No-Rise Cinnamon Rolls

A few months ago I inherited the recipes of my husband's mother.  The tin of recipes came with a cooking weight larger than any I had ever known, as my versions of her recipes are meant to live up to the idolized foods my husband, his father and his brothers grew up with.  Good grief!  My saving grace?  Her recipes (or the ones they insist I recreate) are simple, easy and virtually fool proof.  Here is one that I instantly added to the quick and easy section of my recipe book:

No-Rise Cinnamon Rolls

The key here?  No-rise of course!  I love cinnamon rolls, especially ones fresh from the oven.  My issue is my patience.  As I have mentioned before, I don't really have the best baking skills (exact measuring, waiting for food to rise, etc.).  These cinnamon rolls, however, are not your normal cinnamon roll where you need to wake up at 4 in the morning to have them finished by 8am (and yes, my mom did this when I was in high school).

First, sift together 2 cups of flour, 3 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp salt and 1/4 cup white sugar.  After this is all sifted, cut in 1/2 cup shortening (butter flavored is best).  Cut this in much like a pie crust or biscuits, however the mixture will still be pretty dry and powdery.  Add 2/3-3/4 cup milk, depending on how much you need.  Usually, 2/3 cup or just over is fine for me.  Work this into a dough.  Turn it out onto a floured surface and kneed for 1-2 minutes or until a smooth ball is formed.

Roll out into the best rectangle you can get (mine is always an oval).  Cover it with 1/2 cup melted butter, and yes, use it all!  Then sprinkle the butter with about 2 tbsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp cloves and 1/2 freshly grated nutmeg.  I usually mix the spices into the butter for better distribution.  Now, add about 1/2 cup of white sugar on top of the butter and spices.  Time to roll! 

Roll up lengthwise and cut into rolls about 2 inches long.  Here is where you can be creative :) 

The first time I made these, I just put the rolls into a 9x13 and baked them.  They were delicious, but my husband said they looked nothing like his mom's.  The taste was the same, but they weren't the right shape.  So it turns out, his mother put each roll into a muffin tin to keep them separated and to give them uniformity in shape.  The woman was a genius.  Now, of course, I use her method of baking and it really does make some cute cinnamon rolls.
If you choose the 9x13 method (there really isn't anything wrong with this), they will need to be baked at 400F for about 30-45 minutes, depending on your oven.  If you use the muffin tin method, bake them at 400F for 20-30 minutes, once again depending on your oven.  Also, if you use dark or non-stick pans, the baking will take longer, but beware of the cinnamon rolls browning too fast!

The should look something like this when they are done if you use the muffin tin method:





Lastly, my husband's mother never used icing...  In fact, my husband's younger brother made sure that I knew his mother made her cinnamon rolls "dry" so that I would be sure to know that they never ate them with icing...  Well, I could eat them without icing (and the first time I made them, I did), but I also really love my icing--especially cream cheese based icing!  So, here again is another way for you to make these your own.  To ice or not to ice: that is the question!