Baby Winnie has arrived! We are so grateful to have had a safe delivery amidst this global pandemic– it was a nervy time to be at a hospital, but all went well. We named her after my grandmother Winnie, who I was quite close with. I have sweet memories of staying at her house and waking up to freshly baked cinnamon rolls. In the weeks leading up to the baby’s arrival, while sheltering in place, I made a few batches of cinnamon rolls myself and kept thinking of her. In fact, one of my cousins texted me she was doing the same, which reminded her of our Grandma. Grandma Winnie had 8 kids! Three feels like a lot..honestly, I’m not sure how she did it! I’m sure warm cinnamon rolls out of the oven helped :)
On Fridays I often make challah for Shabbat using the recipe from my first book (last recipe in the book or here on the blog). I often make a double batch of dough so that I can make cinnamon rolls for Saturday morning. (You could also just make one batch of dough and make a smaller loaf of challah plus a few small rolls).
For these rolls, I used half whole wheat flour. I use a Kitchenaid mixer with a dough hook and let it go for a few minutes once the dough starts to form which “kneads” it. If you make it by hand, just knead it for a few minutes on a cutting board.
Once the dough has risen once, roll 8 “snakes” out by hand and lay them on a cutting board and flatten each strip a bit with your fingers. Spread each with salted butter then sprinkle the whole board with brown sugar and cinnamon. You can optionally add nuts or raisins, too! Roll each strip up and pinch tightly closed at the end so they don’t unravel. Place them in a buttered oven-proof dish, cover them, and allow them to rise in the fridge overnight (or if you want to eat them sooner, just allow to rise on your counter for about an hour).
Before you bake them, drizzle the tops with honey and a bit of sea salt. Bake as usual (350F for 25-30 min) and enjoy warm.
