The Cooper Family's Crispy, Soft, Buttery Curls
Recipes have always been a defining trait of the Cooper family. Since 1945, the Cooper family has been baking delicious baked goods from the comfort of our own kitchens to share with the rest of the family. There's always something warm and inviting about Cooper recipes- the feeling of home, comfort and family. My mother always joked that the Coopers were particularly talented at creating baked goods and desserts for any occasion, and since I was young, she began teaching me the recipe that she had learned from her father that had satisfied Cooper breakfasts since the 1940s: golden butter curls. These were created as a Sunday breakfast treat by my great grandfather, Godfrey Henry Cooper, who taught his sons how to make them in the hopes of spreading their delicious taste to their future children and grandchildren.
When she would make these butter curls for me, my mother would always joke that they were called curls because of my petite little nine year old curls. I would look forward to every other Sunday morning when a fresh pile would be waiting by the side of the oven. They were by far my favorite dish as a child, and they were a family recipe passed down from my great grandfather to myself. Our family has always had a tradition of making these curls on Sundays, or whenever we would visit my grandparents house for brunch. My grandfather was notorious for baking some of the best curls in circulation- and he had taught my mother how to make them at ten, by family tradition. And my mother had promised as we both poured over the recipe together, that I would certainly teach my future children how to make them one day. Everyone who had dined with out family adored the curls- they were a staple in Cooper family recipes. Any time a guest from my father's side of the family or simply a family friend has tasted Cooper Curls for the first time, they have always had nothing but raving things to say about them.
I remember clearly one of my finest memories of this delicious treat- my family had gathered together for Christmas morning, when I was a fresh faced nine year old who had just unwrapped her gifts and hurried over to the table where a fresh plate of my mother's famous curls lay steaming in the center of the table. For the first time in my life, as the youngest, I was served first and was allowed to eat my fill, as Christmas morning was a special occasion for all. The warm taste of the melting, buttery brown sugar, the laughter of my family and close cousins as we ate and the Christmas cheer in the air permanently cemented my love of these buttery, delicious treats, and began to look forward to the tradition of curls every other Sunday.
Now, dear reader, I leave the sacred family recipe for curls in your capable and hungry hands. With the perfect combination of chewy caramel, brown sugar and chewy dough, these curls are always a crowd pleaser and an absolute must-have for any kind of family breakfast or brunch gathering. I should know- my family never goes without them!
Recipe:
2 1/4 flour
4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 cup milk
1/4 cup oil
1/4 cup butter
1/3 cup brown sugar
1. Mix all ingredients above together, no need to separate wet from dry ingredients. They should all go in together. Mix until it becomes a thicker dough.
2. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead 8-10 times.
3. Roll the dough out in a flat, rectangle shape and spread with butter.
4. Sprinkle brown sugar across the surface, coating evenly (a little extra brown sugar never hurt anyone ;)
5. Roll the dough into a jelly roll-like shape and slice into reasonable sized rolls.
6. Place on baking sheet and then bake in the oven at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes, depending on how soft or dense you want them.
7. Serve hot and fresh on a plate to eager guests and watch the magic unfold.
