This month’s skirt! magazine is focused on memorable meals & recipes.  You can find my original post on their blog here.

The majority of my favorite childhood memories include food in some way – BBQ on Christmas Eve, a specific restaurant on Hilton Head each family vacation, magic muffins at volleyball tournaments, the same meal on my birthday for years, etc..

Isn’t it funny how later in life those meals are no longer a dish, but have a memory associated to them? Making spaghetti reminds me of my Grandmom and all our meals in their kitchen over the years, boiled peanuts make me think of Hunter’s North Carolina family, and so on.

I love sharing some of our family recipes and this is definitely a favorite! My grandma, Rollene, makes these delicious sweet rolls that we just devour.  It makes me think about being at home in my pajamas eating breakfast with my mom and sister.  They will fill you with warmth (or maybe that’s the sugar high) and are a sweet start to your day!

Rollene’s Sweet Rolls

Ingredients:

• 1 package Fleishman original yeast
• 1/2 cup warm water, separated into 2 fourths
• 1 t and 1/4 C sugar, separated
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 t salt
• 1/4 C vegetable oil
• 2 1/2 C King Arthur bread flour
• 1/3 stick of butter, melted
• 1/3 C brown sugar
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 C powdered sugar, sifted
• Milk

Mix 1 package of yeast with 1/4 cup warm water in a liquid measuring cup.  Add 1 teaspoon sugar and let stand while it rises.

In a big bowl, beat 2 eggs.  Add 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 cup sugar, 1/4 c vegetable oil, and 1/4 cup warm water to the eggs.  Add your yeast mixture and 2 1/2 cups flour to the big bowl and mix well.  Let it sit and rise to double in size, ~ 1 hour.

Mix the brown sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl.  Roll out the dough (not too thin!) and spread with melted butter, then sprinkle the brown sugar / cinnamon mixture on top.  Roll into a long log, and slice into 18-20 individual rolls, using a bread knife for ease.

Place the rolls on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and let the dough rise another hour.  Bake at 400 degrees for ~10-20 minutes, depending on the thickness of your rolls.  Watch the oven to make sure you don’t overcook them!

After rolls have baked are are still warm, mix ~1/2 cup sifted powdered sugar and just enough milk to make it pourable.  Brush the tops of the rolls with leftover melted butter, then spoon the powdered sugar icing over rolls, and enjoy!

Tip: You can wrap up the rolls individually and freeze them in a large bag, so it’s easy to just reheat one (or more) for breakfast each morning.  It might not be healthy, but it sure is delicious!

I’m so happy I have these recipes from my Grandma, and family, to cherish for years to come and eventually pass down to another generation.  I hope you enjoy these as much as our family does!

My plan was to make these rolls to use for my November post on skirt! magazine’s blog, but naturally I gave myself barely enough time to get it done before the post was due.  The first time I made the rolls I rolled them too thin, and baked them too long and ultimately had to throw them all out.  I was bummed.

Rollene sent me the pan she uses to bake hers (complete with a piece of parchment already in it) and on my second attempt, I succeeded!  I left them a lil thicker, watched the time as they baked, but I think it was the pan that made the difference 😉