Creative Knitting – Beyond Knit and Purl

I believe Christmas is the season for joy, not because of any of the worldly pleasures associated with this time of year, but because an ALL MIGHTY GOD chose to save any of us.  That has to be the miracle of all miracles.   That said, the next blessing on the agenda has to be loved ones and dear friends, some of whom I have met since starting this website.   So… setting aside the knitting, I have chosen to share a family recipe that I hope will be used to put a smile on many faces.

My cinnamon rolls have been shared from California to Idaho, and if you like them, pass it on.

Knit-tweaker’s Cinnamon Rolls

Fresh out of the oven!

Ready to eat!!!!

Ingredients for roll mixture: 6 1/4 cups flour, plus bench flour, 1/2 cup sugar, 2 Tbsps (or 3 packages) dry yeast, 1 cup milk, 1 cup water, 1 cube melted butter, 1 jumbo egg (or 2 medium eggs), 1 Tbsp salt.

Ingredients for filling:  1 cube softened butter, brown sugar, raisins ( that have been softened in warm water, then dried on a paper towel), cinnamon, and thinly sliced apples (cooked till tender, I use our wild apples, but Granny Smith’s work great).

Ingredients for glaze:  Powdered sugar, Melted butter, and vanilla, and milk ( enough milk to form a glaze consistency).  I make it up early then warm it in the microwave a few seconds before spreading on rolls.

* I actually use almost 3 cubes of butter for this recipe( yes, the REAL THING)

In large bowl of mixer, combine- 2 cups of all purpose flour, the dry yeast (either 2 Tbsps dry or 3 packets), 1/2 cup sugar.  Stir together with fork.  Heat 1 cup of water and 1 cup of milk to about 110-115(very warm) degrees.  Pour into flour mixture. Beat 2 minutes at med. speed.  Stir in 1 cube of melted butter.  Beat 1 min.  Add the 1 jumbo or 2 medium eggs &  beat at high speed 1 min.  Remove bowl from mixer.  In separate bowl, stir together 4 1/4 cup flour, and 1 Tbsp of salt, add to flour mix in mixer bowl, stirring with spoon until just combined (Don’t over mix).  Dough should be soft and slightly sticky.  Cover and let rise until double in size.

Roll dough out on floured board to rectangle shape, about 1/2 inch thick.  Next spread 1 cube softened butter (NOT MELTED) on entire surface.  Sprinkle generously with brown sugar, cinnamon,  raisins and thin cooked apple slices.  Roll up.  With both hands cupped around roll, begin to work it out to a 21 inch long tube(for 3 pans) or 28 inch( 4 pans).  *I actually lay a yarn stick on the edge of my board to get the right size.

Put on the goodies!

Sprinkle on the Cinnamon

Roll it up, then shape the roll to size.

Ready to cut!

This roll is 28 inches long.  You will notice that I squared the ends.

Cut rolls in 1 inch slices, and place 7 rolls in each of  round foil cake pans that have been buttered.  Cover and let rise in a warm place about 25 minutes or until they fill the pans nicely.  Bake at 375 degrees for about 15-20 minutes, or until  browned.  Remove from oven and immediately brush with melted butter.   Let your rolls partially cool. Make Powdered sugar glaze, and drizzle on rolls, while they are still a bit warm.

These rolls freeze nicely, but be sure to wrap them well.  Of course, if your family is like mine they won’t have a chance of staying around that lone. 🙂

Enjoy and sing “Joy to the World”

I don’t think it’s ever to late to say thanks.  So after spending many hours, weeks, and even months on one pattern, my hat is off to all those before me who have done yoman’s work in producing patterns for knitting.  Like many, I have formed the habit of  looking for the “free” stuff-but no more. I realize now, that unless you have done it, it is hard to appreciate the work that goes into producing a pattern; but once you have attempted it, believe me, just like mine, your attitude will change. 

Having written instructions materials before, i.e. handbells music instructions,plays, musicals and craft tutorials, etc., I thought this would be a snap – wrong.  Nothing had prepared me for the demands of this project. 

First, like in everything, we assume to much, and quite often don’t communicate well.  The first thing I encountered was  knitting terminology.  In my “knitting backwards” tutorial, I had about 40 responses, some telling me I was right in my use of the term, some telling me I was wrong; conclusion- it depends on where you live, and who you learned your knitting from, or, if your are lefthanded or not.   The bottom line was that people in different parts of the world often use different terms to describe a move or a stitch.  “It’s the way Grandma showed me.”

Secondly, it is a flaw in our present culture that we seem to want everything given to us-we want it free and easy.  But, that not exactly new, as the artisans of Rome in Cicero’s day, suffered the same fate as the creatives minds of today.

So, the next time you cringe at the price of a pattern, take a deep breath, and consider the hours of work that went into it (by the way, that includes sleepless nights, missed lunches, aching backs, from sitting at the computer, charting one stitch at a time- you get the picture).  There is no way to caluate an hourly wage on the creative process, and even if you could,  I assure you, none of us could afford it.

Something to think about-

Knit-tweaker