Everyday Dutch Oven: Cottage Cheese Sweet Rolls

     Some days I check to see what I have in my refrigerator then search for a recipe that will use up the leftovers and save me a trip to the grocery store.  Bouyed by a new found confidence in baking and having all the ingredients on hand, I decided to give these Cottage Cheese Sweet Rolls from Red Star a try. What makes these rolls so great is that you can mix them, roll them out, then place them in your oven and wait for them to double in bulk with a single rise. I have posted the link to the original recipe but ended up making a few changes to hopefully enhance the recipe and adapt it more to dutch oven cooking.
     First of all, I made these on an unbelievably humid day and ended up adding almost a third of a cup more flour to the dough. It is a wet batter to begin with but you might need to add more flour, a little at a time, to help the dough form a ball and pull away from the sides of the bowl.
     Secondly, I formed the dough into one 20 by 10 inch rectangle, it is almost easier to pat it out with a little flour on your hands than have it stick to a rolling pin. I added cinnamon to the filling mixture in place of the nuts and cut the rolls into two inch sections, ten fit perfectly in my 12 inch oven.
     I baked them with 12 coals in a ring around the bottom and covered the lid with 20-22 coals, removing some from the center during the last five minutes of baking time. They were ready in 20 minutes, let them sit for a few minutes in your oven while you whisk up the glaze. The original recipe calls for sprinkling the hot rolls with confectioner's sugar, which would be an easier thing to do if you were camping, but I opted for a thicker, more spreadable version. These are moist and flaky, it must be the cottage cheese that helps make the dough so tender. I'll say it again, if I can make these, so can you. With only one rise, in the time it would take you to drive to the local bakery you could be enjoying these warm, sugary rolls at your breakfast table.

Cottage Cheese Sweet Rolls
3 cups flour plus more if needed
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp salt
1 cup small curd creamed Cottage Cheese, drained
1/4 cup soft shortening
1/4 cup softened butter
2 packages Active Dry Yeast
1/2 cup warm water
1 egg
Filling:
3/4 cup chopped nuts (optional)
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
3 Tblsp butter, softened
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 Tblsp cinnamon (optional)
Glaze:
2 cups confectioner's sugar
1/4 cup buttermilk or milk

     Lightly oil or spray a 12 inch dutch oven.
     Have water at 110°-115°F and all other ingredients at room temperature.
     Dissolve yeast in water. Let stand 5 minutes; stir.
     Measure the first 6 ingredients into a bowl; mix with pastry blender or fork.
     Add egg and yeast-mixture to flour-mixture; blend. The dough will be a little sticky with cheese bits throughout. Add extra flour one tablespoon at a time if needed until dough forms a ball and pulls away from the side of the bowl.
     Turn onto lightly floured board. Pat or roll dough into 10 by 18 inch rectangle. Dough will be soft and sticky so flour rolling pin well. Spread filling evenly over dough leaving 1/2 inch border around edges. Roll dough up from the long side ending up with seam on bottom of roll. Cut 10 rolls with dental floss or serrated knife. Place about an inch apart in bottom of dutch oven.
     Cover with a sheet of plastic wrap, cover with lid and let sit for an hour or until rolls have doubled in size.
     Remove plastic wrap and bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes or until rolls are golden brown and cooked through.
     Let sit for 10 minutes while you make the glaze.
     For glaze, whisk two cups of confectioner's sugar with 1/4 cup buttermilk. Mix vigorously until all lumps have disappeared and glaze is smooth.
     Remove rolls from oven with spatula and spoon over glaze. Serve warm.
     Makes 10 rolls.