As I might have mentioned before, my family has a lot of traditions around recipes. These beauties are known as Christmas Morning Carmel Cinnamon Rolls because that’s when my mom would make them. I make them for lots of holidays, not just Christmas. Whenever I see them in the morning, they are a straight shot to my memories of growing up. Mine are far larger than my mom’s. I double her original recipe and still only make twelve rolls instead of however many she made, but they are delicious.
Elaine’s Christmas Morning Carmel Cinnamon Rolls
This is a double recipe
Mix together:
- 2 c. warm milk (not too hot)
- 2 packages of yeast
Let stand 5 minutes, then add:
- 4 tablespoons soft butter
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
Slowly add in:
- 5 cups of all-purpose flour
Knead about 5-10 minutes (I did this with the dough hook of my mixer). Cover with a towel and let it rise for one hour. Punch it down, let it rise for another hour.
After the second rising, take 1/2 the dough and roll it out on the counter in a large rectangle.
- Spread soft butter over the entire piece
- Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar (1-2 tsp of cinnamon to 1 cup of sugar)
Roll up the dough and set it aside. Do the same to the other half of the dough.
I tripled the original Carmel sauce recipe.
Next, make the Carmel sauce:
- 1 1/2 cups brown sugar
- 3 tablespoons light corn syrup
- 3/4 cup butter
Mix and heat slowly. Pour into a 9×13 pan. I cut each long roll into six cinnamon rolls, then put the twelve in the pan. So Carmel on the bottom of the pan, rolls on the top. If you want smaller rolls, you can use more than one pan. My rolls are probably 2-3 inches tall.
Cover, let rise another hour. (If I am making them the night before, I cover and let them rise in the refrigerator overnight.)
Bake at 350 and bake for 30 minutes. Then check and see if they need five to ten minutes more (lightly brown).
Let cool for 5 minutes, then flip over onto a plate or foil.
Enjoy!
