Helen's Cinnamon Buns

If you ask anyone who has familial ties to the Jens & Helen Christensen family, the best cinnamon buns on the planet are Helen’s cinnamon buns.  There is absolutely no worry she’ll mind giving up her recipe.  In fact, I’m quite certain that she’d welcome a knock at the door with a pan of cinnamon buns to share right around coffee time.  (Ok – that’s a lovely sentiment.  Call first.  Or don’t... heh.... just tell her I sent you.  I’d look forward to that story!)

Helen’s Cinnamon Buns

Biscuit Mix:

2 cups flour

4 ½ tsp (1 ½ tbsp) baking powder

½ tsp salt

3 tbsp shortening

1 cup milk

Mix dry ingredients, cut in butter, add milk.

Kneed 10 times and roll out.

You can stop right here, and make biscuits, if you like.  Use a 2-3” round biscuit cutter for biscuits that look like Helen’s.  Or you can cut with a knife and make diamonds – no waste of the bits in-between the rounds.  Bake for 10 minutes.

Cinnamon Bun Makery:

Roll into an oblong – about 16” by 8”.  (Or 40cm by 25 cm.)   Spread butter on top, like making a jelly-roll.  Sprinkle with brown sugar, and then with cinnamon.  Roll along the 16” end, so that it stays 16” long.  Slice into 12 equal pieces, and add pieces into either a 8” round or 8” square baking pan.  (Maybe 9”?)  Bake 20-25 minutes.  (I baked today’s for 25.  It was too long.  I also had too little butter at less than ¼ cup, and too little brown sugar at about ½ cup.  But like pizza, there is no such thing as a bad cinnamon bun. ) 

Were the directions too vague for the cinnamon bun makery part?  I think you’ll find that if you ask mom, you’ll be happy that these directions were so accurate. J

Enjoy!