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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.Â
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.Â
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.Â
To Use Active Dry Yeast:Â 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.Â
{This post is sponsored by Fleischmann’s®. Thank you for supporting the brands that keep Half Baked Harvest cooking!}
made these and they came out excellent. Wonderful flavor not too hard to deal with. My arms got a good workout from rolling out the dough.
Thank you so so much for giving the recipe a try! So glad you enjoyed it! xT
Whoops! I just realize that I added ActiveDry yeast into my flour mixture without letting it sit in warm milk first. How should I proceed? Do I need to toss it and start over?
Rolls are very easy to make and super soft-not a lot of honey flavor. Recipe says 9×13 pan video shows 9×9. 9×9 is the way to go.
Hi Martie,
I appreciate you making this recipe and your feedback! So glad it was enjoyed:) Have a great week! xT
Best rolls ever! Everyone in my family devoured them. Perfectly soft, salty, and sweet. I had to add extra flour to get the right consistency, but other than that I didn’t change a thing.
Hey Maddie,
I love to hear that this recipe turned out well for you, thanks for making it and your review! Happy Sunday! xT
I don’t have that kind of mixer. Just hand held. Recommendations please.
Hey Sheran,
You can mix with a wooden spoon and knead by hand until you have a smooth dough ball. Please let me know if you have any other questions! xx
My brother had 1 job for thanksgiving, which was to pickup the rolls. We get a call at 11 pm the night before and guess who forgot to pickup the rolls! I made these as a last minute addition to the table, and they were everyone’s favorite. I never make homemade rolls because I have always found them to be finicky, but these were so easy and came out perfect. Would totally make them again and will save them to my recipe box!
LOL ooops! Well, so glad to hear that these turned out well for you:) Thanks for making them! xT
Hi Tieghan! These turned out great! Question- how should leftover rolls be stored?
Thank you!
Hi Zoe,
So glad you enjoyed this recipe!! You can keep the leftover in an airtight container on the counter:) xx
Made today for Thanksgiving and everyone loved them. Four stars because I wish they were even more fluffy and I had to add extra flour also because it was sticky. Not sure if maybe the honey I used caused it more to be liquidy. Otherwise the honey butter and salt are a great combo and just had the leftover rolls as a midnight snack with warm milk or even coffee 🙂
Hey Cassie,
I appreciate you trying this recipe and sharing your feedback! Glad to hear they were enjoyed overall:) xx
Followed the recipe exactly, and they are absolutely perfect! I bought Hawaiian rolls just in case they didn’t turn out, but I will never buy them again after trying these. My husband has not stopped talking about them.
Hey Leslie,
Thanks for making this recipe and your comment, so glad it was enjoyed! I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving! xx
Made for thanksgiving today. These turned out great! My first time making homemade rolls and these are definitely perfect for a beginner. I couldn’t believe how everything went just according to plan. The only snafu was that I bought active dry yeast instead of the rapid rise. But I did as instructed and put the yeast in the warm milk and honey to dissolve first. That seemed to work well. I did have to add a little flour to the dough as it was sticky with just the 3 and 1/2 cups. But the rolls came out well and the family raved about them! We’ve definitely found a winner.
Hi there,
Perfect!! So glad to hear that this recipe turned out well for you, thanks so much for making it! xT
My nephews wife made these for our thanksgiving dinner. They were fantastic, the best rolls I ever ate. I always thought I made the best rolls but it looks like Lexi took over the title!
So glad to hear this, Kathleen! Love to hear that this recipe turned out well for you:) xx
Delicious! Because of the honey butter, can you store room temperature once baked if you have leftovers? Or do you have to refrigerate or freeze? Thanks so much!
Hi Liz,
Thanks for making this recipe and your comment, so glad it was enjoyed! You can store these at room temp:) I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving! xx
SO GOOD. I didn’t have a stand mixer and just kneaded by hand and they came out so amazing I’m debating starting a batch 2 just for myself !
Hi Liv,
Thanks for making this recipe and your comment, so glad it was enjoyed! I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving! xx
I love these rolls, but the amount of flour needed is wildly off. I’m guessing it is because you are at altitude and did not adjust the recipe for differences in altitude. I’m an experienced bread baker, so I am comfortable with adjusting the recipe, but novice bakers should be aware they may need to add much more flour if they are closer to sea level. I needed over a cup more of flour than the recipe called for. Probably closer to 1 1/2 cups more.
Glad to know I wasn’t off in adding more flour. I called my wife over after the first mix and asked if the dough looked sticky. She said yes so I added a little more and then a little more until it looked like the video.
I had the same issue. I added the 1/4 she said and then probably another 1/4. I always wondered if maybe I didn’t measure the honey correctly and that caused the dough to be more sticky.
Hi Jennifer,
Thanks for making this recipe and sharing your feedback! Sorry to hear you had to use so much more flour than the recipe called for! I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving! xx
Just a few discrepancies in your video versus written directions…
Video: Honey butter is made using room temperature butter.
Written: You write to melt the butter.
I think the room temperature probably works best!
Video: Rolls are put into a square pan.
Written: You write to use a 9 x 13 pan which is much too big.
Just wanted to clarify! I always follow directions religiously and that was confusing as this was my first time making the rolls 🙂
Good points. I DID melt my butter and didn’t notice the discrepancy in the video until too late. Worked out fine just using a brush to brush on melted butter but probably ideal to spread on the softened butter. I did use a 9x 13 dish which worked fine.
Hi Alyssa,
Thanks for trying these and sharing your feedback! The pan size can be either:) I hope they turned out well for you! xx