A Christmas tradition is homemade Cinnamon Rolls loaded with raisins and nuts, covered with a sweet frosting. Tradition is to bake the cinnamon rolls on Christmas Eve. We open gifts on Christmas Day. When everyone woke up on Christmas morning, each would get a cinnamon roll, then sit down as gifts were handed out and opened. Cinnamon rolls were pre-breakfast snack. Once all the gifts were opened, the living room picked up, I would start cooking breakfast, and then Christmas dinner.
My recipe for the sweet dough comes straight out of Betty Crocker Cookbook. The recipe gives the options of shortening, margarine or butter – I always use butter. I make the rest of the recipe as written.
After the dough has doubled and is ready to become cinnamon rolls, this is where I get creative. I will roll the dough into a rectangle, sprinkle with cinnamon almost covering the dough entirely. Then I sprinkle on 1/3 cup of brown sugar, add raisins and pecans to my desired amount. Now for a secret ingredient I learned from an aunt, pour some corn syrup over the mix, not a lot of corn syrup, about 1/2 to 3/4 cup, to help the brown sugar melt and soak into the dough during baking.
Next roll up the dough, gently squeezing together as you roll. Once rolled, pinch the edges together. Then I cut 1 inch slices and place in a greased cast iron skillet. Do not place too tight together, as the dough has to rise again. After about 1 1/2 hours, they are ready to bake in the oven at 375 degrees fahrenheit for 25 to 30 minutes, or until golden brown.
Once the are baked, I use a brush to cover them with butter. A person can eat them at this point, frosty is not necessary. But if you want frosting, now is the time to frost as the warmth helps the frosty to cover and soak in.
Frosting is simple, a teaspoon of butter, 1 – 2 Cups powdered sugar, a teaspoon of vanilla, and 2 – 3 Tablespoons of cold water or milk. Mix, if frosting needs to be stiffer mix more powdered sugar.
A delicious dessert or early breakfast. A treat my family enjoys.
amtolle
Me, Myself and I 
Oooh that looks so yummy! An extra special tradition for Christmas morning. Your family is so blessed to have you. In South Africa, we call those chelsea buns. My mum used make them when I was a kid and sometimes she would just buy them as a treat. Thank you for bring back great memories. 🌷
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Thanks for the recipe!
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Now I know how they got the ‘roll’. You can tell I’m not the baking kind. My boys were just not into these baked goods at all…
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