I’ve had a request for this recipe from my long-time friend, Trace. She gave me some medical advice, and as a thank you, I promised to put this recipe on the blog right away. She lost her copy.
This is an awesome cinnamon roll recipe that I’ve been using for years! I love the fact that you can make it ahead and then cook it anytime within the next 24 hours. As an added bonus, you can shape the rolls and then freeze them and pull out as many or as few as you want. I hope you enjoy it as much as my family does.
Dough:
- 4-1/2 to 5 cups flour
- 1 pkg yeast
- 1 cup milk
- 1/3 cup margarine
- 1/3 cup sugar
- ½ tsp. salt
- 3 eggs
Filling:
- ¾ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup flour
- 1 tbsp. cinnamon
- ½ cup margarine
In a large mixer bowl, combine 2-1/4 cups flour and yeast.
In small saucepan, heat milk, 1/3 cup margarine, 1/3 cup sugar and salt, just until warm (120 to 130) and margarine is almost melted, stirring constantly. (I usually just heat it in the microwave.) Add to flour mixture. Add eggs. Beat with electric mixer on low for 30 seconds, scraping sides of bowl constantly. Beat on high speed 3 minutes (don’t skimp on this – it’s important). Stir in as much of the remaining 2-1/4 to 2-3/4 cups
flour as you can. But add the dough slowly, a little at a time, so you don’t get too much. You want this to be a very soft dough – almost sticky but not quite.
Shape dough into a ball. Place in greased bowl, turning once. Cover; let rise in warm place
until double (about 1 hour).
Punch down dough. Turn onto lightly floured surface. This is a good time to use your pastry cloth.
Cover and let rise 10 minutes. Roll dough into 12 inch square (I do an 18×20 rectangle).
For filling, combine ¾ cup brown sugar, ¼ cup flour and 1 tbsp. cinnamon. Cut in ½ cup margarine until crumbly (I usually set the margarine out at the beginning of the rising time so it’s nice and soft – I end up with more of a paste than a crumbly mixture).
Spread filling on dough. Roll up. Cut off the ends of the roll and toss (there’s
not much good stuff in those usually). Slice into 12 pieces and place in greased 9×13 pan. Cover dough loosely with clear plastic wrap, leaving room for rolls to rise. Refrigerate 2 to 24 hours.
Uncover and let stand at room temperature 30 minutes (or rise on counter 45 minutes and bake now). NOTE: I always let mine rise in the refrigerator but this time I didn’t. They were still wonderful but I like them better after they’ve risen in the refrigerator. It keeps the filling from coming out during baking.
Bake at 375 for 25 to 30 minutes (watch closely, might be done after 20 minutes).
Combine 1 cup powdered sugar, 1 tsp. vanilla, 1 or 2 tbsp. milk so that frosting is of drizzling consistency. Drizzle over warm rolls.
Notes:
The topping works really well for cinnamon toast. Mix it up and store it in the refrigerator. Use as needed.
If you’d like to download a copy of the recipe without all the photos, click here:
At what point can I freeze them? Right after shaping them? Then after freezing, do they need to thaw or do I just take out of the freezer, uncover them and let stand at room temperature 30 minutes before baking them? Hope this makes sense. I would like to make them tomorrow or the next day so I can freeze them and bake for Christmas morning when the kids are here.
After you shape them, put them on a greased cookie sheet in the freezer for a couple of hours. After they’re frozen, put them in a zip lock bag.
To cook, put them in a greased 9×13 pan and cover loosely with plastic wrap. Let them rise a couple of hours on the counter. How long it takes them to rise will depend on how warm your kitchen is. Two hours should be good – three at the most. Then bake as directed. If they’re still a little cool, they make take an extra minute or two in the oven. Don’t overbake.
If you have any more questions, just let me know.
Hi, this is a great post! Thanks..
Thanks for the easy recipe! Do you really use margarin still? I made the recipe tonight with organic butter from grass fed local cows! Give it a try!