This keeper came from Canticle magazine, though I have no idea what issue or from whom. A friend with a subscription brought it to my attention. They aren’t the lightest cinnamon rolls around, but I haven’t heard many complaints as they are wolfed down on weekend mornings. And that’s one of the best parts of this recipe – it makes 3 dozen cinnaomn rolls. Which is enough for us to enjoy a dozen and stash two away in ziploc baggies for future Saturday morning treats. The other is that it does not require kneading.

4 ½ t yeast
½ c warm water

2 ½ c milk
½ c butter
2/3 c sugar
2 t salt

4 eggs
8-9 c flour

Dissolve yeast in water.

In medium saucepan, combine milk, butter, sugar, salt and heat until butter is just melted. Remove from heat.

In large mixing bowl, beat eggs with fork. Add yeast mixture. Add milk mixture. Add flour gradually and mix thoroughly. Do not knead.

Let rise until double. Punch down then roll out ½ dough at a time into large rectangle. Brush with melted butter and lots of cinnamon and sugar. Make jelly roll and slice. Rise another 30 to 40 minutes in greased pans. (I use 1 – 9×13 cake pan and 4 – 9″ round cake pans.) Bake 375 for 20 minutes or until brown on top.

Note: To mix the flour completely in, I find mixing with my hands works best at the end. You just want the dough to be smooth and not sticky, like any other bread dough before rising. It’s *almost* kneading, but not quite.

Powdered Milk Frosting

From Whole Foods for the Whole Family, the cookbook compiled by LaLeche League members.

It is perfect for the cinnamon rolls from ingredients you have around the house! I usually double this recipe when I make the buns and then any time I pull out one of the baggies from the freezer.

¼ c butter, softened
¼ c honey or any sugar
2-3 tablespoons milk
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 c instant dry milk powder

Cream butter and sugar with electric mixer. Beat in milk and vanilla. Add dry milk powder and beat until light and fluffy. Chill and watch it melt on top of warm rolls. Yum! Can adjust amounts of milk, dry milk powder, and butter for different consistencies.

Note: I know that last sentence in the instructions is vague, but it is basically letting you know that you can fudge this one a little with no worries. Make it thinner, thicker, less butter, more butter – whatever your family enjoys.

This is the story of how I found Catherine Doherty’s recipes. She is the foundress of the lay apostolate, Madonna House.

At a second hand store, I came across a handmade scrapbook with the handwritten title on the front “Cooking with Mary, recipes by Catherine.” How delightful, I thought. It looked to be someone’s personalized cookbook – from the bottom up – and had been done with care and love. It is that, but it’s even better. Guess who the Catherine is? Yeap. Catherine Doherty. Anyone who’s a regular reader knows why as soon as I opened it and saw my dear spiritual friend Catherine’s recipes in that book, tears came to my eyes. I’m still overjoyed and shaking. And it was just sitting there. I looked around me almost suspiciously wondering why no one else had claimed this priceless treasure, but truly felt in that moment that I had no need to worry. It had been saved for me.

So, what is inside are articles clipped from the Madonna House’s Restoration newspaper. Catherine ran a column with recipes for awhile in the paper entitled “Cooking with Mary” and some loving soul had cut them out and saved them in this book. They date from October 1974 until February 1976. Sixteen articles in all. Now, I have no idea if these are the only ones Catherine ever wrote or if the collector stopped before the end. I do know that Catherine was very sick for many years before her death in 1985, so there is the chance that this is the complete collection.

October 1974, Carrot Loaf and Sour Gravy

November 1974, Pudding leftovers and Hearts

December 1974, Yeast Dough Meat Pie

March 1975, Russian Easter Specialties – Koolich and Paska

December 1975, Walnut Strudel and Christmas Log

January 1976, Epiphany Fruit Bread, Braided Christmas Bread and St. Nicholas Spice Cookies

Feast Day – December 6th

1c butter
1c lard
2c brown sugar
½ c sour cream
½ t baking soda
4t cinnamon
½ t nutmeg
½ t cloves
4 ½ c flour
½ c chopped nuts (optional)

Cream butter, lard and sugar – by hand with rubber spatula or with electric mixer. In separate bowl, combine spices, baking soda and flour.

Add sour cream to creamed mixture, alternately with dry mixture. Stir in the nuts. Knead dough into rolls. Wrap in wax paper and chill overnight. Roll dough very thin and cut into shapes. Bake 375 for 10 minutes, or until not quite golden.

Catherine Doherty adds…

“On small slips of paper we write a message from the Bible for every member of the family and insert it in the right arm of St. Nicholas. We cook this slip of paper with the cookie. We decorate the cookie to look like St. Nicholas himself and write each person’s name on the cookie with frosting.”

My alterations from making them myself these last few years…

1. They do not necessarily have to chill overnight, only long enough for the fats to harden the dough enough to be rolled out, just like pie crust dough. Minimum of an hour.

2. They may be rolled out to any thickness you like. Thin if you like crispier cookies. Thick if you prefer chewy. Today I made them at least 1/2″ thick and they were great! Just have a well floured surface and rolling pin either way.

3. The dough is a bit hard to work with when you first get it out of the refrigerator. Once it gets warm, it is less likely to break apart and easier to roll out. Feel free to roll out the leftover pieces again and again to cut more cookies. The taste/texture never diminishes.

4. They freeze well.

We make one large cookie in the shape of a bishop which we all share, then little stars and gingerbread men. Ice to your hearts content, decorate the large bishop one with red and white icing, use up the last of the sprinkles in your baking cupboard. They are so good that another batch usually gets made before Christmas.

Hello, this is my little recipe blog.

I plan to post my collection of recipes here, so that friends far and wide can have access to them. I enjoy cooking mostly from scratch, baking in bulk and I’m not much of a casserole person, though I’ve found a couple gems. Stop by when you smell something good.