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These Salted Honey Butter Parker House Rolls are light, airy, buttery, perfectly salted, and SO delicious. Serve them warm right out of the oven with homemade honey butter for a dinner roll that’s melt in your mouth good. Incredibly quick and easy to make and uses just six everyday staple ingredients. It doesn’t get easier or tastier than that! These are the perfect rolls for all of your upcoming holiday dinners…Thanksgiving included!
This post is sponsored by Fleischmann’s®.
If there’s one thing that my mom really passed on to me it’s a love of soft, buttery dinner rolls. She’d make a point most Sunday nights to bake fresh bread for the family dinner. Just like dessert, mom would often have the bread ready to go before dinner was even a thought. That’s just how she does it, carbs and chocolate. Everything else was secondary. And for that, I love her even more.
Seeing as we both share a love for good bread, you can imagine that it’s a very important item on our Thanksgiving table. And that’s where these Parker House Rolls come into play. These rolls are on my 2019 menu. They are some of the BEST rolls to come out of my kitchen. They’re simple, but yet have “special touches” that make them worthy of any holiday table.
My two secrets? Salted butter and sweet honey butter.
The background…
The story is that Parker House Rolls were created by the Parker House in Boston. It was one of the great nineteenth-century hostelries. As you can imagine, the rolls have been copied by just about every cookbook author and baker that’s out there…myself now included. There are a lot of variations, but classic Parker House Rolls should be light, soft, and a touch sweet.
The dough is traditionally shaped into a folded over roll, but these days there are many ways in which to do it! I ended up rolling mine into coils for a fun, pretty touch.
To make the dough.
As you can tell, my recipe is a little different than the classic. I’m using honey in place of sugar and salted butter. Two simple ingredients that make ALL the difference.
For the dough, simply mix flour with Fleischmann’s® Rapid Rise Yeast, and a pinch of salt. Add warm milk, a touch of honey, and salted butter. Mix until smooth, let the dough rest for ten to fifteen minutes, and then it’s time to shape the rolls. And that’s the beauty of Fleischmann’s® RapidRise® yeast! We get to skip an entire hour-long rise. Yes, please!
To shape the rolls.
Shaping the rolls is easy. If you’ve made a cinnamon roll, you can make these Parker House Rolls.
To keep it simple, just take strips of dough and roll them up into a tight coil. I have a bunch of photos to help you guys visually with what your rolls should look like. Once you complete one roll, you will quickly get the hang of the process.
When all the rolls have been shaped and arranged in a baking dish, cover the dish and let the rolls rise until puffy, about twenty to thirty minutes. Then bake! Minutes later your kitchen will be smelling like glorious home-baked bread.
Let’s talk about that honey butter…
Of course, me being me, I had to include a little honey butter. You all know it’s my favorite and I cannot think of a better butter to pair with these soft rolls. The sweetness from the honey is mouth-watering on a warm, fresh out of the oven roll.
Especially when topped with a sprinkle of flaky sea salt as well.
What I love most about these rolls is that you really can’t mess them up. The dough and process are so easy and very forgiving. Trust me, if you’re fearful of making bread, start with this recipe. It’s SO GOOD every time.
And yes, you should make these for Thanksgiving. They’re perfect for soaking up all that gravy and then eating for breakfast the next morning. There’s nothing not to love.
Again, soft, buttery, perfectly sweet, and just a touch salty. What every dinner roll should aspire to be!
If you make these salted honey butter parker house rolls, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Watch the how-to video:
Salted Honey Butter Parker House Rolls
Servings: 12 rolls
Calories Per Serving: 290 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Watch the How-To Reel
Ingredients
- 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour plus more if needed
- 1 packet Fleischmann’s® Rapid Rise Yeast
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup warm whole milk
- 3 tablespoons honey
- 4 tablespoons salted butter at room temperature
- 1 large egg at room temperature
- flaky sea salt for topping
Honey Butter
- 6 tablespoons salted butter melted
- 3 tablespoons honey
Instructions
- 1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the flour, yeast, and salt. Add the warm milk, honey, the egg, and butter. Using the dough hook, mix until the flour is completely incorporated, about 4-5 minutes. If the dough seems sticky, add the remaining 1/4 cup of flour. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let sit at room temperature for 15 minutes or up to a few hours at room temperature. 2. To make the honey butter. Combine the butter and honey together in a small bowl. 3. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9×13 inch baking dish.4. Lightly dust your work surface with flour. Turn out the dough, punch it down, and divide the dough in half. Roll each half to a 12-inch square, about 1/4-inch thick. Brush each square with honey butter, saving any leftover butter for serving. Cut each square of dough into 6 strips. Roll each strip into a coil (see above photo) and arrange seam side down in the prepared baking dish. 5. Cover the dish and let the rolls rise for about 30 minutes, until they're puffy. Alternately, you can let the rolls sit in the fridge overnight.6. Bake the rolls for 18-25 minutes, until they're golden brown. Remove them from the oven and brush with the remaining honey butter. Pull them apart to serve warm with flaky sea salt.
Notes
To Make Ahead: prepare the rolls through step 4. Do not let the rolls rise at room temp. Cover the rolls and place in the fridge (up to overnight). When ready to bake, remove the rolls from the fridge 30 minutes prior to baking, then bake as directed.
To Prepare and Freeze: assemble the rolls through step 5, then cover the pan and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw the rolls overnight in the fridge or on the counter for a few hours. Once thawed, bake as directed.
To Bake and Freeze: bake the rolls as directed and let cool completely. Cover well and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw and warm before serving.
To Use Active Dry Yeast: Mix 1 packet (2 1/4 teaspoons) active dry yeast with the warm milk and honey. Let sit 5-10 minutes, until bubbly and foamy on top. Add the flour and follow the directions as listed for the remainder of the recipe.
{This post is sponsored by Fleischmann’s®. Thank you for supporting the brands that keep Half Baked Harvest cooking!}
Hey! What would you use as an egg substitute? My son has an allergy :/
Hi Judith,
So sorry, I’ve not tested this recipe without the egg, you could try using a chia or flax egg to see if that will work! Please let me know if you give the recipe a try! xT
How much should these rise ?? After half hour of rolling them they haven’t done much
Hi Jessica,
They should double in size. What kind of yeast did you use? Are you allowing the dough to rise in a warm spot in your kitchen? Please let me know how I can help! xx
So delicious! And SO easy! Had them for thanksgiving and everyone raved about them
Hey Emily,
Happy Sunday!!☃️ Thanks a lot for making this recipe, I love to hear that it turned out well for you! xT
My mom made these for Thanksgiving and they were delicious! I would love to make them for Christmas but have an eater that is gluten free. I was wondering if you would have suggestions to make them gluten free? I know sometimes just switching the gluten free flour can change the consistency so didn’t know if you had any other advice!
Hey Audrey,
Wonderful!!❄️ Thanks a bunch for giving this recipe a try and sharing your feedback, I am so glad it was a winner:) You can use an equal amount of gluten free flour here! xx
These were amazing at Thanksgiving! We had leftovers and made them into a french toast casserole afterwards! Actually making another batch now that I am planning to freeze for later. On your note about freezing, do you let it rise a 2nd time before freezing or do you freeze immediately following shaping?
Hey Maddie,
Happy Monday!! Thanks a bunch for trying this recipe out, I love to hear that it was enjoyed! Do not allow for the second rise:) xT
We loved these rolls! Made them for Thanksgiving, much easier than we expected. And a perfect addition to all of Tieghans side dishes that we made, too!
Hey Marilyn,
Happy Sunday!!⛄️ I truly appreciate you making this recipe and sharing your feedback, so glad to hear it was enjoyed! xxT
Had to throw first batch of dough away. Metric converter called for over double amount of flour. Going in for a do over.
Hi Amanda,
So sorry to hear this! I always recommend to use your own personal calculator. Ours is automatic and controlled by google. It’s not something we’d prefer to be using. We are required to. I’m sorry for the trouble, we do our best! Hope you enjoy the recipe! xT
These rolls were delicious and so light and fluffy! My family loved them. I loved that they didn’t require so much time to rise. I will definitely make them again. Thank you for posting this recipe!
Hey Kathy,
Wonderful!! I love to hear that this recipe was a hit, thanks for giving it a try! Have a great weekend:)
Third year of these being the staple holiday rolls in our house! Have made them in so many variations (with stand mixer, kneading by hand, with rapid rise yeast, or with active dry yeast) and they are very forgiving (and delicious!). One tip if making without a stand mixer: warm the milk and put all the other liquids in (egg, honey, butter), mix slightly, then combine slowly with the dry ingredients (flour, yeast, salt). Perfect every time. Thanks for this new staple recipe!
Hey Jess,
Wonderful!! I love to hear that this recipe was a hit, thanks for giving it a try! Have a great weekend:)
I made this recipe for Thanksgiving and it’s safe to say these will be the staple rolls in our house from now on! They were SO good! This was the first time I made homemade rolls and this recipe was easy to follow. Thank you Tieghan for sharing!
Hey Nicole,
Wonderful!! I love to hear that this recipe was a hit, thanks for giving it a try! Have a great weekend:)
These rolls we so easy and so delicious! Made them for Thanksgiving and they will be a staple from now on. So yummy!
Hey Alison,
Amazing!! I love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks so much for making it! Happy Holidays!❄️
Oh my, Tieghan
We made these for Thanksgiving and they were DELICIOUS! You were right about it being easier than you think and so forgiving, too. Def will be making again as it is now a new favorite!!!
Hey Andrea,
Amazing!! I love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks so much for making it! Happy Holidays!❄️
I made this with active dry yeast and followed the tip to mix it with milk and honey first. It came out amazing! My family loved it. Next time, I want to try adding more honey butter and maybe some cinnamon. Thanks!
Hi Leslie,
Thank you so much for making this recipe, I love to hear that it was a winner! I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving! xx
Great recipe, but I missed your last comment under the “Notes” section to mix the yeast with the warm milk and honey BEFORE adding to the flour. I really wish that this was included in the main body of the recipe because it impacted the rising of my dough 🙁 Otherwise, love your recipes! I just think this seems like an important step to de-prioritize to the very end.
Hi Arielle,
Thanks so much for making the recipe!! The notes portion is only there if you are using active dry yeast, but if you are following the recipe as is using the instant yeast you don’t have to let it proof:) xx
Hey Tieghan!
If I’m making these ahead of time and putting them in the fridge overnight can I leave them in the fridge for a good portion of the next day? I’d like to make them ahead for a Friendsgiving but it doesn’t start till 5pm.
Thanks!
Hey Leah,
Yes, that’s just fine! I would pull them at 12 to allow them to come to room temp before baking. I hope you love this recipe! xx
TIEGHAN! These are out of this world! I made them for the first time today for Thanksgiving and they’re amazing. Perfect texture and great flavor. This is the new roll of choice for our family! Thank you!!!
Hi Wendy,
Thank you so much for making this recipe, I love to hear that it was a winner! I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving! xx