Old Fashioned Cinnamon Rolls: Like Grandma Used To Make

If the bridge ladies are coming over and you want to do a little something extra, I submit for your consideration: Old-fashioned cinnamon rolls. These gooey cinnamon rolls don't take too long to make, taste as good as any you could buy, fill the house with the smell of dough and cinnamon, and just generally impress.

Here is a classic recipe for Old-fashioned cinnamon rolls that are, dare I say it, just like Grandma used to make:

Ingredients:
1 package of active dry yeast
1/2 cup very warm water
1/2 cup lukewarm milk (scalded then cooled)
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup butter, softened (softened at room temp, not in microwave)
1 teaspoon salt
1 egg
3 1/2 to 4 cups all-purpose flour

Cinnamon Mixture:
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Glaze:
1 cup powdered sugar
1 tablespoon milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

• Dissolve the yeast in the warm water in a large bowl. Stir in the milk, sugar, butter, salt, egg and two cups of the flour. Whisk until smooth. Mix in enough remaining flour that the dough easy to handle.

• Place the dough on a lightly floured surface and knead it until it becomes smooth and elastic (about 5 minutes). Place the dough ball in a greased bowl and cover. Let the dough rise in a warm place until it doubles in size (about 90 minutes). The dough is ready when an indentation remains when touched. If you are preparing these cinnamon rolls for your daughter's sleepover friends, this is a good time to tell them that the dough will continue to grow forever, so they should eat it before it eats them. You shouldn't actually lie to children. But it is fun.

• Punch down the dough and roll it out on a lightly floured surface into a rectangle about 9-x 18 inches. Once rolled, spread with melted butter. Mix the sugar and cinnamon together in small dish and sprinkle over the dough.

• Roll the dough lengthwise into a long tube. Seal well by pinching the edges of roll the together. Stretch the roll to make it even. Cut it into approximately two inch slices. Place the slices a little apart on greased pan or cookie sheet (they will grow significantly in the oven, so leave space).

• Cover and let rise until double they once again double in bulk. This will take about 35 to 40 minutes.

• Heat oven to about 375 degrees. Bake until they begin to turn golden brown and then remove them. (The secret to gooey cinnamon rolls is to not overcook them. Remove them as they begin to show signs of being cooked, because they will continue to cook even when removed.)

• Make the glaze by mixing powdered sugar, milk and vanilla together in a small dish. Mix it until it becomes the desired consistency. Add a little more milk if the frosting is too thick; a little more sugar if it's too runny. (Note: these rolls also taste very good without frosting, so that decision is left to you.)
  

As long as you start early, so that you have plenty of time to let the dough rise, these are pretty easy to make. It's worth trying this recipe just to experience that smell of yeast and dough that fills the house. And they really do taste as good as the ones at that other place. Everybody will say so.

And the next time your daughter and her friends run up to you screaming, "Make us cinnamon rolls. Make us cinnamon rolls. You can say what Grandpa always said, "Poof. You're cinnamon rolls." It's not the best joke in the world. But it'll do in a pinch.