la·de·da

My Swedish great grandmother was known for two things: Methodist values and cinnamon rolls. I don’t know much about the church these days, but I do have more than 20 years of experience making Sylvie Hunt’s cinnamon rolls. (My mom and I baked them every year to hand out as Christmas presents.) The fun part is rolling up the dough and pinching the ends together. It’s far too easy to mess up the recipe: For example, a couple of extra tablespoons of flour for kneading, and the dough won’t want to form a seam. But a quick dab of melted butter on the dry parts usually fixes the problem.

Recipe

Cinnamon Rolls (makes 30 servings)

• 2 packages active dry yeast
• 1/2 cup warm water (105 -115 degrees)
• 1/2 cup lukewarm whole milk
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 4 1/2 - 5 cups bread flour
• 2 tablespoons salted butter, melted
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon

1. In a large bowl, dissolve the yeast in the water. Stir in the milk, 1/2 cup of the sugar, salt, eggs, unsalted butter, and 2 1/2 cups of the flour. Mix until smooth. Add in enough of the remaining flour to make a dough that’s easy to handle.
2. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured board, and knead it until it’s smooth and elastic, about five minutes. Place the dough in a greased bowl, and then turn it greased-side up. At this point, the dough can be refrigerated, cover with plastic wrap, for up to four days. When you’re ready, cover the dough with a tea towel, and let is rise in a warm place until it’s doubled, about two hours. You’re ready for the next step if an impression remains in the dough when poked.
3. Punch the dough down, and divide it in half. Roll out each half into a 15 X 9 -inch rectangle, and spread the salted butter over them evenly.
4. In a small bowl, stir the remaining sugar and cinnamon together, and sprinkle the mix over each rectangle.
5. Tightly roll up each rectangle beginning at the bottom, and then stretch the rolls to make them even. Cut the rolls into 15 slices each. Place the slices in lightly greased metal baking pans. Cover them with a tea towel, and the let the dough rise for two hours or more, or until the rolls double.
6. Uncover the pans, and bake the rolls in a 325-degree oven for 20 to 25 minutes. Ice the rolls while they’re warm.

Icing

• 3 cups confectioner’s sugar
• 1 tablespoon whole milk
• 1 teaspoon icing

1. In a medium bowl, mix all of the ingredients together.
2. Add more sugar or milk, if need be, to get the consistency of thin, smooth cake batter.