Simpler Living Blog

Baking Up Memories: Ice Box Butter Ring Recipe

Lehman's
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I guess you could say that my passion to bring old family recipes to life happened while rescuing old English tea cups from garage sales and flea markets. I have always enjoyed having tea with friends and collecting unique and beautiful tea cups. Over the past few years, I found myself stopping at various markets in search of my favorite tea cup patterns. It was during one of these tea cup hunts that I started noticing old recipe boxes being sold; complete family recipe boxes; old tins and boxes filled with handwritten recipes; recipes clipped from old magazines and even cut from product boxes. I suddenly started to wonder about the person who may have made these recipes. I wondered about the hands that kneaded the dough and the origin of the various recipes in each box. I wondered how far the recipe may had traveled. Some recipes even had stars on the top or a note that said favorite. Then I started wondering why a family would want to get rid of family recipes. When I would ask the sellers, many would reply, “I should have spent more time in the kitchen with my mother” or “I just can’t seem to figure out the recipe(s).”

Baking Up Memories: Ice Box Butter Ring Recipe

Author: Lehman's

Ingredients

4 c. flour
¼ c. sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 c. cold butter (cut into chunks)
2 eggs
1 c. sour cream (do not use light or fat-free)
1 cake loose yeast or 2 ¼ tsp. dry yeast dissolved in ¼ c. milk (110° to 115°) I used the dry yeast. Allow yeast to sit for about 5-10 minutes. The top should be slightly foamy.
½ c. sugar
I T. cinnamon
1 c. walnuts – chopped
4 T. melted butter

Directions

Sift all the dry ingredients into a large mixing bowl.
Cut butter into the dough, the same way you would for pie crust. You will know it is fully cut in when only small pieces of butter remain mixed throughout the dough. These butter pieces create a rich, buttery texture.
Beat the eggs and combine with the sour cream and prepared yeast/milk mixture. Then add to the flour mixture.
Mix all ingredients together. A dough hook attachment works best, but you can also mix by hand with a large wooden spoon. Remove dough from the mixer and place on a floured surface. Shape into a ball. Place dough in a large mixing bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 2 hours or overnight.
Divide dough in half. Roll one half into a rectangle on a floured surface, about 18×12 inches.
Brush the dough with melted butter. Sprinkle with the cinnamon and chopped nut mixture, leaving about ½ inch around the edges. Roll up jelly-roll style. Twist the roll slightly before placing it into the baking pan.
Place each ring seam-side down in a lightly greased deep-dish pie pan or cake pan. Pinch the ends together. Cover and let rise in a warm place for 2 hours.
Preheat oven to 350°F. Bake for 25–35 minutes, or until light brown and a toothpick comes out clean. Remove from pans and cool on a wire rack.
Mix confectioners’ sugar with just enough water or milk to make a drizzle consistency. Drizzle over cooled rings and sprinkle with additional nuts.
Freezes well.