I can’t honestly say that cinnamon rolls are a native food to the south but oh, do they taste good. A tradition in my family since my youngest was born has been waking up Christmas morning to oranges and freshly baked cinnamon rolls.

I am not one who likes to wake up hours before the rest of the house just to make fresh bread that needs to rise. Hence the reason I love this recipe so much, there is only 30 minutes of rising time. I can handle waking up an hour early to make these tasty treats, though most likely I’ll set the alarm an hour and half early and hit the snooze a few times. It does help cooking go faster if you set out your ingredients the night before.

My kids and I love this recipe. I hope your family will love it as well.

Christmas Cinnamon Rolls

Dough
2 cups warm water
1/3 cup sugar
2 tablespoons yeast
1/3 cup oil
2 teaspoons salt
2 eggs, beaten
5 1/2 – 6 cups white flour

Filling
Spreadable butter
Brown sugar
Cinnamon
Raisins, if desired

Frosting
3 cups powdered sugar
8oz. cream cheese, softened
1 tablespoon butter, softened
1 cup pecans or walnuts, if desired

In large bowl, mix together sugar and warm water until sugar is dissolved. Sprinkle yeast over water and sugar mixture and let sit until yeast is frothy. Add in oil, salt, and eggs; mix well. Add flour one cup at a time, mixing well after each cup.

You may not need all 6 cups of flour, as you are mixing the dough should pull away from the sides of the bowl and not be sticky. You can tell the dough is ready if you smack your hand on the dough, leave it there 10 seconds, and can pull it away without it sticking to your hand. If you have a mixer with dough beaters you can use that to mix your dough.
Cover dough and let rise for 10-15 minutes in a warm place. Preheat oven to 350°F.

Roll out dough on lightly floured surface into a large rectangle. There is no exact measurement, just roll until dough is about 1/4” – 1/2” thick. Spread butter all over dough, leaving 1/2” along top long edge butter free.

Sprinkle brown sugar, cinnamon, and raisins if desired over butter. Use as much or as little as you like, the dough will expand quite a bit so you will want to put a good amount on to start with as it will get absorbed into the dough. Roll up dough long side to long side and seal edge by pinching into dough together. This is why you don’t butter the one edge, you won’t be able to seal the roll shut.

Cut the rolled up dough into 1” – 1 1/2” pieces and lay on a lightly greased cookie sheet, with cut side up. Place pieces on cookie sheet barely touching. You should be able to get 24 rolls so you may need 2 cookie sheets. Cover and let rise 10-15 more minutes.

Bake in preheated oven for 15-20 minutes. While rolls are baking, make frosting by beating together all ingredients, except nuts, until smooth. You can soften cream cheese in the microwave if needed.

Remove rolls from oven and let cool. Frost and sprinkle with nuts if desired. Serve warm.