Every weekend I spend three hours of one-on-one with each of my kids. With my son, we've been working on a treehouse, but there is now too much snow. So we want to try and make cinnamon rolls this weekend.

When I was about 11 or 12, I made about 20 batches of cinnamon rolls. But I can't find the recipe. I'm sure it wasn't with yeast and I thought they were great.

What would I gain with a yeast based recipe?

I think I want to stick with a non-yeast recipe this go around.

I remember modiying the recipe a lot way back then. Mostly adding more butter, cinnamon and raisins. No harm, right?

Anybody know of a non-yeast cinnamon roll recipe that will get me started?

-- Paul Wheaton (paul@javaranch.com), December 15, 2001

Answers

I used to sell cinnamon rolls in the farmers market. I think that without yeast you will have more of a cracker than a bread, though I have heard of something called soda bread but have not seen the recipe, and something MIGHT be possible with baking powder. Anyway, I DO know that you can do anything you like with the butter, cinnamon and raisins. I usually roll out the dough after it has rested for about 15 minutes, dribble on the butter, and sprinkle anything you want to on it before you roll it up. The only caution is, don't MIX cinnamon into yeast bread dough, it inhibits the growth of the yeast. An alternative, of course, is to fry buscuit dough, roll it in cinnamon sugar, and call it cake doughnuts!

-- Terri (hooperterri@prodigy.net), December 15, 2001.

I wonder if you couldn't take a baking powder bisquit recipe, roll it out thin and sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar and then roll, cut and put it in a pan where you had already put some melted butter, raisins and maybe some nuts and then bake??? Paul, you remind me of something I did with my children way back when and I sure can not for the life of me remember exactly what it was. Something like monkey bread??? Just don't remember.

-- diane (gardiacaprines@yahoo.com), December 15, 2001.

I make my cinnamon rolls with pie crust. I roll our my pie dough and then spread on the butter, cinnamon and chopped nuts. Then I roll the dough into a long roll, cut into one inch pieces, lay flat and bake at 350º until golden brown.

Sorry for not being more precise but I'm one of those folks that uses a pinch of this and a dab of that when I cook.

-- Grannytoo (grannytoo@somewhere.com), December 15, 2001.

Paul-- I have used biscuit dough to make a quick cinnamon roll or omit the cinnnamon and use butter/brown sugar and it is a butterscotch type bun. Just pat it out and instead of cutting biscuits, spread your filling, roll it up then slice into rounds. I put them into greased muffin tins, then just flip them over when done about 20 minutes at 375 or so(I use a wood cook stove so my temps are very approximate)

-- Terri in NS (terri@tallships.ca), December 15, 2001.

I also make apple cinnamon rolls using a biscuit dough. Just mix your dough, roll it out, spread cinnamon, brown sugar, and diced apples on it, roll up into a log and slice into rolls. stand on end in 13 x 9 baking dish. Put a small pat of butter on top of each. Bring to boil 1 cup water and 1 cup brown sugar, stirring well and pour over rolls. It will seem watery but it is ok. (turns to a caramel lide goo) Bake in 350 oven for about 20 Minutes. These are great!

-- Joanie (not@working.com), December 17, 2001.