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My mom made the best cinnamon rolls hands down!
They were warm, sweet, buttery rolls, that were flaky and just melted in your mouth.
I must have eaten a ton of cinnamon rolls by the time my adult years arrived.
Many a morning was spent running and tripping up those stairs from my basement bedroom, to opening the door right into the kitchen, where I was immediately hit with the smell of the cinnamon roll baking, the sounds of mom in the kitchen, and all that warmth that wrapped around me like a soft blanket.
It was our ritual to have a freshly baked roll before I went off to playdates, or school, or morning band practice, and finally a full time job when those almost adult years were upon me.
You see I was what was called a late bloomer, I had a room in the basement and this became my haven, it was full of very little responsibility. I liked to spend as much “down” time as possible in the basement, reading or writing or dreaming my days away, little did I know what was really going on upstairs in the kitchen.
As the years went along like someone whistling a familiar tune, so did I, to this job and that ,to this boyfriend and that one, yet always returning back to that basement with the lack of responsibility calling my name.
One morning I had the sudden urge to go walk around the block walk before heading off to work, I trudged up those basement stairs, opened the door into the kitchen , the familiar sounds and smells immediately greeted me, and the warmth wrapped me in that familiar blanket of baking luv.
I stood at the top of the stairs and cracked open the door a bit to watch Mom just hum about her morning routine, checking the oven to see if the rolls were done.
I took immense pride in the morning baking ritual and the morning eating ritual too, pride that my very own mom was a baking goddess and could day after day make the a very consistent dough for her rolls, although she had a secret weapon in using frozen store bought dough!
When the knowledge of the dough was finally made public to the family, at that moment I was shocked and amazed, however it didn’t make me luv the rolls or my mom any less in the end.
Many years have passed since those days at the kitchen table. I believe that is part of the reason, I now luv to bake.
I have a strong appreciation for anyone that can day after day make excellent rolls, pastries, buns, and cake. I also admire my mom for taking the time to feed us, and making sure that she could give us something warm and delicious as we all headed out each day to take another step on our journey.
Admittingly I bought a bag of pre-made frozen dough, and found myself making cinnamon rolls the same way. It was quick and easy, and gave us all something for breakfast we could take and eat in the car.
One day as I watched that store bought dough unfold to perfection I began to question, why couldn’t I “make bread dough from scratch!”
I began experimenting thru the years with different kinds of doughs, there were many that failed and a few that were complete success.
The best recipe I created for a cinnamon rolls is the Pumpkin Cinnamon and Walnut Roll.
Sweet, moist, tender, full of pumpkin , spice , sugars, and walnuts, all rolled into perfectly shaped spirals, and baked to perfection.
The biggest issue I have with these recipes is that when I bake a pan, I tend to eat it all, morning, noon and oops, night..
Enjoy.
