My Grandma’s Fabulous Cinnamon Rolls + Fun Fall Bucket List

It’s my birthday this week! I’m turning 35 and what better way to celebrate than kicking my birthday week off with my favorite sweet treat of all time. There’s hardly a visit to Grandma and Papa’s that doesn’t include my Grandma Joyce’s fantastic homemade cinnamon rolls. Secret: the key is in the gooey caramel topping!

Fall has always been a favorite season of mine. I may be a California girl through and through, but Minnesota drives up North in the Fall to my grandparents farm still bring back magical memories of brilliant fall leaves and highways lined with golden trees of amber, yellow, orange and red! Lazy mornings sitting in my grandma’s kitchen while she kneaded dough cannot be beat. Many wonderful life conversations happened in that kitchen while she baked and cooked and I spilled all my hopes and dreams. Not that cinnamon rolls are a treat reserved just for the Fall, but there’s just something about baked good that brings all the warm and cozy feels.

I’m sharing my Grandma’s Cinnamon Roll recipe, her secret topping ingredient and a fun Fall bucket list! Trust me these cinnamon rolls are to die for. I can never stop at just one. With a house full of family they don’t last very long anyways!

My Grandma’s Fabulous Cinnamon Rolls + Fun Fall Bucket List

Grandma Joyce’s Cinnamon Rolls Recipe

Ingredients:

Rolls

2 cups milk
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons of salt
2 packages of yeast (or approximately 2 1/2 teaspoons each)
2 eggs
1/2 cup of shortening or oil
7 to 7 1/2 cups of flour

Filling

1/4 cup of butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tsp cinnamon

Caramel Topping

2 cups brown sugar
2 cups vanilla ice cream (that secret, key, ingredient!)

In a large bowl, stir 1 cup of the flour, sugar, salt, and yeast with a wooden spoon until well mixed. Warm the milk over medium heat, in a small sauce pan, until very warm. Add the warm milk, eggs, 1/4 a cup of oil to the flour mixture. Stir until batter starts to get bubbly. I prefer to use a whisk or you can use an electric mixer on low speed.

Mix in the rest of your flour a cup at a time. After five cups of flour start adding in your other 1/4 cup of flour and begin to knead your dough by hand until you’ve mixed in your remaining flour and oil. You want your dough soft but not too soft.

Once you have finished kneading your dough let it rise. It’ll take about 1 1/2 – 2 hours to rise. I place a clean kitchen towel over the bowl and check on it periodically. Once your dough rises (it will double in size), punch it down and let it rise again.

In a small bowl mix 1/2 cup brown sugar and 2 tsp cinnamon.

Prepare your counter or a large cutting board by sprinkling about a handful of flour with your hand so you can roll your dough out. Rub flour on your rolling pin to keep the dough from sticking to it. Split your dough in half and place it in a ball on the counter. Roll out your dough in a rectangle about 15 x 10 inches.

Spread a 1/4 cup butter over dough. Sprinkle with brown sugar and cinnamon mix.

On the long edge of your dough roll dough up tightly. Using a sharp knife cut roll into approximately 1 inch slices.

Prepare two 13×9 pans. (I used a 13×9 and a 8×8 and the second pan just wasn’t big enough!) Coat your pans with a generous amount of butter. In a bowl melt 2 cup of vanilla ice cream and then stir in 2 cup of brown sugar. Pour the mix evenly into the bottom of pans.

Place slices slightly apart in the pan. Cover pan loosely with a clean kitchen towel and let rise in a warm place about 30 minutes or until dough has doubled in size.

Heat the oven to 350°F. Bake 25 to 35 minutes or until golden brown. Check rolls after 20 minutes and rotate or switch pans from top and bottom racks.

Immediately remove rolls from pan and place right side up on a cooling rack. Let cool for 5 minutes, serve warm and enjoy!

Do you have a family recipe you absolutely love using? Share with me in the comments below.

Cinnamon rolls and Fall go hand in hand for me, so I came up with a fun list of 52 ideas and things to do this Fall. Can you guess what’s at the top of the list? Why making my Grandma’s delicious cinnamon rolls, of course. 

52 Fun Ideas for the Fall:

1. Make my Grandma’s yummy cinnamon rolls!
2. Make a list of all the things your thankful for
3. Write and send out notes to friends and family telling them why you’re thankful for them
4. Host a Friendsgiving
5. Volunteer at a food shelter
6. Participate in a canned food drive
7. Host a themed movie night
8. Visit a pumpkin patch and tackle a corn maze
9. Carve a pumpkin
10. Go on a hayride
11. Attend a Fall Harvest Festival
12. Decorate your home with Fall & Autumn decorations
13. Make a Fall wreath
14. Make a Fall table runner
15. Create a gorgeous Fall tablescape
16. Treat yourself to a pumpkin spice latte (or two)
17. Bake a yummy apple shortbread crisp
18. Go apple picking at an orchard
19. Make caramel apples
20. Bake a pie and bring it to someone
21. Make homemade apple cider
22. Eat some candy corn
23. Make an Autumn inspired treat
24. Make a homemade granola with pumpkin seeds
25. Throw a jam making party
26. Create a seaside Autumn tablescape
27. Go to a concert
28. Go on a haunted house tour
29. DIY your own Halloween costume
30. Throw a themed Halloween party
31. Take a camping trip
32. Have a bonfire
33. Roast marshmallows and make s’mores
34. Go wine tasting
35. Have a candle making party
36. Make your own fabulous glow stick lanterns
37. Cozy up in front of the fireplace with a good book
38. Go foraging and create a fun fall craft with your findings
39. Go for a hike
40. Collect Acorns
41. Make your own clay acorns and bunting
42. Visit a butterfly sanctuary
43. Take a trip to the local farmer’s market
44. Get a jump on your Christmas shopping
45. Take a long afternoon scenic drive
46. Get out in nature
47. Update your Fall wardrobe
48. Rock a new pair of booties
49. Put a puzzle together
50. Make Fall potpourri
51. Go horseback riding
52. Make a Fall bouquet

What’s on your Fall bucket list?

xoxo
Naomi