixture should look like when it is done cooking and thickening.
Love these rolls!
Definitely my go to roll recipe. Always turns out and in my opinion, the best roll out there. Soo good!
Can I use brown wheat flour? instead of white..
You can definitely try. I’ve made them with good results using half white/half wheat flour.
I love these rolls! Buttery cornmeal will always be a win in my book.. The only thing I change is the yeast— I generally don’t ever use more than 1 Tbsp of yeast in a bread recipe. Using 1.5 Tbsp in this always results in out of control dough for me.
We love these soft pillowy rolls. They come together quickly and easily with common ingredients. They’ve been our thanksgiving rolls for 2 years now. Thank you!
These really are amazing. The cornmeal gives them a sturdy texture so they hold their shape. They’re soft and tender with excellent flavor. You really don’t notice the cornmeal factor – they’re just delicious rolls! These will be making an appearance at Thanksgiving.
Dear Mel, I took this recipe times sixteen today making 356 rolls for lakeside Bible camp. All in three hours! They were well received. Takes longer for the cornmealmush to cool in that quantity. In case anyone wants to know which they probably don’t. Thanks. Jill
Oh my goodness, Jill! That is an amazing amount of rolls. Actually, YOU are amazing!
These rolls are fantastic! As a side note, I used the exact recipe but replaced the flour with Grandpa’s Kitchen gluten free flour and they were still fantastic!
This recipe is so good! I love the texture these give. We made chicken pillows and they were awesome! I love this recipe!
These are my favorite crescent rolls ever eevvveerrr! And I’ve had a lot:)
I’ve made these several times now, and living in high altitude the only change I’ve had to make is decreasing the yeast by 1/3rd.
I was wondering h9ow long each rising time would take, but when I saw at the to that the total time would be 1 hour 25 min I cut it short. Then I read in a comment that you thought an hour for each of the two risings (plus prep, plus baking). So is 2 1/2 hours more accurate?
Thanks
Hi Henny – yes, it’s more like 2 1/2 hours (there was a typo in the total time – sorry about that!). Also, the rising time is pretty variable -a lot will depend on the warmth of your kitchen.
We love these rolls! I made them for thanksgiving and they were a big hit even with children and made them again for dinner tonight. Thank you for sharing! Also I make it with whole wheat and we like it
would I be able to use this dough to make hot pockets, if yes than would I add my filling in step 3, after forming into rectangles instead of cutting into wedges, then once filled would I let them rise until doubled? thank you
Yep! That’s exactly what I would do.
I’d like to make these for Thanksgiving. Can I make the dough the night before? If so, do I refrigerate before the dough rises and then let it rise in the morning?
Yes you definitely can! I’d suggest making the dough, letting it rise, shaping the rolls, and then letting the rolls refrigerate overnight. But if you don’t have the fridge space to do that, pop the dough in the fridge right after you make it (no rising) and let it rise the next day out of the fridge (it will probably puff and rise a bit overnight in the fridge, too).
Hey Mel! I’m thinking of making these for Easter. Have you ever ground up popcorn in your grain grinder to use in these? I’ve been doing that for cornbread, and I love the results…but wasn’t sure it if would work in this recipe or not. They look divine! 🙂 Thanks!
I haven’t tried that, but I bet it would work as long as it isn’t super coarsely ground. Fun idea!
Wow, Mel!!! You’ve done it again! These rolls were AMAZING!!!! I served them with your hearty beef stew and your banana cream pie! Everyone was raving about the whole meal!! Thank you for your generosity in sharing your recipes!!!! We love this website!!! And your cute family too! You’re a super star!
Thanks, Leisel! 🙂
This is the recipe I have been dreaming about. Can you suggest modifying for the bread machine? I am lazy but still want the taste I k ow this recipe will yield
Hey Beth, I don’t have a bread machine and haven’t ever used one so I’m afraid I don’t have any advice (don’t want to mess you up). Sorry!
I am so excited to find this recipe. I “googled” cornmeal crescent rolls and your recipe popped up. Years ago (maybe 20 or 30?) I got a recipe like this from a friend and made it quite a few times. As often happens, life changes and several moves and I haven’t made them in a long, long time. I thought I’d make them for Thanksgiving this year. I remember they were so awesome. When I started looking for the recipe I realize it’s lost in a tub of papers, pictures and recipes somewhere. No time to dig, thus the google. I can’t believe this was on your blog. You have saved me so many times I can’t tell you. I plan to make these tomorrow – a trial run before the big day. Thanks for this. I see it’s been out there a while but I’m so glad its from you because your recipes never seem to fail!
Hi,
So you use 3/4 white whole wheat and the rest unbleached white?
Thanks
Kathy
Yes, that ratio works. I also do 50% wheat and 50% white too with good results.
quick question have you ever used Malt o Meal in this recipe? Instead of corn meal? just wondering. I have no idea if the consistency is the same. I just have Malt o Meal and don’t have any corn meal!:)
I haven’t tried that, sorry!
I’ve been looking for a great recipe for homemade pigs in blankets in crescent rolls and I’m wondering if you’ve tried to make pigs in blankets with these beautiful crescent rolls. We’re planning a birthday party with about 40 people attending so I’m hoping to make and freeze them and bake them off before the party. If you haven’t tried that, do you have thoughts about how it would work to wrap the hot dogs up after the first rise and then baking and freezing or would you think about freezing before baking? I’m planning to experiment but wanted to get your thoughts.
Hi Amy, I haven’t used it for that specifically, but I continue to love these rolls beyond belief. I made them the other day – forming small round rolls instead of crescents for chicken salad and they are so light and fluffy, it’s crazy. I think you could definitely use them for pigs in a blanket and I’d probably freeze after baking, just for simplicity and ease of heating up.
Amy, did you end up making these as pigs in a blanket? I plan to make some coming up and thought about trying homemade dough. Thanks!
My mother made these rolls for fifty years. Everyone asked for the recipe. She cooked the cornmeal mixture in a double boiler, thus no lumps or clumps. Delicious!
I just made these yesterday and the texture is unbeatable! so soft and fluffy! i am wondering if you use unsalted or salted butter? I used unsalted and they lacked a little flavor so i am going to try to use salted next time. thanks for all the delish recipes.
I use salted butter, April, which is probably why you noticed a difference.
Thank you for the response. (Sorry- didn’t mean to send 2comments.) 🙂 I am making another big batch today and I’ll use salted butter this time.
Maybe this is a dumb question…but do you melt the butter? or just leave it softened?
I add the butter to the hot milk/cornmeal mixture and it melts then.
OH WOW. These are delish! Winner! I have to admit I almost didn’t make them – the idea of scalding milk and thickening the cornmeal sounded tedious (just being honest!) But wow! These whip up pretty quickly and are so light and fluffy! I’m a fan. Thanks, Mel! This is a keeper 🙂
These look so yummy! I am going to make them for Easter….. How did you prep yours for Church?
I will be making a dinner for 50… wondering if I should make these ahead and freeze, make the day of (which is doable with oven usage but not convenient), or ???
Any suggestions?
This crowd happens to be pretty big bread lovers 🙂
Well, nothing beats fresh rolls so if you can make them the day of, that’d be the top preference. You could even make the dough, let it rise, shape the rolls and cover with plastic wrap – then pop them in the fridge overnight and bake them the next day.
I would love to try these rolls, but the 1/3 of a cup of sugar in them makes me wonder – do the rolls end up tasting sweet? I don’t like sweet rolls – or rather if I am making rolls/bread I want them to be savoury, not sweet. I know I will need sugar to activate my dry (not instant) yeast – but do you taste the 1/3 c. of sugar, or do these taste like “normal” non-sweet rolls? Thanks if anyone can advise!
You could definitely reduce the sugar if you like. They aren’t overly sweet tasting to me so I’ve never adjusted the sugar amount but if you are worried about it, you could start with 1-2 tablespoons.
These are great. I used about half whole wheat, half white flour. I was planning on halving the recipe, and so only used 1 cup of milk and 1/3 cup cornmeal…and then my brain blew a fuse or something, because I used the full amounts for everything else. I didn’t realize my mistake until after the first rise. However, they still turned out fantastic. Very light and fluffy (and PERFECT with jam or honey, or nothing at all), even with the missing ingredients. We had these with the Spicy Brown Sugar Pork Loin and this was a hit of a meal for us.
Oh wow! I made them tonight and ate 1 1/2 before I even had them on the table! I used 1 cup whole wheat flour & the rest “regular” flour. We live at almost 7,000 feet, so I had to add more flour to have the right feel (almost 6c white flour & 1c whole wheat). I also baked them at 375 degrees instead of 350.
I mixed all of the ingredients except the yeast with half of the flour & let my stand mixer develop the gluten (less kneading) before adding the yeast/ water mixture & the rest of the flour. I followed the rest of the directions exactly as written. Thank you soooo much! They were fantastic!
Had to change some things at high elevation in Utah but we love them! Made these twice this month-once to practice and once for Thanksgiving. The changes I had to make: First, I doubled it both times and used between 9-10 (instead of 11-12) cups of flour and it was PLENTY. The second time I used 10 c. and they were a little denser and less fluffy than just 9. I don’t pack my flour either so I’ll definitely change that on my copy of the recipe. Secondly, I rolled out my circles bigger (and thus thinner) and cut them into 10-12 rolls each and they turned out much prettier than the first time when I did an 8″ circle and 8 rolls. And last, both times we made these (and in different ovens both times) it took more like 20 minutes to get them lightly golden brown. Thanks, Mel for another home run hit. Everyone loved them at Thanksgiving! 🙂 (I made your apple pie and sour cream crust too. We talked about how much we love your site over dinner. 🙂
Thanks, Maria! Love reviews of recipes like this and thanks for detailing your changes. Happy Thanksgiving!
Made these today for a mini Thanksgiving dinner and they were FANTASTIC! So tender and buttery. Everyone loved them. Thanks for taking the time to make, photograph, and share your recipes.
I have made these multiple times and want to make them for thanksgiving but I’m hosting so I have a ton to do. Can you form the rolls and put them in the fridge overnight and then let them do the second rise in the morning?
Yep!
Is the 1/2 c butter supposed to be melted, softened, room temp?
It doesn’t really matter – I add it to the hot cornmeal/milk mixture so it melts even if it’s straight out of the fridge.
Hey Mel! I love these rolls and have made them a few times for dinner. I recently found a quick breakfast recipe where I use crescent roll dough in a tube and put eggs, ham and cheese in them and then bake. My husband loves them! Do you think there is a way to make this dough ahead of time and roll them in the morning with the other ingredients? Thanks for your help!
Hi Megan – I think you could definitely make this dough and then refrigerate it (letting it go through a slow rise instead of rising in a bowl at room temperature). I’d take it out a couple hours before you want to use it so that it’s soft and pliable but I think it could definitely be made ahead of time. I actually think, also, if the eggs were patted dry so they weren’t overly liquidy that you could assemble the little ham/cheese pockets and refrigerate those – then bake the morning you want them.
These sound delish! I’m so excited to make them! Any estimates on how long they take to make with the rising and such?
It really depends on the consistency of the dough and the temp of your kitchen but somewhere around an hour or so for each rise.
Is it possible to not roll into crescent shapes and just make a normal shapes dinner roll? I am thinking for the large amount I need having one less step would be sooooo much easier
Good question; I haven’t tried it that way but it’s a pretty soft, great dough to work with so I think it should work just fine to roll them into a dinner roll.
Hey there Mel, love your recipes, I’m always coming back to check on the new ones!
Got a question for you, how can I freeze these rolls? Have you tried freezing them before?
Does it change the texture or taste? Thx.
cibele – I bake and cool the rolls then freeze in ziploc bags. Gently rewarmed and the texture is still great!
When you say gently rewarmed, what temp and how long do you do them for? I want to make these for Easter, but won’t have access to a stand mixer and have limited kitchen space so I was hoping to make them in advance.
I usually just put them in the microwave covered lightly by a paper towel and warm them for 20-30 seconds.
Eating one of these hot out of the oven – this is the first time I’ve ever made yeast rolls (or yeast anything outside of pizza crust) and they came out perfectly. I now feel like I can bake anything! Cinnamon rolls are next….
I only had access to polenta, which is maybe why I only needed 4 cups of flour. I was sure the enormously heavy lump in my mixer bowl would never rise, but it did, and rolled out beautifully, and rose again (though maybe I didn’t leave it quite long enough, but I was starving).
I doubled the salt as I was using unsalted butter, but may use salted plus the doubling next time. Thanks for the recipe!
I made these last night and were they ever a hit! I have a couple questions, though. First, mine turned out huge and not nearly as pretty as yours in your pictures. About how big are yours when they’re done? Also, how do you store them? Even though we’re a family of 6, it’s going to take us a week or so to work through 24 big rolls. Thanks!!
Beth W – I’ve never specifically measured the finished rolls but they are probably a couple inches across (maybe 3?) and an inch or so in width. If they came out too big, you could cut more triangles and get more per batch. If we have leftovers, I usually store them in a freezer ziploc bag in the freezer and pull them out as we want them.
Great! Thanks!
Do you store them in the freezer before or after baking them?
Never mind, I see you answer farther down below! Thanks! I wrapped them around the chicken pillows tonight and they were a hit!
Went searching fora recipe for Beef Barley soup and found yours. You suggested making these to go along with it. Am I ever glad I took your suggestion – these are fabulous! (The soup was mighty fine as well!) I am not the patient type so after I put the cornmeal mixture into the bowl of my stand mixer, I added cold butter and once it had melted, beat it in and continued beating the mixture until it got to the lukewarm stage. Worked very well! I also used a fine white cornmeal. Next time I try these I am going to try the cinnamon sugar filling!! Thank you for your awesome recipes!!
Glad you found your way here, Lori and am super happy the rolls and soup were a hit!
I’m thinking these are going to be my Easter rolls this year!
If I want to add a filling to these crescent rolls, at what point in the recipe would you do that? Thanks! Love your website 🙂
Sarah – If you are thinking a filling like, say, nutella, I’d spread it on before cutting the dough into wedges – then just roll up, let rise and bake. Good luck!
You can’t possibly know how much I’d love these, but 2 dozen for two old people is way more than we can handle. Do you suppose that it would be just as successful if I cut the recipe in half? (I’d still have plenty to freeze.) Oh, I do hope it would work well because I just know I’d love these! If not, I’ll be sharing with at least two other people, and probably three. I have several widowed neighbors who help me eat cookies, LOL!
Barbara – It should work just fine to cut it in half. I am glad you like them!
Here is our latest thing. Before we roll these up, we stick in a mozzarella cheese stick and some pepperoni slices. Oh my! Don’t worry, we eat them the regular way at least twice a month too.
I can’t wait to make these after reading all the posts about them. Is the butter that is brushed on the rolled out dough in addition to what you have listed in the ingredients?
Carolyn – yes, it is in addition.
I just tried this recipe for thanksgiving. I wasn’t sure if they would turn out like yours, but to my suprise they were wonderful. Even the pickest of my family agree they were the best. thanks again.
I tried this recipe on thanksgiving, wasn’t sure if they would turn out like yours, but to suprise they were wonderful and the most picky of my family were delighted with them, thanks again, have a wonderful holiday.
So Mel, when you put these on the pan to bake, how do you arrange them? I never know how to do it.
Hi Salem – I usually try to fit three rolls across lengthwise across the top and five or six down (on a large 12X18-inch baking sheet) for a total of 15 or 18 per sheet. Does that help?
Here’s to making these amazing rolls for church functions! I sign up for rolls every time and then come home and make these. Although today my husband suggested we just buy some, and I was shocked!! 🙂
Thanks for great food!
I finally made these about 10 days ago. Wow. It’s a good thing I splurged on the big bag of cornmeal because I have made 3 batches since then. My family stops everything when these come out of the oven. We had them with your favorite clam chowder last night and my husband was worried about going into a food coma. Thanks for keeping us all happy over here!