This Famous Lion House Rolls Recipe and Homemade Honey Butter recipe is always a hit when I make them, especially at family functions and holidays like Christmas or as a Thanksgiving side dish.
This roll recipe comes from The Lion House restaurant, which is an old famous restaurant in Utah that is known for its amazing food and these rolls! Oh and don’t forget that homemade honey butter.
Ingredient Notes
- Instant yeast
- Warm water
- Sugar
- Butter
- Salt
- Nonfat dry milk
- Egg
- Flour
- Vanilla extract
- Honey
How To Make Lion House Rolls and Honey Butter
- Dissolve yeast in water.
- Add all ingredients except 3-4 cups of flour in a bread mixer.
- Mix until smooth.
- Gradually add the remaining flour.
- Don’t knead. (Mix for about 30 seconds after last cup of flour.)
- Place dough in a greased bowl, cover with a towel or plastic wrap and let rise until doubled, about an hour. (My friend lets hers rise in the oven for quicker rising – Preheat oven to 350℉ for 1 minute, then turn off the oven and place dough in the oven. So it never reaches 350℉ – it just starts to heat and then holds in the heat after one minute of heating up. be sure to cancel the oven before sticking the dough in.)
- Punch dough down.
- Flour your surface and place dough onto it. (Some people like to oil their surface)
- Divide dough into 3 equal sections.
- Roll each section into a circle (about 12 inches in diameter) and cut each circle into 12 slices (like a pizza).
- Roll each slice from biggest end to smallest end (like a croissant) and place on a greased cookie sheet (they can all fit on one large cookie sheet).
- Cover and let rise until doubled.
- Bake at 400℉ for 15 minutes. (I’ve found that in my oven, they need to cook at 375℉ so they don’t burn on top. And I always rub them with butter as soon as they’re out of the oven.)
Honey Butter
- Whip butter, add vanilla and egg yolk. Gradually whip in honey until light and fluffy. Makes 1 ½ cups.
Storing these Homemade Lion House Rolls
Refrigerate: Store baked rolls in an airtight container, freezer bag, or covered in plastic wrap in the refrigerator for up to 7 days.
Freeze: These rolls will freeze well as long as they are already completely cool before you put them in the freezer. Just use a Ziploc bag or freezer-safe container to protect them.
If you live where it’s very humid, you may need to add a little more flour if your dough is really sticky.
For this recipe we used instant yeast to get the desired, perfectly fluffy Homemade Lion House roll effect in a shorter time frame.
Yes they can! After these Homemade Lion House Rolls have been cooked in the oven, feel free to pop them in a Ziploc freezer bag or an airtight container for later!
While the raw egg yolk in the homemade honey butter is part of what makes it so delicious, you are always welcome to substitute it for 2-3 Tablespoons of powdered sugar to act as the thickener.
Serving Suggestions
- Slow Cooker Maple Glazed Ham
- Easy Slow Cooker Turkey Breast
- Wisconsin Bacon and Potato Cheese Soup
- Instant Pot Chicken Noodle Soup
Lion House Rolls and Honey Butter Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 Tablespoons yeast
- 2 cups water, warm
- ⅓ cup sugar
- ⅓ cup butter, softened
- 2 teaspoon salt
- ⅔ cup nonfat dry milk
- 1 egg
- 5-6 cups flour
Honey Butter
- ½ cup butter, softened
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 cup honey
Equipment
Instructions
- Dissolve yeast in water.
- Add all ingredients except 3-4 cups of flour in a bread mixer.
- Mix until smooth.
- Gradually add the remaining flour.
- Don't knead. (Mix for about 30 seconds after last cup of flour.)
- Place dough in a greased bowl, cover with a towel or plastic wrap and let rise until doubled, about an hour. (My friend lets hers rise in the oven for quicker rising – Preheat oven to 350℉ for 1 minute, then turn off the oven and place dough in the oven. So it never reaches 350℉ – it just starts to heat and then holds in the heat after one minute of heating up. be sure to cancel the oven before sticking the dough in.)
- Punch dough down.
- Flour your surface and place dough onto it. (Some people like to oil their surface)
- Divide dough into 3 equal sections.
- Roll each section into a circle (about 12 inches in diameter) and cut each circle into 12 slices (like a pizza).
- Roll each slice from biggest end to smallest end (like a croissant) and place on a greased cookie sheet (they can all fit on one large cookie sheet).
- Cover and let rise until doubled.
- Bake at 400℉ for 15 minutes. (I've found that in my oven, they need to cook at 375℉ so they don't burn on top. And I always rub them with butter as soon as they're out of the oven.)
Honey Butter
- Whip butter, add vanilla and egg yolk. Gradually whip in honey until light and fluffy. Makes 1 ½ cups.
Notes
Nutrition
Did You Make This Recipe?We’d love to hear your thoughts! Leave a review or a question in the comment section below the post.
I have always wanted to try these and now I am going to do it! Thanks for the tips- I am going to use them!! 🙂 Love you!
This looks awesome! I want to make these for sure! Thanks for the recipe!
These look great! Did you use active yeast or instant yeast? Thanks!
I’m trying these tonight with Mannicotti and putting garlic butter on instead, hopefully they will be good
I second Kristin’s comment above. DId you use Instant or Regular yeast? What is the conversion for Instant if I need it?
Thanks
You said that you froze half. Did you freeze them before cooking them or freeze them after you cooked them?:)
I used active yeast. 🙂 and I don’t know what the conversion would be for regular. Sorry. 🙂
I froze them after I cooked them! 🙂
It’s hard for me to mix things by hand so I bought a KitchenAid stand mixer, do you think it would be ok to use the mixer?
These look delicious! I am in charge of the rolls this year. Last year I posted the Lionhouse Raspberry butter recipe, I’ve provided a link if you don’t have that one yet. http://www.lifeshouldcostless.com/2011/11/raspberry-butter-lionhouse-recipe.html
Made them! Not as fluffy yeasty as I was hoping so the search continues! And I used my stand mixer…
There is no conversion from regular yeast to fast-rise. Use the same amount.
When substituting fast-rise yeast you use the same amount as regular yeast. There is no conversion needed.
Just made these yesterday. They were the most average rolls imaginable. Just takes like white bread in a roll form. The search for a good dinner roll continues…
could we make bread also from this?? thanks
We have only used it for rolls. Let us know if you make bread out of it. The rolls are delicious, so the bread would be heavenly if it works!! 🙂
Thank you so much for posting this recipe… Lion House Rolls are the best! Just a quick question though, when turning the dough out onto a floured surface, you said your friend “always uses oil”. Do you mean to oil the surface instead of flouring the surface?
Thisbis a fsntsstic recipe. I wish tobhave a moment do it. I’ll think about my empty stomach. 🙂 thanks..Hugs..
These came out fabulous! Made the dough in my bread maker which made it super easy! Buttered them when they came out of the oven. Yummy
I own the cookbook they published this in. It has a copyright notice in the front. Did you get permission to publish this recipe?
I made these and they were so easy & delicious. Everyone who tried them, loved them. Thanks god sharing such a great recipe!
Correction on my previous post….meant , thanks “for” sharing such a great recipe.
Hi Giggles, she mentioned where she got the recipe. It isn’t as though she is taking the credit. Be kind to others and kindness will come back to you.
I know this question was asked 3 years ago… but yes. I use my Kitchen-Aid mixer to make these. LOWEST setting, hook only. I mixed for about 5 minutes after adding the last bit of flour. They came out huge and fluffy 2 hours later (1 hour to rise in the bowl, 45min-1 hour to rise in the cookie sheet).
I made these tonight for Thanksgiving tomorrow. Sadly, I find them heavy and lacking flavor (I followed the posted recipe). So I’m hunting around the inet looking for a SOFT role recipe! I wanted to like these, but no. 🙁
I made a triple batch for Thanksgiving and am doing the same for a neighborhood party this week. Rave reviews. This is now my new favorite bread recipe, sorry grandma, but you would have loved these too!