“Do you have a friend expecting a new baby soon? Any of my healthy freezer meal recipes that I have on my website (click here to see the list) would be a great thing to bring over for dinner for a new mama. They are all fairly easy to make and freeze well if there are extras. I also always like to bring something for them to eat for breakfast the next morning. I made this for a friend today:
✔Clean Eating Beef and Barley Soup = very healthy & delicious
✔Homemade Cinnamon Rolls = not at all healthy (but delicious)
Tip: putting everything in disposable containers makes it a lot easier for new mamas so they don’t have to worry about getting your dishes back to you.”
The response to the post was great, but I had so many of you ask if I could share the cinnamon roll recipe! This recipe is actually my grandma’s grandmother’s recipe. I gave my grandma a call and told her that I made these for a new mom (which made her very happy), and asked if I could share her recipe with you guys. I told her I get a quarter of a million views on my website each month and that it would make a lot of people happy to have this recipe, so she agreed! I will warn you, this recipe is not in any way, shape, or form healthy. But, I make it once a year on Christmas Eve (and we eat them Christmas morning), and they are a fun treat and tradition. So, without any further ado, here is our family’s cinnamon roll recipe!
Homemade Cinnamon Rolls
Makes 12 Rolls
Plan for 4-5 hours from start to finish to allow dough to double rise.
Ingredients:
-1 package yeast
-1 tsp sugar
-1/2 cup warm water
-1/2 cup sugar
-1/2 cup Crisco
-1 egg
-1.5 cup warm water
-1 Tablespoon salt
-6 cups flour
-4 Tbsp butter
-1 cup brown sugar
-2.5 tsp cinnamon
-1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (or up to 1 cup if you like extra nuts)
-3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
Icing:
-2 cups powdered sugar
-5 Tablespoons heavy whipping cream, cold
-1 tsp vanilla extract
Directions:
-In a small bowl, dissolve 1 package yeast and 1 tsp sugar in 1/2 cup warm water (appx 110-115 degree water). Set aside and allow yeast mixture to get a little bubbly (should take 3-4 minutes for it to get foamy).
-Using an electric mixer, cream well 1/2 cup sugar and 1/2 cup Crisco in a large bowl. Add yeast mixture, 1 beaten egg, 1.5 cups warm water, 1 Tbsp salt, 6 cups flour. It is easier to mix with a wooden spoon as the sticky dough can get caught in the electric mixer. I suggest adding 3 cups of flour, mixing, then adding the remaining three cups.
-Place on lightly floured surface and knead dough until it isn’t sticky (about 5 minutes). Cover with a towel and let raise in no draft place until double in size.
*TIP* If you want the dough to rise faster, you can place the bowl in your oven at the lowest temperature your oven will get to (usually 170 degrees). If the dough is in a cold room, it most likely won’t rise.
-Grease a pan that has deep sides with 1-2 Tbsp butter. Make sure all sides are completely greased with butter to avoid rolls from sticking. Place the remaining butter in a small dish and melt in microwave.
-Combine brown sugar, cinnamon, and chopped nuts in a medium sized bowl.
-Once dough has doubled in size, divide into two batches. Roll into rectangular shapes. Brush generously with the remaining melted butter. Sprinkle the brown sugar mixture evenly over dough.
-Roll up from long side. Slice into 6 rolls. Repeat with other piece of dough. Place in greased pan that has deep sides. Cover with towel and let rise until double in size.
-Once doubled, drizzle with unwhipped whipping cream. Bake at 350 degrees for 18-20 minutes until edges of rolls start to turn light brown. Frost while warm.
Frosting:
Mix together powdered sugar, unwhipped whipping cream, and vanilla with a spoon. Save any remaining icing in a ziploc bag to use if reheating rolls later.
Nutritional Information:
So, I warned you…..these are definitely not healthy.
Serving Size: 1 cinnamon roll
Servings per Recipe: 12
Calories: 591
Fat: 23g
Carbohydrate: 111g
Protein: 8g
Fiber: 0g
Sugar: 63g
Because these take so long to make, I usually make them on Christmas Eve and cover for the next morning or I make them the week before and freeze them without the frosting. These disposable cake pans that come with a lid are great to make these in because you can bake them in the container, use the lid to store, and then throw it away when you are done.
