Old-Fashioned Cinnamon Rolls

I have confession to make. As much as I love home-baked goods, I am addicted to the cinnamon rolls that come in a tube. And it’s mainly because I have never found a recipe for cinnamon rolls that is as light and flavorful as the ones that come in a tube. They always come out crusty and heavy and the glaze is always too thin and runny. But I keep hoping and trying recipes.

I wasn’t going to post a review of this recipe because I made a HUGE error while I was preparing it. I had taken the eggs out of the refrigerator ahead of time to warm up to room temperature. Then I had become so involved with mixing the dough using my mixer (who mixes dough in a mixer?), that I completely forgot to add the eggs! It wasn’t until I had finished kneading the dough and had no way at that point of incorporating them into the dough that I saw the eggs still sitting on top of the toaster oven. I had put them there so that they would be out of the way while they were warming up. Out of sight, out of mind.

I went ahead with assembling and baking the rolls but had no intention of reviewing the recipe because it wasn’t a fair trial without a major ingredient. If the rolls came out half-way decently, I would make them again sometime using the eggs and then review the recipe. Amazingly, they were absolutely delicious! They rose with no problem and were surprisingly light but not surprisingly a little on the tasteless side. Best of all, they almost taste like the ones that come in a tube. I can’t wait to make them again using the eggs.

I do have a couple of minor criticisms. One thing that I would change would be to use finer sugar than the granulated sugar called for in the recipe. The filling was a little gritty. The glaze, which is thick like the glaze that comes in the tube, didn’t taste right when I made it but once I had “drizzled” it onto the rolls, it was just perfect.

The best thing about this recipe is that you can prepare the rolls the day before and then refrigerate them overnight. The next morning (or afternoon if you are doing a brunch), you can bake them and have warm, delicious cinnamon rolls with your coffee.

Verdict: Yum! This one’s keeper!

Old-Fashioned Cinnamon Rolls(source: BHG.com)


4 ¾ to 5 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
1 pkg. active dry yeast
1 cup milk
⅓ cup butter
⅓ cup sugar
3 eggs
3 tablespoons butter, melted
⅔ cup sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 recipe Creamy Glaze (below)

In a large bowl, combine 2 ¼ cups flour and yeast. In a saucepan, heat and stir milk, ⅓ cup butter, ⅓ cup granulated sugar, and ½ teaspoon salt just until warm (120° to 130°) and butter almost melts. Add to flour mixture; add eggs. Beat on low speed for 30 seconds, scraping bowl. Beat on high speed for 3 minutes. Stir in as much of the remaining flour as you can.

On a lightly floured surface, knead in enough of the remaining flour to make a moderately soft dough that is smooth and elastic (3 to 5 minutes total). Shape into a ball. Place in a greased bowl; turning once. Cover; let rise in a warm place until double in size (1 hour).

Punch down dough. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface; divide in half. Cover; let rest 10 minutes. Lightly grease two 9 x 1 1/2 –inch round baking pans. Roll each half of the dough into a 12 x 8 rectangle. Brush with melted butter. Combine the ⅔ cup sugar and the cinnamon; sprinkle over rectangles. Starting from a long side, roll up each rectangle into a spiral. Seal seams. Cut each spiral into 12 slices. Place slices, cut sides down, in prepared pans.

Cover dough loosely with plastic wrap, leaving room for rolls to rise. Chill for at least 2 hours or up to 24 hours. Uncover; let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375°. Break surface bubbles with a greased toothpick. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until light brown. If necessary to prevent overbrowning, cover rolls loosely with foil for the last 5 to 10 minutes of baking. Remove from oven. Cool for 1 minute. Carefully invert rolls onto wire rack. Cool slightly. Invert again onto a serving platter. Drizzle with Creamy Glaze. Serve warm. Makes 24 rolls.

Creamy Glaze: Mix 1 ¼ cups sifted powdered sugar, 1 teaspoon light-colored corn syrup, and ½ teaspoon vanilla. Stir in enough half-and-half or light cream (1 to 2 tablespoons) to make of drizzling consistency.

Recycle: cinnamon bottle, corn syrup bottle, vanilla bottle

Compost: eggshells