My Family’s Traditional Cinnamon Rolls “Ciggie Minnies” Recipe

For as long as I can remember, my mom would make cinnamon rolls for us EVERY Christmas! It started with my dad’s mom making them with the left over pie crust dough. She would roll out the leftover dough, add butter, cinnamon and sugar, roll and bake. Then my mom took over when her and dad were married. 

This was the one time of year my mom 

would make them and the tradition has always held a special place in my heart. I don’t know how we ended up calling them “ciggie minnies” but it started when we were little and just stuck!

As my sisters and I got older we had to learn how to make the ciggie minnies as well. I think it was at some point in college where my mom and I had a “bake off” to see who made the best ciggie minnie rolls. We even had unbiased judges and I was deemed the master ciggie minnie roll maker! Since then, it has been my job to make them each year at Christmas.

This recipe is super easy in theory but it has taken me about 20 years to perfect it. I remember being in middle school and it was my turn to make them for Christmas and the dough would be all crumbly and hard. Mom would try to show me the tricks to make perfect pie crust dough but it was a struggle. But having a gourmet chef for a mother really can help a person learn how to make, at least some things, delicious!

Step 1: use the Betty Crocker recipe for pie crust dough. I used my mom’s recipe but I can’t share her trade secrets until her cookbook comes out. But we grew up using Betty’s pie crust recipe so I can say with certainty that these will turn out yummy with her recipe as well!

Tip: when mixing the ingredients, make sure to use the tool shown in the picture below, it is WAY easier than chopping butter with a fork. Also, make sure to not mix the butter and flour together, you are just beading the butter. You don’t want a tough dough.

Also, DON’T knead the dough with your hands, you want the butter to stay in little beads and not melt from the heat of your hands. Tip: when you add the water, make sure it is ice cold!

Step 2: when your dough is in a nice ball, wrap it in saran wrap and stick it in the fridge for at least two hours.

Step 3: Roll the dough until you can kind of see the color of the countertop through the dough. Also, make sure to not use too much flour because the dough will get tough. If you use too little the dough will break apart.

Step 4: once the dough is thin enough, spread unsalted butter all over the dough. Please note: this is NOT a healthy recipe, which is why we have it once a year. So DON’T be stingy on the butter, cinnamon or sugar. You want to add enough to cover the dough but too too thick. Kind of eye ball it from the picture above.

Step 5: then add enough sugar to cover the dough.

Step 6: lastly, add enough cinnamon to cover the dough.

​Tip: the amount of butter, cinnamon and sugar you add is not an exact science. Just remember to add the same ratio of butter-cinnamon-sugar that way one flavor doesn’t overpower the other.

Step 7: roll the dough up and the slice into about 2-1/2” wide pieces. Place on a cookie sheet with a rack. Cook at 375 degrees for about 30-40 minutes or until golden brown.

They are the best when still warm! Don’t forget to leave some out for Santa!

I hope you enjoy these as much as I have over the years!
Merry Christmas!

Blog written by Amy Karras
Unnamed Adventures