Cinnamony goodness

The only grandmother I knew was pretty special. Loved her dearly. We spent a lot of time together and one of my fave memories of her was making cinnamon rolls; I was always excited to help. Though, the best part about it was around the holidays. All of my cousins would end up at her house at some point devouring her rolls and of course the cookies, fudge and candies she had spread throughout the house spoiling us. She made enough food and baked goods for an army! Yummy smells in the air with holiday music lingering in the background. Miss all of that. I think I'm slowly morphing into Grandma ... developing those anal tendencies she had, her soft voice, her control issues in the kitchen...and of course all of her loveliness. ;)

Grandma would have adored Rory. My girl is a big help. She LOVES baking and taste testing too. We made the infamous cinnamon rolls last night. YUM, cannot wait to eat them. :) They are simple and bready, not too sweet. I never put icing on them. Perfect warmed, knife a bit of butter and pair with coffee or juice!

mommy's little helper

I sort of throw them together, but here is a rough recipe:

7 c flour (I combine white and wheat flour)
2 pkgs active dry yeast
2 c milk (I use organic whole milk)
1/2 c sugar (I use organic sugar cane)
1/2 c margarine
2 tsp salt
2 eggs
cinnamon and sugar for sprinkling, extra butter/margarine for spreading (I use spreadable butter or Earth Balance natural butter spread or combo of both)

4 cups flour into mixing bowl. Add eggs, mix a bit with wooden spoon. Add yeast to a mug with about 2 inches of warm water and a tbsp of sugar. Let rise. Put 1 stick of margarine in saucepan to melt. Then add sugar, salt and milk. Heat until warm. Add to flour, stir and then add yeast to mixture. Stir, add remaining flour, stir, your arm will get tired, (wishing I had a KitchenAid) stir some more. Cover and let rise in a warm place. I usually have my oven warmed, turn it off and let it sit in there for awhile. Over an hour for it to double in size.

Cut dough in half. Roll out onto counter not too thick, not too thin (I use some flour if it is a bit sticky). Spread butter onto entire surface of dough. Sprinkle sugar heavily, then sprinkle with cinnamon heavily. Roll tightly. Gently put onto a cutting board and cut rolls about 2 inches thick and place into a buttered round dish or pie pan, either work. Then onto the second half of dough. It makes about four pans.

After they are all placed in their dish, cover again and let rise. (I allowed them to double in size over night and baked this morning. Worked out perfectly). Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes.

I'm sure if you add some icing or nuts they would be heaven, but this is the way I like them. Grandma's style. Reminds me of her.



ready to eat

    cheers