Grandma Billie’s Cinnamon Rolls

Grandma Billie’s Cinnamon Rolls are a family favorite recipe. They are tender and sweet with a drizzle of sweet icing on top.

The story behind Grandma Billie’s Cinnamon Rolls is that my grandma used to make these cinnamon rolls whenever we came to visit, but I especially remember eating them on Christmas mornings. She’d have trays and trays of them on the counter rising and ready for everyone in the family to enjoy. It’s a great memory.

Ingredients needed:

• shortening
• milk
• active dry yeast
• warm water
• eggs
• white sugar
• salt
• all purpose flour
• butter
• light brown sugar
• ground cinnamon
• powdered sugar
• milk
• vanilla extract

How to make Grandma Billie’s Cinnamon Rolls:

The complete, printable recipe is at the end of this post.

MAKE THE DOUGH:

1. In a small saucepan, heat the shortening and milk until the shortening has melted. Remove from heat and let it sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes, or cooled off to lukewarm.
2. In a small bowl, dissolve the yeast and sugar in warm water and set aside until the yeast bubbles in the water.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat together the eggs, ½ cup sugar and salt until the mixture is foamy. Mix in the shortening/milk and yeast mixtures.
4. Change to a dough hook and add flour 1 cup at a time (5 cups) until the flour is incorporated, stopping to scrape down sides as needed. The dough should come together in a ball and begin to lift from the bottom of the bowl. Add more flour a little as a time, as needed, until a ball of dough is formed and the dough is no longer sticky. Let the dough hook knead the dough for about 5 minutes.
5. Spray a medium bowl with nonstick spray. Scrape the dough into the bowl and turn it to coat all sides with the oil. Cover it with a clean dishtowel and set it in a warm place to rise for 1 to 2 hours, or until dough is nearly doubled.
6. Punch down risen dough and remove it to a well-floured surface. Roll out the dough into a large rectangle, about ¼ to ½-inch thick. The long side should be facing you. (Add flour, as needed, to prevent the dough from sticking to the surface.)

ADD THE FILLING AND ASSEMBLE THE ROLLS:

1. Spread with softened butter. Sprinkle generously with a layer of white sugar followed by a layer of brown sugar and a good dose of ground cinnamon.
2. Beginning with the long side closest to you, begin rolling the dough over the filling until you’ve created one big log of rolled dough. Trim the end and then use a sharp knife to begin slicing 1-inch cuts of cinnamon roll. Carefully remove the cut rolls to an oiled pan. See tips in the recipe at the end of this post for instructions for baking later.

How to bake cinnamon rolls later:

Cover pans with plastic wrap and keep them in the refrigerator up to one day. When you’re ready to bake, take them out of the fridge, remove the plastic wrap and cover them with a clean dishtowel. Put them in a warm place to rise until they’re about doubled in size. If you’d like to have these first thing in the morning, you can put them in a cold oven (turn on the light, but not the heat) and leave them overnight. They should be risen and ready to bake in the AM. 

Tips for making the best cinnamon rolls:

1. The temperature of the water to mix with the yeast is important. If it’s too hot, it might kill the yeast. Watch for the yeast to bubble. If it doesn’t bubble, your yeast is likely no longer active and you should try a new packet.
2. If you don’t have a stand mixer, use a regular hand mixer through step 3. Then stir in the flour a cup at a time (5 cups) until it’s incorporated; transfer dough to a floured surface and continue to work the dough, kneading it for 5 to 8 minutes, continuing to add flour, as needed, until the dough comes together to form a ball and is no longer sticky. Then continue with step 5.
3. I like to use two ¼-sheet pans (12 rolls in each) to bake these. Use any rimmed baking sheets or two 9×12 inch pans.

If you’d like, you can add more icing on top of individual cinnamon rolls. They’re gooey and wonderful, and they’re best eaten warm. Enjoy!

The Best Cinnamon Roll Recipes:

• Old Fashioned Cinnamon Rolls
• No Yeast Eggnog Cinnamon Rolls
• Slow Cooker Cinnamon Rolls
• Amish Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls with Caramel Icing
• Make Ahead Cinnamon Rolls

5 from 1 vote

Grandma Billie's Cinnamon Rolls

By RecipeGirl.com

Grandma Billie used to make these cinnamon rolls whenever we came to visit, but I especially remember eating them on Christmas mornings.

Prep: 45 minutes mins

Cook: 25 minutes mins

Rising Time: 3 hours hrs 30 minutes mins

Total: 4 hours hrs 40 minutes mins

Servings: 24 rolls (1 per serving)

SaveSaved Pin Print

Save this recipe!

Get this sent to your inbox, plus get new recipes from us every week!

Please enable JavaScript in your browser to complete this form.

Email *

Save

Ingredients

DOUGH:

• ▢ ½ cup shortening
• ▢ 1 cup milk
• ▢ One .25 ounce package active dry yeast
• ▢ ½ cup warm water (105 to 110°F.)
• ▢ 1 teaspoon granulated white sugar
• ▢ 3 large eggs
• ▢ ½ cup granulated white sugar
• ▢ 1 teaspoon salt
• ▢ 5 to 6 cups all purpose flour

FILLING:

• ▢ ¾ cup (1½ sticks) butter, softened
• ▢ ½ cup granulated white sugar, more or less, to taste
• ▢ ½ cup light brown sugar, more or less, to taste
• ▢ 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon, more or less, to taste

GLAZE:

• ▢ 1 cup powdered sugar, sifted
• ▢ 1 to 2 tablespoons milk
• ▢ ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions 

MAKE THE DOUGH:

• In a small saucepan, heat the shortening and milk until the shortening has melted. Remove from heat and let it sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes, or cooled off to lukewarm.
• In a small bowl, dissolve the yeast and 1 teaspoon of sugar in warm water and set aside until the yeast bubbles in the water.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat together the eggs, ½ cup sugar and salt until the mixture is foamy. Mix in the shortening/milk and yeast mixtures.
• Change to a dough hook and add flour 1 cup at a time (5 cups) until the flour is incorporated, stopping to scrape down sides as needed. The dough should come together in a ball and begin to lift from the bottom of the bowl. Add more flour a little as a time, as needed, until a ball of dough is formed and the dough is no longer sticky. Let the dough hook knead the dough for about 5 minutes.
• Spray a medium bowl with nonstick spray. Scrape the dough into the bowl and turn it to coat all sides with the oil. Cover it with a clean dishtowel and set it in a warm place to rise for 1 to 2 hours, or until dough is nearly doubled.
• Punch down the risen dough and remove it to a well-floured surface. Roll out the dough into a large rectangle, about ¼ to ½-inch thick. The long side should be facing you. (Add flour, as needed, to prevent the dough from sticking to the surface.)

ADD THE FILLING AND ASSEMBLE THE ROLLS:

• Spread with softened butter. Sprinkle generously with a layer of white sugar followed by a layer of brown sugar and a good dose of ground cinnamon.
• Beginning with the long side closest to you, begin rolling the dough over the filling until you’ve created one big log of rolled dough. Trim the end and then use a sharp knife to begin slicing 1-inch cuts of cinnamon roll. Carefully remove the cut rolls to an oiled pan. See tips below for instructions for baking later.
• If baking now, cover the pans with a clean dishtowel and put them in a warm place to rise (1 to 2 hours), until they’re about doubled in size.
• Preheat the oven to 350°F. Remove the dishtowel and bake cinnamon rolls 15 to 20 minutes, just until golden. Remove the rolls from the oven and let cool for a few minutes.

ADD THE GLAZE:

• In a small bowl, whisk together the glaze ingredients, adding enough milk to create drizzling consistency. Drizzle the glaze over the warm rolls and serve immediately.

Notes

• The temperature of the water to mix with the yeast is important. If it’s too hot, it might kill the yeast. Watch for the yeast to bubble. If it doesn’t bubble, your yeast is likely no longer active and you should try a new packet.
• If you don’t have a stand mixer, use a regular hand mixer through step 3. Then stir in the flour a cup at a time (5 cups) until it’s incorporated; transfer dough to a floured surface and continue to work the dough, kneading it for 5 to 8 minutes, continuing to add flour, as needed, until the dough comes together to form a ball and is no longer sticky. Then continue with step 5.
• I like to use two ¼-sheet pans (12 rolls in each) to bake these. Use any rimmed baking sheets or two 9x12 inch pans.
• Instructions for baking these later: Cover pans with plastic wrap and keep them in the refrigerator up to one day. When you’re ready to bake, take them out of the fridge, remove the plastic wrap and cover them with a clean dishtowel. Put them in a warm place to rise until they’re about doubled in size. If you’d like to have these first thing in the morning, you can put them in a cold oven (turn on the light, but not the heat) and leave them overnight. They should be risen and ready to bake in the AM. 

Nutrition

Serving: 1roll, Calories: 282kcal, Carbohydrates: 41g, Protein: 4g, Fat: 12g, Saturated Fat: 5g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g, Monounsaturated Fat: 4g, Trans Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 40mg, Sodium: 160mg, Potassium: 68mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 18g, Vitamin A: 237IU, Vitamin C: 1mg, Calcium: 31mg, Iron: 2mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Like this? Leave a comment below!