In Hawai’i, the word “ono” is the same as saying “DELICIOUS” for mainland folks, and that is just what these cinnamon rolls will have you saying when you taste them! I woke up wanting to bake bread of some kind today to bring warmth to an otherwise frozen day here in the Heartland and these ‘from-scratch’ rolls, adapted from a Paula Deen recipe,  are exactly what I was thinking of!

You do have to start early in the day as your dough is going to need to rise twice but as long as you are in for the day, there’s no better way to spend your time. These rolls are destined for mama and friends at the nursing home this evening though I did have to eat one of them right out of the oven! Today I needed just 3 cups of flour for the dough and I added chopped pecans, raisins, and orange zest to my filling. I love the zip that orange or lemon zest adds to any bread recipe and the orange zest I used today was a perfect pairing with the cinnamon flavoring. The nuts add crunch and texture to the soft rolls.  I think I got a little carried away on the raisins actually and so recommend using a little less, maybe 1/2 cup only.

Use as little flour as possible and give the dough plenty of time to rise. Today I left it alone for 2 hours and then again for 45 minutes before baking the rolls. Cut your rolled dough into at least 1/2″ thick slices for a filling and satisfying treat and brew up some fresh coffee, too, if you have time. You will love these rolls and the warming sweet aroma they spread throughout the house as they bake.  Oh, yes!  Yet another happy snow day!

Ono Cinnamon Rolls

Ingredients

DOUGH

1/4 -ounce package yeast
1/2 cup warm water
1/2 cup scalded milk
1/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup butter
1 teaspoon salt
1 egg, beaten
3-1/2 to 4 cups flour

FILLING

1/2 cup melted butter, plus more for pans
3/4 cup sugar, plus more for pan
2 T ground cinnamon
3/4 cup raisins and chopped pecans, optional
1 T. orange zest, optional

GLAZE

4 T butter, melted
2 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
3-5 T. milk

DIRECTIONS

In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water and set aside. In a large bowl mix milk, sugar, melted butter, salt and egg. Add 2 cups of flour and mix until smooth. Add yeast mixture. Mix in remaining flour, blend well until dough is easy to handle. Knead dough on lightly floured surface for 5-7 minutes. Place in well-greased bowl, cover and let rise until doubled in size, 2 hours usually.

Heat oven to 350. When dough has doubled in size, punch down and roll out on a floured surface into a 15 by 9-inch rectangle. Spread melted butter all over dough. Mix sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle over buttered dough. Sprinkle with pecans and raisins if desired. Beginning at the 15-inch side, roll up dough and pinch edge together to seal. Cut into 12 to 15 slices. Coat the bottom of baking pan with butter and sprinkle with sugar. Place cinnamon roll slices close together in pans and let rise until dough is doubled, about 45 minutes then bake for about 30 minutes or until nicely browned.

Prepare glaze while rolls are baking then spread over the rolls while they are still slightly warm.