Almost seven years old, my son, Samuel, is already my sous chef. When we make cinnamon crisps, I let him spoon on the filling and press his palms onto each one to flatten them. Then we both watch the dough rise from the oven window as the smell of cinnamon sugar fills the house. I’ve been baking these cinnamon crisps every Christmas since I was a girl. They taste sweet, and there’s nothing sweeter than those little palm prints on top.
Ingredients
| ½ c. milk |
| 3 ½ c. all-purpose flour, divided |
| 1 packet active dry yeast |
| 1 ¼ c. milk |
| ¼ c. shortening |
| 1 tsp. salt |
| 1 egg, whisked in a small bowl |
| canola oil cooking spray |
| 5 Tbsp. melted butter, divided |
| ½ c. brown sugar |
| 1 ½ tsp. cinnamon, divided |
| ½ c. chopped pecans (optional) |
Preparation
1. In a large bowl, combine 2 cups flour with yeast and stir.
2. In small saucepan over low heat, warm milk, ½ cup sugar, shortening and salt, stirring just until shortening melts. Add wet mixture to bowl of dry ingredients and add egg. Mix well.
3. By hand, stir in the rest of the flour (1½ cups) to make a soft dough.
4. Spray a large bowl with cooking spray and place dough inside, turning it once to coat. Cover with waxed paper (or a towel) and let rise in a warm place for 60 to 90 minutes.
5. While dough is rising, combine 3 tablespoons melted butter with ½ cup brown sugar, ½ cup sugar and ½ teaspoon cinnamon in small bowl for filling.
6. On floured surface, divide dough in half. Roll one half into a 12×12 square. Spread half of the filling evenly over the dough, roll it up from end to end and cut into 12 equal-sized rolls.
7. Place rolls on baking sheet greased with cooking spray. Using the palm of your hand, flatten each roll into a pinwheeltype shape, about three inches in diameter. Cover and let rise 30 minutes, while you repeat previous steps with remainder of dough and filling.
8. To make the topping, mix together the rest of the sugar (¼ cup), cinnamon (1 teaspoon) and chopped pecans in a small bowl and set aside.
9. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Using waxed paper, cover the risen rolls and press them down again with your palm, to about an 1⁄8 inch thickness. Remove the wax paper and set it aside for a moment.
10. Brush the tops of the rolls with the rest of the melted butter and spoon a little of the topping on each roll. Put the wax paper back on top and press down again with your palm. Take off the wax paper and bake (one pan at a time) for 10 minutes, or until the crisps are bubbly and golden brown
11. Remove the crisps immediately from the baking pan to a wire rack to cool.
Makes 24 cinnamon crisps.
Nutritional Information (serving size=1 crisp): Calories: 180; Fat: 7g; Cholesterol: 15mg; Sodium: 340mg; Total Carbohydrates: 26g; Dietary Fiber: 0g; Sugars: 12g; Protein: 3g.
