Okay, one little secret that goes along with my pie crust recipe, I always double it and make these cinnamon rolls. They are soft but flaky, not too sweet for a mid-day snack, and oh so delicious. Perfect for little hands to help with, these became a tradition when I was a child and my mom would be making one of her famous chocolate pies. I have wonderful memories of helping her make these rolls- spreading the butter and and then sprinkling the brown sugar and cinnamon. We would always grab teaspoon and eat a whole bite of brown sugar. And while I don’t sugar by the spoonful anymore, my kids like to and I know they are making lifelong memories too!

If you are looking for a way to use up extra crust after making a pie, you can just make a few rolls, or if you want a plateful, then make a whole batch like we do and know that you won’t be disappointed.

Ingredients:

• One batch of my gluten free pie crust (makes two crusts). You can find the link here: https://anastasia-elizabeth.com/2021/09/02/gluten-free-pie-crust/
• 4 t. cinnamon
• 1/2 c. brown sugar
• 1/4-1/3 C. softened butter

Supplies:

rolling pin, parchment paper, flour for rolling in, one cookie sheet, butter knife

METHOD:

Gather your ingredients and preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Divide the dough in half and shape into two disks that are each about 4″ across and 1 ” thick. Set aside one disk.

Spread a piece of parchment paper on your surface, and sprinkle with gf flour. Place your dough disk on the paper and lightly sprinkle again. Roll out using a gentle, consistent motion, shaping the edges as you go. Roll to about 12″ across.

After the dough has been rolled into a circle (it doesn’t have to be perfectly round), it’s time to spread the butter. We had to melt our butter slightly. The house was a bit chilly and butter at room temp was too hard to spread. It would rip the dough. We used about 2 T of butter.

Next, sprinkle with the brown sugar and cinnamon. We used about 3-4 T of brown sugar and 2 t. cinnamon per pie crust. Feel free to use less or more cinnamon as a you like, but using too little butter or sugar will change the texture bit.

Its time to slice! We cut ours into quarters and then thirds, making 12 pieces.

And now….roll up! This part is so fun! Start from the wide end of the wedge/triangle and roll toward the center. Go slowly and carefully until you get the hang of it.

Place rolls separately (not touching) onto parchment-lined cookie sheet.

Repeat with the remaining disk.

We put all 24 rolls on one sheet but I forgot to take a picture.

Bake at 375 degrees for 20-25 or until light golden brown and bottom is set and golden. They will still be soft to touch and seem undercooked, but will set up after cooling down and will become sturdy. If you are worried about the egg being fully cooked, use a thermometer to check and make sure that they are at least 190 degrees.

ALLOWING THE ROLLS TO COOL IS THE HARD PART, but try to for at least 20 min or so. While you are waiting, why don’t you make some coffee or tea and grab a book to read? When the rolls are cool, put them on a pretty plate and enjoy a cozy moment with your tea and book.

I can’t wait for you to try these favorites of ours and I hope that they become a tradition in your house too. Enjoy!

Variations/tips:

I have tried coconut sugar, and alluose in place of br. sugar with decent results. I have also tried maple syrup but it spread too much, creating a caramel the butter. Maple sugar would probably be totally awesome. Maple. Sugar. How could you go wrong?

Try baking the rolls for ten minutes on the middle rack and then a 8+ min. on the bottom to help set up the rolls without over baking.

Mix it up with a little bit of finely chopped pecans or raisins.

Save some to have with your morning coffee if you can!