Pecan Snails Shopping List:
2 cups (about 7½ ounces) small pecan halves
1 cup milk or cream
1 package active dry yeast
¼ cup warm water, 105 ° F to 115 ° F
(Or if using compressed yeast, soften 1 cake in ¼ cup lukewarm water, 80° F to 85° .)
½ cup sugar 1 teaspoon salt
5 cups sifted all-purpose flour
2 eggs, well beaten
½ cup butter, softened
⅔ cup butter
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
¼ cup currants (omit, if desired)
1 tablespoon cinnamon
Pecan Snails Preparation Instructions:
1. Twenty-four 2½-inch muffin-pan wells will be needed.
2. Coarsely chop 1 cup of the pecans, and set them all aside.
3. Scald milk or cream.
4. Meanwhile, soften the dry yeast in warm water. Set aside.
5. Put sugar and salt into a large bowl. Pour scalded milk over ingredients in bowl. Stir until sugar is dissolved. When mixture is lukewarm, blend in 1 cup sifted all-purpose flour, beating until smooth. Stir softened yeast and add, mixing well.
6. Measure 4 cups sifted all-purpose flour. Add about one half of the flour to yeast mixture and beat until very smooth.
7. Beat in eggs. Vigorously beat in the½ cup softened butter, 2 to 3 tablespoons at a time. Beat in enough remaining flour to make a soft dough. Turn dough onto lightly floured surface. Let stand 5 to 10 minutes.
8. Knead dough and form into a large ball; place it in a greased deep bowl. Turn dough to bring greased surface to top. Cover with waxed paper and towel and let stand in warm place (about 80°F) until doubled.
9. Punch down with fist; pull edges of dough in to center and turn completely over in bowl. Cover with waxed paper and towel and let rise again until nearly doubled.
10. Lightly grease muffin-pan wells.
11. Meanwhile melt ⅔ cup butter. Put about 1 teaspoon of melted butter in bottom of each muffin-pan well. Reserve remaining butter for Pecan Snails.
12. Mix together brown sugar, currants, and cinnamon with the chopped nuts. Sprinkle 2 teaspoons of this mixture over butter in each muffin-pan well. Gently press 3 or 4 pecan halves onto mixture in each well.
13. Again punch down dough and form it into two balls. Roll each ball on lightly floured surface into a rectangle ¼ to ⅓ inch thick 6 to 8 inches wide and 12 inches long. Brush top surface of dough with remaining melted butter and sprinkle evenly with remainder of brown-sugar mixture. Beginning with longer side of rectangle, roll dough tightly into a long roll. Press edges together to seal. Cut each roll into 12 slices. Place one slice in each muffin pan well, cut side down. Cover muffin pans with waxed paper and towel and let dough rise until doubled.
14. Bake at 375° F 15 to 20 minutes. Invert muffin pans on cooling racks, leaving rolls in pan 1 minute. Remove rolls from pans and cool on cooling racks, glazed side up.
Pecan Snails Recipe: 2 DOZEN PECAN SNAILS
Pecan Snails