Pineapple Hawaiian Dinner Rolls

These dinner rolls have just the right amount of sweetness, making them perfect for sliders, an accompaniment for any meal, or as a wonderful snack. They bake up fluffy and light, with a sweetness and unique flavor provided by the crushed pineapple.

Ingredients

1 Tbs. dry yeast
1/4 c. warm water
1 Tbs. granulated sugar
1/3 c. milk powder
1 egg
1/4 c. brown sugar
1 (8 oz.) can crushed pineapple, undrained
3 Tbs. butter, softened or oil
1 tsp. salt
3 1/4 c. flour

Directions

In a large bowl, mix yeast, warm water, and granulated sugar together.  Set in a warm location, so the yeast can bloom and grow for 8 to 10 minutes. 

Add milk powder, egg, brown sugar, crushed pineapple, butter, salt and 1 cup of flour.  Beat with a wooden spoon, or you can use a mixer with a dough hook attached, for about 2 minutes. This helps with the kneading process.

Continue to add and stir in as much of the flour as you can using a wooden spoon.  When it gets too hard to stir, place the dough onto a lightly floured surface.  Knead in the remaining flour, adding more if necessary, until you have a dough ball that is smooth and elastic. The dough should be slightly sticky, but no longer sticking to your fingers. This process usually takes about 10 minutes.

In the bowl you made the dough in, lightly grease the inside. Place dough in the bowl, turning once to grease all the dough's surface. Cover with a towel or plastic wrap and place in a warm location until doubled in size.  This take about an hour, depending on how warm your kitchen is. 

Punch the dough down and allow it to rest for 10 minutes on a lightly floured surface.  As the dough rests, grease a 9 x 13-inch baking pan.

Form the dough into 12 portions.  Roll each portion into a ball under the palm of your hand on a smooth surface. Place in the prepared baking pan. 

Lightly brush the tops with oil to keep them from drying out. Cover and place in a warm location until doubled in size.  This takes about an hour. 

Preheat oven to 375°. I often have my rolls rising in the oven with the pilot light. Then, when it comes time to bake, I turn the oven on. Bake for 15 minutes, or until the tops are done and are lightly golden brown.

Brush the tops of the hot rolls with butter.  For this step, I will take a stick of butter, open one end and then run the stick of butter over the top. 

Serve with butter. Or combine 2 tablespoons honey with 2 tablespoons melted butter for extra sweetness and flavor.