I have a lot of guilty pleasures. So many, in fact… I think I’ve stopped feeling guilty about them. What’s the use in that anyway?
One of the many, not Real Housewives of New York City related (guilty) pleasure is, sweet rolls. Store bought, smashed package, ultra soft, pillows of sweet dough. Really the best!
This stuffed sweet dough recipe is inspired by a recipe in Martha Stewart’s Appetizers a new (of course LOVELY) book by the queen. Turns out she and I have the same sweet dough pleasures. She prefers to stuff hers with lobster roll filling (because she classy as ever), and I went with a spicy buffalo chicken inspired filling. I’m classy, too… mostly.
Essentially we’re making conjoined mini sandwiches. And we’re feeling like genius winners of success and fortune. That’s not an overstatement. We’re talking about sweet roll sandwiches!
Let me help you down the road that leads to stuffed sweet buns.
Here’s what you’ll need.
- Hawaiian Sweet Rolls. Get two packages because you’ll probably eat a third of one package in your car in the parking lot of the grocery store. You think you won’t but you totally will.
- Poached Chicken Breast. It’s boiled chicken folks. Boiled and shredded chicken. Here’s how to poach chicken breast.
- Celery because we sometimes like vegetables, and this particular vegetable is crunchy and benign and really refreshing with spicy chicken-stuffs.
- Mayonnaise and Spicy Wing Sauce. Both are store-bought because they come from the store delicious. Wing sauce is essentially hot sauce (the very hot kind) and melted butter. The store-bough version is much more balanced in seasoning that I can do on my own. Mayonnaise adds a creamy and cooling element. If you don’t like mayonnaise… I tell you my thoughts about that here.
- Blue cheese for strength and tang and an element of DANG GOOD refinement. Chives because we’re classy dammit.
Cooled and shredded poached chicken is mixed with mayonnaise, wing sauce, and sliced fresh celery. Easy. This is all just too easy. (And it supposed to be.)
Use a small serrated knife to slice into the tops of the Hawaiian Sweet Rolls.
No need to separate the rolls, keep them as they come, bundled together like sweet little pillows of happiness and dough.
Use your most delicate shove technique to coerce the chicken mixture into the buns. About 2 heaping tablespoons into each roll.
A delicate, no-nonsense touch.
Once all the rolls are stuffed, we sprinkle on the blue cheese and chives, pull apart and devour.
The chicken mixture (depending on the hot sauce you choose) will be spicy! Just spicy enough to be like.. I dunno, this might have been a mistake! The sweet doughy rolls are no accident. Perfect compliment to the spice.
Pack these up! This is a perfect friend-share situation.
- 1 - 12 pack Hawaiian Sweet Rolls
- 2 small chicken breasts
- bay leaf, black peppercorns, salt,
- 2 stalks celery, sliced
- 1/2 cup bottled hot wing sauce (however hot you'd like)
- 3 tablespoons mayonnaise
- salt and pepper if you'd like
- 1/3 cup crumbled blue cheese
- 3 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
- Place chicken breast in a medium saucepan. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Add cool water to cover the chicken by 1-inch and and a few peppercorns and bay leaf if you'd like. Place over medium heat. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and test the chicken for doneness.
- Remove the cooked chicken from the poaching liquid, place on a clean cutting board and use two forks to shread the chicken. Allow to cool to mostly room temperature.
- Stir in hot sauce, and mayonnaise. Add more of each or both according to your desired wetness and taste. Toss in celery, and salt and pepper if needed.
- Slice 2-inch slices into each sweet bun. Don't separate the rolls and don't slice through to the bottom of the rolls. Gently use your fingers to create a space for the chicken within the roll. Spoon chicken mixture into the rolls. Top with crumbled blue cheese and chopped chives.
- Cover and store in the refrigerator for up to 6 hours (they can start to get soggy) or serve immediately. They're delicious!
