Tuesday, April 01, 2008

Cinnamon Rolls

Melissa commented last week asking if I had a good recipe for cinnamon rolls. This one is near and dear to my heart - and I'm thrilled to share it. (Note: this was originally posted February 4, 2006.)

A family tradition is a gift from generation to generation. It is a way to preserve the past for the future. It requires someone being intentional about keeping the tradition alive. I would like to honor the generations before me who have kept this family tradition alive in our family by sharing a special family recipe!

This recipe is wonderfully versatile because with one dough you can make bread, rolls, and cinnamon rolls. The rolls are traditional at Christmas, Thanksgiving, and Easter. The cinnamon rolls are always served on Christmas morning.

My mom remembers her mom making these rolls in a yellow Pyrex mixing bowl. I remember her telling me how she and her sisters would “fight” over who got the middle cinnamon roll because it had the most goodies!

I remember my mom making this recipe in a yellow bowl as well and seeing the dough rise over the top in the refrigerator. Now the tradition includes making this recipe in the yellow bowl and we each have one.

We have been able to trace this recipe back for four generations. My Grandma got the recipe from her Aunt Louise who found the recipe in a newspaper. And, I intend to pass it on to my daughters for a fifth generation. I think it is so special to carry on this tradition and I am thankful for those before me who were intentional about keeping it alive.

Homemade Rolls and Cinnamon Rolls Recipe
2 pkgs. Yeast
2 beaten eggs
4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. sugar
2/3 c. melted Crisco (I use oil)
3/4 c. sugar
1 c. lukewarm water
10-11 c. flour
2 c. scalded milk

Soften yeast and dissolve 1 tsp. sugar in water; add milk (cooled to lukewarm), salt, ¾ c. sugar, and shortening. Add eggs and beat well. Add flour to make soft dough; let stand 10 minutes. Knead until smooth and elastic. Place in a greased bowl (yellow one of course!); turn dough once, cover and refrigerate. Shape rolls into cloverleaf shapes and place in greased muffin tins, cover, and let rise until doubled. Bake at 400-425 for 15-20 minutes. Punch down unused dough and refrigerate.

For Cinnamon Rolls:
Make above dough. Then roll out dough to approximately 12”wide by 18-24” long. Spread butter over the dough, leaving a ½-1” edge with no toppings. Layer brown sugar, cinnamon, and nuts generously over dough. Roll dough finishing with the bare edge. Cut slices about ¾-1” in width using dental floss. Place in round greased pan and let rise until doubled. Bake at 400-425 for 15-20 minutes.

Glaze: Mix powdered sugar and milk until of drizzling consistency. Drizzle and serve warm!

Rolls, cinnamon rolls, and bread can be frozen after baking. Reheat and serve. Add glaze to cinnamon rolls after thawing from the freezer and re-heating.

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

Four generations, now five!!!!! That is so very cool. I do not know of any recipes like that in our family. An excellent gift to your children, passing down tradition. Another neat thing is i have good memories of my mom using a yellow pyrex bowl too :)!!! The rolls sound great-thanks for sharin w/us! tammyp

Wendi said...

What a wonderful story!

*carrie* said...

Mmm, my mouth is watering! I like the middle one too!

Anonymous said...

I love this post! :) What fond memories it conjures up ~ I can almost smell those cinnamon rolls! I haven't made them in awhile, but when I do make them, I feel such a connection with my mom because I can remember her doing the same thing! I do use my yellow bowl regularly, so that in itself brings back special memories. Thanks for sharing! Love you, Mom

Mary Ann said...

We always liked the middle ones too-soft and gooey!

Amy said...

I love homemade cinnamon rolls. They just taste so much better than the canned ones and require just a little effort for a nice morning with your family.

Great post!!

Anonymous said...

Dear Monica:
Thanks for sharing these sweet memories for "sweet rolls". I love remembering making them and how my girls not only fought over the middle roll, but also liked to eat the raw dough!! (I didn't think they should, but they would always manage to sneak some and obviously they survived it!)
One thing I wanted to point out, is that you didn't mention that the cinnamon rolls should rise again until "double in bulk" after they are put into the pans, before baking. I'm sure you just inadvertanly omitted that step.
Have a great day, Honey!

Love you, Grandma

Anonymous said...

How much is in 2 pkges of yeast? I only have a larger bottle of yeast.

They look great - can't wait to try them!

Cheers, Wilm

Anonymous said...

Monica, I have been searching for a tried and true cinnamon roll recipe...four generations ought to be just about right. :oD Thanks for sharing.

Dearest Wilm,
Last week while I was in the grocery store, I just happened to read the back of those little packages and it said each package held 2 1/4 teaspoons. Hope that helps.

Shalom, Paula

melissa said...

Dear Monica - thanks so much for posting your recipe, and the meaning behind it, too! I love that your grandma left a comment on the tradition as well! :)

I look forward to trying these out sometime (hopefully sooner than later, but we'll see...).

Melissa

Purring Piggy said...

I just read this post because of a link via the Common Room for your grilled cheese sandwiches.

My mom had a yellow bowl just like that one and she gave it to me when I moved out of the house some 25 years ago. I had it for about 20 years before it broke. The picture of yours brought back SO many warm, wonderful memories!

Thank you for sharing!