Schnecken

My husband has been wanting me to find a schnecken recipe.  I have searched through several of my "German" cookbooks and have had no luck.  So off I went to the Internet and found this recipe.  It was titled "Grandma Douglas' Schnecken."  From what I read, it sounds like the American version of the "sticky bun."

Unfortunately, this not something you can whip up in matter of minutes.  This is a good project to do on a cold, snowy or rainy day (and it makes your house smell WONDERFUL!!)

Grandma Douglas' Schnecken:

Ingredients:

Dough
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter

1 cup milk
5 T granulated sugar
1T active dry yeast

1 large egg plus 1 large egg yolk
3 to 3 1/2 cups all- purpose flour as needed

Pecan Topping
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter
3/4 cup packed brown sugar (I used light brown sugar)
1/4 cup light corn syrup
3/4 cup chopped pecans

Cinnamon Sugar Filling
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
1 cup  granulated sugar
1 T ground cinnamon

Directions:

Dough:

Melt  the 1/2 cup butter in a small saucepan, add the milk and sugar.  Heat just enough, while stirring, to dissolve the sugar. Pour the warm milk mixture into a bowl. Add the yeast. Allow this to sit for 10 minutes.

Beat the whole egg and egg yolk together and add to the yeast mixture. Stir in the flour 1 cup at a time until you have a sticky dough.

Scrape the dough out onto a floured work surface and knead for about 5 minutes, until you have a nice smooth dough.

Oil or butter a large bowl. Place the dough in the prepared bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Put the bowl in a warm place and allow the dough to rise for 2 hours, until tripled in volume. (I use my oven with the oven light on - works great!)

While the dough is rising, brush a 9 × 13-inch baking pan with some melted butter (or spray it with Pam).

Sugar-Pecan Topping:
 
Melt the butter with the brown sugar and corn syrup in a small saucepan, stirring to combine. Remove the pan from the heat, and spread the mixture over the bottom of the pan. Sprinkle with the chopped pecans.

After the dough has risen, punch down the dough and turn the dough onto a lightly floured counter top. Using a lightly floured rolling pin to roll the dough into a rectangle about 15 × 12 inches and roughly 1/8 inch thick.

Cinnamon Sugar Filling:

Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium-low heat and allow it to cool. Brush the butter thoroughly over the surface of the dough.

In a small bowl, mix together the sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar evenly over the melted butter. Roll the rectangle up, like a jelly roll, along one long edge.

Cut the rolled dough into 1-inch-thick slices and arrange the slices, cut sides up, in the prepared pan. Cover the pan with a piece of plastic wrap and allow it to rise in a warm place for about 40 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Bake the schnecken until golden brown, 35 to 40 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through the baking time.

Check them occasionally during the baking time, and if they seem to be browning too quickly, loosely cover them with a sheet of aluminum foil.
 
Remove the pan from the oven and cool on a wire rack for 5 to 10 minutes.

Turn the schnecken out of the pan while still warm by inverting the pan over a large platter or baking sheet. Serve the schnecken warm.

ENTIRE RECIPE

Grandma Douglas' Schnecken:

Ingredients:

Dough
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter

1 cup milk
5 T granulated sugar
1T active dry yeast
1 large egg plus 1 large egg yolk
3 to 3 1/2 cups all- purpose flour as needed

Pecan Topping
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter
3/4 cup packed brown sugar (I used light brown sugar)
1/4 cup light corn syrup
3/4 cup chopped pecans

Cinnamon Sugar Filling
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
1 cup  granulated sugar
1 T ground cinnamon

Directions:

Dough:

Melt  the 1/2 cup butter in a small saucepan, add the milk and sugar.  Heat just enough, while stirring, to dissolve the sugar. Pour the warm milk mixture into a bowl. Add the yeast. Allow this to sit for 10 minutes.

Beat the whole egg and egg yolk together and add to the yeast mixture. Stir in the flour 1 cup at a time until you have a sticky dough. Scrape the dough out onto a floured work surface and knead for about 5 minutes, until you have a nice smooth dough.

Oil or butter a large bowl. Place the dough in the prepared bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Put the bowl in a warm place and allow the dough to rise for 2 hours, until tripled in volume. (I use my oven with the oven light on - works great!)

While the dough is rising, brush a 9 × 13-inch baking pan with some melted butter (or spray it with Pam).

Sugar-Pecan Topping:
 
Melt the butter with the brown sugar and corn syrup in a small saucepan, stirring to combine. Remove the pan from the heat, and spread the mixture over the bottom of the pan. Sprinkle with the chopped pecans.

After the dough has risen, punch down the dough and turn the dough onto a lightly floured counter top. Using a lightly floured rolling pin to roll the dough into a rectangle about 15 × 12 inches and roughly 1/8 inch thick.

Cinnamon Sugar Filling:

Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium-low heat and allow it to cool. Brush the butter thoroughly over the surface of the dough.

In a small bowl, mix together the sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar evenly over the melted butter. Roll the rectangle up, like a jelly roll, along one long edge.

Cut the rolled dough into 1-inch-thick slices and arrange the slices, cut sides up, in the prepared pan. Cover the pan with a piece of plastic wrap and allow it to rise in a warm place for about 40 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Bake the schnecken until golden brown, 35 to 40 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through the baking time.

Check them occasionally during the baking time, and if they seem to be browning too quickly, loosely cover them with a sheet of aluminum foil.

Remove the pan from the oven and cool on a wire rack for 5 to 10 minutes. Turn the schnecken out of the pan while still warm by inverting the pan over a large platter or baking sheet. Serve the schnecken warm.

ENJOY!!

Comments:

First of all, your house will smell WONDERFUL!!!  That is a definitely PLUS!!  This is good!!  Really good - the type of good that you won't want to get on the bathroom scale for a couple of days!!  It was a huge hit with my two resident experts (i.e., husband and son), so this one is a keeper!!