A Vintage Recipe / Kelli Huggins

I wanted to do something special for Mother’s Day this past weekend, so I dipped into the family recipe book. It seemed thematically-appropriate to make something for my mom from the handwritten recipes of her grandmother. Looking for a breakfast option, I landed on cinnamon rolls. 

This calls for simpler ingredients than many modern cinnamon roll recipes. There are no eggs or fancy frostings. I wonder if that has to do with the era in which this recipe was written. My great-grandmother (with help from her mother, too) wrote this recipe book in the early 1930s. The Catskills, like the rest of the country, would have been in the midst of the Great Depression. Some farm families, like my own, would have had better access to dairy products, like the milk and butter in the recipe, but other ingredients would have to be purchased with slim food budgets. Knowing that makes these seem even more like a treat. 

The cinnamon rolls are gooey and soft and melt-in-your-mouth. They were the perfect treat for Mother’s Day, but they would be just as nice for any time you need a little pick-me-up.

Cinnamon Rolls

For the dough:

1 cup milk 
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp sugar
3 tbsp shortening like Crisco (you can use butter, too)
3 tsp yeast (I used rapid-rise)
2 ½- 3 cups flour

For the filling:

¾ cup packed brown sugar
1 tbsp cinnamon (or to taste)
Raisins, if preferred
¼ cup softened butter or margarine 

Scald the milk. To scald, heat just until you see small bubbles forming on the surface. Add the sugar, salt, and shortening and mix well. Let the mixture cool to between 80-90 degrees F. When cooled, add the yeast. Transfer to a mixing bowl and add 1 ½ cups of flour. When well mixed, slowly add enough of the remaining flour to make a soft dough. You might not need the full amount. Knead the dough on a lightly-floured surface for 10 minutes. Put the dough in a greased bowl and cover to rise in a warm location for 2 ½ hours or until it has doubled in size. 

Once risen, roll the dough out in a rectangle about ½ an inch thick. Spread the butter or margarine on top and evenly sprinkle the sugar, cinnamon, and raisins. 

Grease a 9 x 13” pan.

Roll the dough from the long side to make the spiral. Cut the roll into 12 sections. A serrated knife works, but I prefer to use a piece of unflavored dental floss. Put the floss under the roll, crossing the two ends at the top and pull, slicing cleanly through the roll. 

Place the slices in the greased pan with space between them. Let the dough rise for another 30-45 minutes, or until they puff up a little. Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes or until golden brown.

-KH