Mary Anne here. A dear friend and former co-worker, Sara, shared this recipe with me, culled from her brother’s culinary repertoire. And like many recipes exchanged by friends, the instructions were a bit “loosey-goosey.” Notably, the recipe was for cinnamon ROLLS, but as you can see by the picture….well the rolls got together and baked themselves into a very merry, sweet and cinnamony-breakfast cake! (My downfall was in understanding the pan size I should have used to bake these babies in comfort!)
I was so distraught when the rolls welded together in the pan, I simply didn’t know what to do. While the unexpected cake looked kind of pretty, how evenly had it actually baked? I decided the only true acid test for this creation was to take it to the operating room and see what my very vocal and pretty picky co-workers had to say.
Once I deposited the cake and made a hasty retreat (lest I be associated with a potential flop), I later learned that my co-workers wandered into the lounge, and each cut off a tiny sliver. After biting into the cake, without exception, my unwitting taste-testers reportedly exclaimed, “Whoa. I’m cutting another piece and saving it for my coffee break!” I even received an offer of cold hard cash to make another one for a nurse’s Christmas breakfast. Needless to say, I had a winner on my hands.
So here’s to a very jolly holiday breakfast of your own! And if yeast breads are too time consuming during this season of bustle and hustle, try this coffee cake or these breakfast biscuits and of course some of our fave holiday menus. Whatever you choose, Mariel and I wish you the happiest of holidays!

Cinnamon Roll Coffee Cake
Serves 8
Ingredients:
Dough:
1 package (2 ¼ tsp) active dry yeast – $1.99
1/2 cup warm water
1/2 cup lukewarm milk – stock
1/3 cup sugar – stock
1/3 cup butter, softened – stock
1 teaspoon salt – stock
1 egg – stock
3 ½ -4 cups flour – stock
Filling:
4 tablespoons butter, softened – stock
½ cup sugar – stock
4 teaspoons cinnamon – stock
Glaze:
2 cups powdered sugar – stock
2 tablespoons milk – stock
1 teaspoon vanilla – stock
Grand Total Assuming a Well-Stocked Pantry: $1.99
Total Per Serving: $0.25
Directions:
1. Dissolve the yeast in warm water in large bowl. Stir in milk, sugar, butter, salt, egg, and 2 cups of flour. Beat until smooth. Mix in enough flour to make dough easy to handle.
2. Turn dough onto lightly floured surface. Knead until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Note: I used my mixer with the dough hooks and it worked out to be about the same amount of kneading time.
3. Place the dough in a greased bowl; turn greased side up. Cover with a damp cotton dishtowel and allow to rise in a very warm, draft-free place until double, about 1 ½ to 2 hours. Note: Dough is ready if an indent remains when touched.
4. Pre-heat oven to 350 F.
5. Using 2 opposing knives, mix the filling ingredients together by cutting the softened butter into the sugar and cinnamon. The mixture will become crumbly and resemble coarse meal.
6. Punch down the dough.
7. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Roll into a rectangle about 8 x 12 inches. Sprinkle the filling evenly over the pastry.
8. Roll the filled pastry up lengthwise, tightly. Pinch the edges closed.
9. Gently stretch the roll to make it even. Cut into 8 slices. Place slightly apart, upright, in a greased 9” spring form pan. Cover with the damp cotton towel and allow to rise until doubled, about 40 minutes. Bake 25-30 minutes until puffed and golden. Remove from oven and cool on wire rack for 10 minutes.
10. Release from the spring form pan and transfer to serving platter.
11. Drizzle with glaze while warm.
Rolls? Cake? Who cares? All I see is GOOD! Posts like this can be hard to read, you know, when I’m sitting here with a bowl of Cheerios and cold milk. Makes me want to dive into my screen!
Can this be frozen to bake at a later time?
Cinnamon roll coffee cake….that sounds fantastic! I can’t wait to try this 🙂
Is there any way this can make this the night before?
I like the idea of a cinnamon roll coffee cake better than a cinnamon roll since I find cinnamon rolls almost always to big. How perfect to slice off the amount you want! (Pssst, sorry I’ve been absent for awhile).
We missed you Rhonda! Hope all is well and we wish you a spectacular new year! 🙂
Two of my favorite breakfast treats in one?! Yes, please!