Ode to Christmas Sweet Rolls

We have an unhealthy obsession in our house...

an obsession with big, gooey, sweet rolls,

Slathered with creamy, sugar-loaded frosting!

If you've been reading my blog for long, then you've figured out that I like to talk (I'm like that in person too, if you know me well and I'm comfortable around you - otherwise I'm quite shy). I like to share lots of fun photos ... but really this blog is an outlet for all the crazy thoughts jumbling around inside this thick skull of mine (trust me, it's thick ... I've had to have my head stitched up a couple times but I've never managed to crack it open ;-0). So tonight I have a little story to tell ... about warm, gooey, sugar-laden, melt-in-your-mouth, delicious, SWEET ROLLS.

My story starts a good 20 years ago, I was about 9 (which means I'm about 29 now ... are you following me here?) and my mother had just brought my youngest brother, Scott, home from the hospital. Our home was flooded with the usual baked casseroles and treats following my mother's homecoming - thanks to the sweet Sisters at church (in our church we refer to everyone as brothers and sisters - I'm Sister Anderson ... you're Brother Smith ... etc). For several days food was delivered and the 7 children already residing in the home before Scott's arrival devoured every bit of it and then more food was delivered and the feasting continued ... and so on ... and so on...


But one afternoon a Sister showed up with the most decadent treat I had ever beheld - homemade GIANT, gooey, cinnamon rolls. Something inside me changed that day as I devoured those homemade delicacies and I distinctly remember that I resolved, right then and there, that some day when I was grown and it was my turn to deliver sustenance to the sick or needy or to otherwise serve a friend or neighbor - I would bake and deliver those fabulous rolls (I like to set my goals high - like unachievably high - it's part of the mental disease I've referred to in previous posts).


I started practicing right away, but was devastated when my first couple attempts were a complete disaster. Rather than warm and gooey - I produced wimpy and rock hard and I wondered if maybe, just maybe, I WASN'T CAPABLE. I'd wait a few years and attempt another batch ... to no avail. I was a failure. But I was NOT a QUITTER.


Eventually I started working in the restaurant industry to earn money for my college tuition and I continued to work full-time in the kitchens of some fabulous restaurants throughout my college years (side note: it took me 7 years to get a 4 year degree - trying to work FT and go to school ... for those that care about those kinds of statistics). So I was blessed to pick up some culinary skills as I studied Accounting and Finance and Music ... Per's grateful for those skills now ;-) And while I baked lots of rolls, muffins, breads, and biscuits over the years I kept my eye out for a fabulous recipe for sweet rolls but I never came across anything that matched these rolls from my youth.


Then, one fine Christmas morning, I unwrapped a gift from my Dad and his wife, Eileen, to find what has become one of my most treasured possessions - a rather simple looking cookbook ... chuck full of recipes from the Sisters of my childhood ward (our church is divided into "wards" - these are geographical boundaries) in Great Falls, Montana. What do you think I found in the pages of that modest cookbook - THE recipe of those memorable sweet rolls. The recipe was brilliant ... fool proof ... and an immediate hit with my family. So now that I was FINALLY CAPABLE of creating the perfect sweet rolls (20 years after I set my original goal mind you)... now I had to fulfill a promise to that 9 year old girl of my youth. And I did not let her down. Every holiday season I crank up the mixers (I have to borrow a few extras from friends) ....

... and bake until my poor aching back SCREAMS for mercy. I have some excellent little helpers (they're never too young to learn to serve) .... they slow me down a bit but I so enjoy their company.

And after a day of mixing, and kneading, and rising, and rolling, and rising again, and baking ... we produce the most delicious cinnamon rolls imaginable (I'm not bragging - cause it's not my recipe - they are just THAT GOOD). And then we package them up and deliver them (that's where Per and Torby come in - the delivery crew) to all our wonderful neighbors, and friends, and coworkers.
Sure, the sweet rolls are A TON of work ... and some years I wonder if all our efforts are worth it... until we deliver our goodies and see all the Joy and Christmas Cheer we spread in doing so. In fact, I don't think my friends in Vegas miss me nearly as much as they miss my cinnamon rolls!!!


Speaking of distant friends and relatives ... a lot of you have asked for my recipe over the years. And honestly, I've been tempted not to share (remember it took me 20 years to find this recipe and perfect my skills). But I've realized that is very selfish of me. I can't possibly send sweet rolls to all my loved ones each year - so why not further spread the JOY and share a treasured recipe.


So here it is - THE recipe, along with some helpful hints. Enjoy ... and Merry Christmas!!!


Decadent Sweet Rolls (from Montana - Big Sky Country):
















Ingredients
1 c. warm water
2 pkgs yeast
2 tsp. salt
1/3 c. sugar
1 c. warm milk
1/4 c. shortening
2 eggs
4 to 5 c. flour (bread flour is best)
1/2 c. butter
Brown Sugar
Cinnamon
1 c. raisins (optional)
1/2 c. pecans (optional)

Directions:

Dissolve yeast in warm water.
Add sugar, salt, milk, shortening and eggs.
Blend ingredients.
Add flour (trick - add flour gradually - 1 cup at at time until dough pulls away from side of bowl and forms soft ball around paddle)
Mix well and knead.
Cover dough and let raise in warm spot in your kitchen then punch dough down and let it rest a few minutes.
Roll dough into rectangle 1/2 inch thick. Spread with butter. Sprinkle with cinnamon, brown sugar, pecans, and raisins.
Roll up and cut 12 rolls - each roll should be roughly 2 inches thick. Place on greased baking sheet and flatten with fingers (Use the big sheet trays - this will make 12 GIANT rolls).
Raise. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes.

Frosting (This is my adaption ... the original recipe calls for a different frosting ... but some would argue that THIS frosting is what makes these rolls so good)

1 8 ounce pkg cream cheese
1/2 c. butter (softened)
2 tsp. vanilla
4.5 c. powdered sugar

Whip cream cheese and butter until smooth and fluffy.
Add vanilla then add powdered sugar one cup at a time.
Mix until smooth spreading consistency - if it gets too stiff you can add a couple tablespoons of milk.
(hint - sometimes I double the frosting recipe for my family because they like extra frosting but this will put a diabetic into a sugar induced coma)