"Because I Am an Elbert and That's What We Do"

I grew up hearing my grandma talk about cinnamon rolls. I really cannot tell you how many times she talked about cinnamon rolls or brought them up in conversation. Millions and millions of times....I probably have enough pictures to fill a box of me baking cinnamon rolls with her at the farm. When she was a little girl her mother (my great grandma of course) made cinnamon rolls every Saturday. Her sisters and her continued to make cinnamon rolls together every Saturday and after she had kids she would make them with my mother and her sisters. They then would gather after church the next day and eat the C.R. So big tradition. I even had to help some of my mom's cousins and my great aunts find cinnamon roll related scrapbooking embellishments to make a photo album of my great grandma. One of my greatest memories is being on the farm and my grandma made a batch and I made a batch and my grandpa, brothers, and one of my uncles came in from milking and they all took a roll from my pan and zero from my grandma's. My grandma put her hands on her hips and said, "Missy they all liked your rolls better than mine!!?!???!!!" and then she laughed. I actually felt really good.

With that being said, I do have my great grandma's recipe, but (dare I say) it does not make my favorite cinnamon rolls. They are a little to 'bready'. So all of my adult life I have been on the look out for the 'best cinnamon roll recipe' there is. I want to be known as making the best cinnamon rolls ever. (just like Monica on friends wants to be known as the mom who makes the best chocolate chip cookies) (Actually I would also like to be known as making the best c.c cookies and thanks to Alton Brown and using cake flour instead of all purpose flour and butter/shortening combo...I might be close)
Everytime I find a different recipe I try it. If you know anything about making them, they are not quick, they take all day between scalding the milk, letting it cool to 105 degrees, letting it rise, roll it out, make filling, roll, cut, let rise again, and baking.....it is a lot of work. Half way through I wish I never started because I am over it.

Well, today I am happy to say....I think I finally did it! I now have the perfect cinnamon roll recipe!

My husband came home from work near the tail end of the process and I was telling him how this recipe was different and how long it took and that I have been at it since noon and yadda yadda yadda and he said, "why do you kill yourself to make cinnamon rolls?" and I looked at him and said, "Because I am an Elbert and that's what we do!"


So, what is the one tradition in your family that you will always do?