Aunt Joans Cinnamon Rolls Recipes

AUNT JOAN'S CINNAMON ROLLS

Steps:

• Dough: Mix first ingredients (Yeast through Egg) with a spoon. Add in Flour gradually and then mix with your hands until you can knead the dough.
• Warm a bowl with hot water, dry and grease the bowl. Let the dough rise in the warmed, greased and covered bowl at room temperature until doubled.
• Make Topping: Cook sugar and butter until it is combined (in a pan on the stove). Take off the heat, add Caro Syrup and stir. Pour 1/2 syrup mixture into each greased 9X13 Pan. NOTE: don't cook this too long or too hard - you'll get a hard candy topping -- Joan cooked it for just a few minutes -- You can optionally add nuts to the topping. You can make the topping ahead of time and pour into the prepared pans while the dough is rising.
• Divide dough in half once doubled. Perform the following on each dough: Roll dough out oblong to about 12 X 18 inches. Spread milk over the dough with your fingers (1/8 C or so?) (note - some recipes call for using butter instead of milk - the milk does work fine though -- ) Sprinkle sugar and cinnamon over the dough. Can optionally add raisins. Roll up dough lengthwise. NOTE: First time I made these I used an unmeasured amount of cinnamon and sugar - sprinkled it on what I thought was liberally and it wasn't nearly enough. Researched cinnamon rolls on the internet and found 1C Sugar + 1 TBL cinnamon was a pretty common ingredient set in cinnamon rolls. I tried these amounts and the sugar melted out of the rolls when they cooked and left gaps in the rolls that I wasn't happy with. Next time will use between 1/2 - 3/4 C sugar and a slightly reduced amount of Cinnamon.
• Cut rolls about every 1 1/2 inches and place on top of syrup in pan. When you place the rolls, there will be big gaps between them - rolls will be 3 X 4 in the 9 X 12 pan. As they rolls rise the second time, these gaps will be filled in nicely. Let rise until "ready" (Second raise - maybe another 1/2 - 1 hour to hour depending on humidity levels?).
• Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Important - Check the rolls about 20 minutes inches If the rolls on the edges start to brown and the middle looks not done - put tin foil over the rolls and cook a bit longer. Once all are done, run a spatula along the edge of the pan and then immediately turn out (with topping on top) onto a bread board, cookie sheet, foil or wax paper to cool completely (But not a cooling rack - you want to capture all of the topping!).
• Aunt Joan lets them cool completely and then wraps tightly in wrap (freezer paper / plastic combo) and puts most into the freezer now days as her kids are long ago grown and moved away. Believe me - even frozen and thawed these things ROCK. (of course, you could eat them right away ;).

GRANDMA BONNIE'S CINNAMON ROLLS

Steps:

• Combine water, yeast, and 1 tablespoon sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Let sit until foamy, about 5 minutes.
• Add remaining sugar, 1/4 cup oil, egg, and salt; mix until combined. Scrape paddle attachment and switch to the dough hook. Mix in flour, 1 cup at a time, until dough comes away from the sides of the bowl. Continue kneading for about 3 more minutes.
• Add a bit of oil on the dough and roll the dough in the bowl until all sides are coated. Cover with a towel and let rise until at least doubled in size, about 45 minutes.
• Punch down the dough and transfer to a floured surface. Roll out into a rectangle. Pour melted butter onto the dough and sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon to taste. Add pecans. Roll up lengthwise and cut into 12 rolls. Transfer to a greased 9x13-inch baking dish and let rise for 15 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Bake rolls in the preheated oven until golden brown in color, about 15 minutes.
• While the rolls are baking, combine powdered sugar, melted butter, and vanilla for topping. Add 1 tablespoon milk and mix to a pourable consistency, adding more if necessary.
• Remove rolls from the oven. Immediately pour topping over top and sprinkle with pecans.

GRANDMA DELSIE'S CINNAMON ROLLS

Steps:

• 1. Scald milk in a saucepan; add shortening, sugar, and salt. Cool to lukewarm.
• 2. Sprinkle yeast on warm water; stir to dissolve.
• 3. Add 1 1/2 cups of the measured flour to the milk mixture; beat well. If not using a mixer, beat with a wooden spoon.
• 4. Beat in eggs and yeast.
• 5. Gradually stir in enough remaining flour, a little at a time, to make a soft dough that leaves the sides of the bowl. Dough will be slightly sticky.
• 6. Turn onto lightly floured board cover and let rest for 5 minutes.
• 7. Knead, incorporating a little more flour as necessary, until smooth, satiny, and no longer sticky, about 8 to 10 minutes. Keep your hands dusted with flour to prevent sticking. Kneading is necessary to produce the great texture of these rolls.
• 8. Place in a lightly greased bowl, invert to grease top, cover, and let rise until doubled, for 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Punch down and turn onto a board.
• 9. Divide in half. Lightly grease counter or board. Roll each half into a 14 x 6-inch rectangle.
• 10. For the filling, combine 1 cup of sugar, 1/2 cup of melted butter, and 1 Tbsp ground cinnamon.
• 11. Spread half of the mixture on each rectangle. Scatter 1/2 cup of raisins on each rectangle (optional).
• 12. Roll up the rectangle lengthwise as for jelly roll. Seal the edges and cut dough into 1-inch slices. Put cut side down in 2 well-greased square baking pans. Cover and let rise until doubled. Brush butter on the tops very lightly.
• 13. Bake 25-30 minutes in a preheated oven at 350 degrees. Makes 32 rolls, however, the exact number will depend on the size you cut them.
• 14. For the icing, mix 1 cup confectioners' sugar with milk or cream to enable spreading consistency. Add 1/2 tsp vanilla and a dash of salt.
• 15. Frost while rolls are still warm. Note 1: Though this dough can be made by hand mixing, I mixed the dough in my Kitchen Aid mixer. I let the Kitchen aid mixer knead the dough for 10 minutes on low and then I hand-kneaded the dough another 5 minutes before placing them in the bowl to rise. Note 2. I like to let my dough rise in the oven. I cover it with a lightweight cloth and put it in the oven. I put a shallow pan of hot water beneath the bowl of dough on a lower rack in the oven. Note 3: I cut the rolls between 1 1/2 inches and 2 inches because Grandma's cinnamon rolls were always big. These can be baked in a round, rectangle, or square pan.
• 16. Every time I bake these for my family, my first memory of these rolls come back to me. I was 4 years old and I was out on the tractor with Grandpa one chilly morning. We had just left the barn and were moving hay to the pasture for his cows. I caught a whiff of something in the air. I said," Grandpa what is that good smell?" He lifted his head and said, "Oh wee! Grandma's baking cinnamon rolls." I was sitting on top of this lap and he turned that tractor around so fast that I almost fell off. We got to the house and raced inside the kitchen door and I guess Grandma had been watching us from the window. She was standing there with her rolling pin, slapping it in her hand. She looked sternly at Grandpa and said, "If you're ever going to drive the tractor like that again while that child is with you, you're going to be seeing stars." Grandpa and I sat down and Grandma placed a glass of milk and one of her big cinnamon rolls in front of us. When Grandma had her back to us, I leaned in and whispered, "Grandpa, this is so yummy I think it's worth seeing the stars." Grandpa smiled back at me and winked. From then on when I was with Grandpa on the tractor I would say, "Go faster Grandpa." He would reply, "No siree, Grandpa don't want to see stars today." We would laugh and giggle.

BEST CINNAMON ROLLS

Steps:

• Dissolve yeast in warm milk. In another bowl, combine sugar, butter, eggs, salt, yeast mixture and 2 cups flour; beat on medium speed until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough (dough will be sticky)., Turn dough onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease the top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour., Mix brown sugar and cinnamon. Punch down dough; divide in half. On a lightly floured surface, roll 1 portion into an 11x8-in. rectangle. Brush with 2 tablespoons butter; sprinkle with half the brown sugar mixture to within 1/2 in. of edges. Roll up jelly-roll style, starting with a long side; pinch seam to seal. Cut into 8 slices; place in a greased 13x9-in. pan, cut side down. Cover with a kitchen towel. Repeat with remaining dough and filling. Let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour. Preheat oven to 350°., Bake until golden brown, 20-25 minutes. Cool on wire racks., For frosting, beat butter, cream cheese, vanilla and salt until blended; gradually beat in confectioners' sugar. Spread over tops. Refrigerate leftovers.

GRANDMA'S BEST CINNAMON ROLLS

Steps:

• Directions To make dough: Measure all dough ingredients into bread machine pan in the order suggested by manufacturer.
• Process on dough/manual cycle.
• To shape and fill: When cycle is complete, remove dough to floured surface.
• If necessary, knead in additional flour to make dough easy to handle.
• Roll dough to 18 x 8 inches; brush with melted butter.
• Sprinkle with brown sugar, cinnamon and raisins, if desired, to within 1/2 inch of edges.
• Roll up tightly from long side, pinching seam to seal; cut into 9 equal pieces.
• Place, cut sides up, in greased 8 x 8-inch pan.
• Cover; let rise in warm place 45 to 60 minutes or until doubled.
• Bake at 350°F for 25 to 30 minutes or until done.
• Remove from pan; cool on wire rack.
• In small bowl, mix powdered sugar and softened butter with fork until blended; stir in honey until smooth.
• Drizzle or spread on rolls.

OOEY-GOOEY CINNAMON BUNS

Steps:

• In a small bowl, dissolve 1 teaspoon sugar and yeast in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes. Warm the milk in a small saucepan until it bubbles, then remove from heat. Mix in 1/4 cup sugar, 1/4 cup butter and salt; stir until melted. Let cool until lukewarm.
• In a large bowl, combine the yeast mixture, milk mixture, eggs and 1 1/2 cup flour; stir well to combine. Stir in the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, beating well after each addition. When the dough has pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes.
• Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.
• While dough is rising, melt 3/4 cup butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir in 3/4 cup brown sugar, whisking until smooth. Pour into greased 9x13 inch baking pan. Sprinkle bottom of pan with 1/2 cup pecans; set aside. Melt remaining butter; set aside. Combine remaining 3/4 cup brown sugar, 1/2 cup pecans, and cinnamon; set aside.
• Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface, roll into an 18x14 inch rectangle. Brush with 2 tablespoons melted butter, leaving 1/2 inch border uncovered; sprinkle with brown sugar cinnamon mixture. Starting at long side, tightly roll up, pinching seam to seal. Brush with remaining 2 tablespoons butter. With serrated knife, cut into 15 pieces; place cut side down, in prepared pan. Cover and let rise for 1 hour or until doubled in volume. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• Bake in preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes, until golden brown. Let cool in pan for 3 minutes, then invert onto serving platter. Scrape remaining filling from the pan onto the rolls.