Cinnamon Love Knots Recipe from Scratch

Name: Cinnamon Love Knots
Prep time: 60 min
Cook time: 25 min
Ingredients: 1/2 C solid vegetable shortening; 1/2 C Sugar; 1 1/2 tsp salt; 2 pkg yeast; 5 C all purpose flour; 2 eggs; 1 stick butter or margarine (melted (plus more for brushing baked rolls with)); 1 1/2 C warm water (like a baby’s bath temperature, this is key with working with yeast); 1 Cup Sugar; 1 Tablespoon Cinnamon; 1 stick (1/2 cup butter or margarine); 1 C Confectioner sugar; 3 Tablespoons milk; 1/2 tsp vanilla flavoring

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Valentine’s day at my house is all about family. Just as my mother before me, I like to cook a special meal for my kids and our traditional meal has become heart shaped meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and cinnamon love knots.

It may not sound romantic but it sure does sound like home and what could encompass more love than that? Now since I posted that menu last year and it doesn’t change, I thought this year I’d bring you one last Valentine recipe and a little spin on my cinnamon love knots.

This is the homemade version, from scratch. . However, if you are lazy and proud of it 😉 , you might want to refer to my original recipe for love knots which you could pretty much make with your eyes closed.

The Ingredients You’ll Need for this Cinnamon Love Knot Recipe Are:

All purpose flour, sugar, salt, yeast, vegetable shortening, two eggs, and melted butter or margarine.

You’re also going to need some hot water, 1 Cup Sugar, 1/2 Cup melted butter, and 1 Tablespoon cinnamon to turn our roll dough into love knots.

Measure your sugar, salt, 2 cups flour, and yeast into a bowl.

Cut in shortening with a long tined fork.

You can use a fancy pastry cutter if you want to but that’s just one more thing to clutter up my kitchen so I got rid of it years ago.

After you get your shortening cut up in there real good…

add your eggs.

Beat up your eggs a bit. And add our melted butter.

You want to melt this and then give it time to cool so that it isn’t too hot.

A Tip To Keep In Mind About Yeast Breads:

The thing about yeast breads that is most tricky to folks is getting their liquid ingredients the right temperature. A good rule of thumb that has always served me well has been to make sure liquids are about the temperature as baby’s bath water. Yes, I stick my finger in the melted margarine, it doesn’t hurt anyone.

If it’s as warm as a baby’s bath water, but not hot, then it is a great temperature.

Add the remaining flour.

and the water, again making sure the water is the temperature of baby’s bath water.

Stir that up good.

It’s going to look like a lumpy blob when you’re done.

Cover that with a towel and let it sit for twenty minutes.

After twenty minutes, it’s going to look like an even bigger lumpy blob

Now we need to flour a surface and pour our blob out onto it.

You can put out a sheet of waxed paper to save cleanup and sprinkle a good bit of flour over it so the dough doesn’t stick if you like.

Okay, so you need to knead your dough a time or two and what I do is just put some flour on your hands, press the dough into a ball, and then smoosh it out with the heel of your hand. Then put it into a ball again and smoosh it out again with the heel of your hand.

Alrighty now, here we have our big lumpy blob, all kneaded and ready to go. Pull off a small lumpy blob.

Take that ball and make a worm.

Hmm, how long is this worm? I have no idea. Five, six inches maybe. Just wing it and roll with me here.

Dip the worm into some melted butter.

Roll him around in cinnamon and sugar.

Oh, tie that worm in a knot.

Now bake them both at 350 for twenty to twenty five minutes. Yummikins!

When the come out of the oven brush your rolls with melted butter.

I usually serve my love knots as a side dish usually but this year will serve them as dessert by whipping up a little icing.

Enjoy for a Valentine’s Treat or anytime you want to show your friends and family some love 🙂