As I type, we are starting our sixth week of quarantine. I’ve been through every emotion there is- fear, hopelessness, audacity, calm, rage- you name it, and my feelings are apt to change at a moment’s notice. For now, I’ve accepted that the best thing I can do to preserve the health of my family and my community is to stay home. So, while I’m here, I’m trying to make the most of it.
It’s no secret that I share my love through food. I love to cook and bake for people, and that’s been at a fever pitch for the past few weeks. I’ve made scones, challah, naan, cakes, hundreds of cookies, and dinner almost every night. My extended family has been working our way through my grandma’s repertoire of cookies (our favorites are the M&Ms cookies, although Eddie will accept any variety), and my greatest accomplishment to date has been the cinnamon roll.
For years I’ve struggled to find a reliable cinnamon roll recipe and I have failed spectacularly. Some of them have been ok, but most of them have been trash that failed to rise. When my friend Daniel posted about the beautiful rolls he’d made, I needed the recipe immediately.
I was stunned by it’s simplicity. The recipe definitely takes some knowledge about how things work in the kitchen, but the result was well worth the effort.
The next time I make them, which might be tonight for anyone’s guess, I’ll top them with cream cheese frosting. Why not guild the lily.
If you don’t have the motivation for cinnamon rolls (because this is a project, no way around it), try these M&Ms cookies. Or make them with chocolate chips, or leftover peppermint or toffee bits that you have from holiday baking. I like to scoop the dough into individual portions and freeze them so we can bake two (or six) cookies at a moment’s notice.
