Hearth, Heart, & Home with the Roth Family: Our Recipe for Glazed Cinnamon Rolls
December 27th, 2024
Spreading the Love
Even though Christmas Day has passed and we’re well on our way to New Year’s, it’s never too late to share a bit of love and warmth.
The holiday season at the Magnolia Company is always our busiest time of year. We spend months gearing up for the chaos and immense amount of work that inevitably starts to roll in around September – and it won’t relent until the later weeks of January.
Every set of hands on the farm works nonstop from Fall into the middle of winter. We bring on extra staff, and for nearly the entire months of October, November, and up to Christmas, Julie & Matt, our company owners, don’t take a day off (much to the chagrin of their ballroom dance instructors). Hobbies can wait when there are wreaths to make!
Thankfully, when Christmas finally arrives, everyone on the farm lets out a big sigh of relief. The hardest part of the season is over, and more than a little rest is well in order.
It’s time for some R&R.
From boot-blistered feet and hands that always have a little dirt on them, we know better than anyone how important and how rewarding it is to put your feet up after a day, a week, or a season of hard work.
The holidays in particular are a perfect time for this. With loved ones all around, a festive song in the air, and long nights that gently nudge you towards the couch with your favorite hot drink and a blanket in tow, it starts to feel like the most wonderful time of the year.
We can’t speak for the traditions of every one of our staff (that’s a LOT of traditions!), but for the Roths, some traditions never get old.
New Faces, Old Places
This Christmas represents a few firsts and some new changes for the Roth Family!
After a year filled with weddings and travel, we’ve got new faces (and last names) around the Christmas dinner table this year. Julie and Matt, for the first time, are grandparents!
There’s something beautiful about watching your children have children of their own. They’re creating their own families, and the echoes of your own family traditions are what deck their halls as they embark on this new and exciting journey.
But, just because they’re grown with families of their own doesn’t mean *everything* is different.
Delicious Traditions
When the faces around the holiday table change, the food doesn’t have to. Some things never change, and at the end of a busy year, tasty traditions are a delightful comfort.
Ask anyone what their favorite things about Christmas are, and somewhere on the list, food makes a special appearance. Christmas goodies have a special place in so many hearts, and the best part? Festive foods are like your own signature stamp on your own flavor of Christmas. No two fudges are alike, after all.
The Roth Family Glazed Cinnamon Rolls
Ingredients
Pastry
- 1/4 Cup warm water
- 1 package dry yeast
- 1 tsp plus 1/4 cup sugar
- 4 cups all purpose flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 sticks butter, chilled
- 3 egg yolks
- 1 cup milk
Filling
- 1/4 cup (half a stick) butter, melted
- 6 tbsp sugar
- 1 tsp cinnamon
Glaze
- 1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
- 2 tbsp butter, room temperature
- 1 tbsp water (but a small amount more may be needed to get the right consistency of glaze)
Instructions
Step 1: Make Your Pastry the Night Before
- In a small bowl, combine your ¼ cup warm water, package of yeast, and 1 teaspoon of sugar. Stir briefly and let it dissolve for 5 minutes. Leave it alone – your yeast needs a moment to activate.
- Get a large mixing bowl and combine your 4 cups of all purpose flour, ¼ cup sugar, and teaspoon of salt. Use a fork for this – it helps break up any potential clumps of flour.
- Cut your 2 sticks of chilled butter into pieces the size of small grapes, then add them to your dry ingredients. You’ll need to use your hands (or a pastry blender, but where’s the fun in that?) to break and rub the butter thoroughly into the flour mixture. By the end, it should look coarse and lumpy.
- Remember your yeasty sugar water? Pour it into your dry ingredients, and add your 3 egg yolks and 1 cup of milk.
- Now the easiest step of all: after your dough is combined, cover the bowl in plastic wrap and put it in the fridge overnight.
- Technically, you can get away with as few as 6 hours of rest for your pastry dough, but this recipe can be refrigerated for up to 14 hours and still taste heavenly!
Step 2: Make your filling and glaze the morning of.
- Good morning, sleepyhead! It’s time to make breakfast. We’ll make this as easy as possible:
- Grab your coffee, made just how you like it, for moral support.
- Gather your filling ingredients and mix them all together in a bowl.
- Gather your glaze ingredients and mix them all together in a different bowl.
- Ta Da! All done there.
Step 3: Assemble & Bake
- Grab your dough from the fridge. Spread it out on a lightly floured countertop. With a rolling pin (you’ll want to flour the pin as well), roll into a ¼ inch thick rectangle sheet. Spread your filling evenly all over the dough.
- Roll the dough up on itself into a long log. You should be able to see the cinnamon swirl in the middle!
- Cut your log into 24 rolls.
- Throw your rolls onto a baking sheet (or 2), and toss them in the oven for 15 minutes at 350 degrees.
Breakfast is ready!
- Allow the rolls to cool for a few minutes, then brush or chaotically drizzle (baker’s choice) the rolls with that delicious glaze you made earlier.
We would say “savor and enjoy,” but if your family is anything like ours, stuff yourself silly with these things. They’re the best!
Wishing you and yours the happiest New Year – enjoy your rest and (cinnamon) rolls!
