Mennonite Girls Can Cook is a collection of recipes which were posted daily for a period of ten years from 2008 to 2018. We have over 3,000 delicious recipes that we invite you to try. The recipes can be accessed in our recipe file by category or you can use the search engine.

Recipe Search

Butterflies


These cinnamon rolls have a bit of a different twist to them in looks and texture. This is a small recipe (makes 24 - 30) and really doesn't take long to do because you skip the first rising. It's a yeast recipe that also has baking powder in it, which has puzzled me, but I haven't tried to change it. If you've ever had "bear claws" - these rolls remind me of that kind of pastry. This is also another recipe I need to give credit to my mom for. Hope you enjoy them as much as we did, after not having them for a long time.

Ingredients
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/2 cups sugar
  • 1 1/4 cups buttermilk
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup hot water
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 6 cups flour, divided
  • ½ cup butter, melted or very soft
  • 2 tablespoons instant yeast
Filling: (Blend with pastry blender)
  • 1 1/4 cups brown sugar
  • 1/2 cups flour
  • 2 teaspoons cinnamon,
  • 3 tablespoons butter, room temp
  • extra butter (melted) for spreading
Method:
  1. In mixing bowl or stand mixer bowl, beat eggs and sugar well. Add buttermilk, salt and water.
  2. Mix 2 cups of the flour with baking powder and yeast, then stir into liquid mixture.
  3. Add butter, mixing well, and the rest of the flour (switching to dough hook if you have it) kneading until dough is smooth. You do not need to let it rise at this point. I just let it rest while I prepare the filling.
  4. Divide dough in half. Sprinkle rolling surface with flour. Shape and pat dough into a rectangular shape before rolling each half into a 10 x 20 inch rectagle, dusting with flour when needed. Spread with melted butter, then brown sugar mixture.
  5. Roll up jelly-roll style. Slice into 1 1/4 inch slices. While slice is still “standing up”, indent it almost all the way through with a pencil (dipped in flour) or spatula as though you’re slicing it in half again . . . this makes the sides pop up like wings.
  6. Place on parchment paper lined cookie sheets. If you don’t use parchment paper, grease the pans and remove rolls as soon as you take them out of the oven.
  7. Cover loosely with plastic and tea towel. Rise 1 - 1 1/2 hours. Some buns will kind of lose their shape while rising and I sometimes (gently) re-indent them. Bake at 350° F, 15 - 20 minutes.

Once cooled, drizzle with a thin icing. ( approx 1 1/2 cups icing sugar, 2 tablespoons soft butter and milk - until desired spreading consistency) I like to use a teaspoon or butter knife and just kind of ‘scatter’ the icing.

33 comments:

  1. Thanks for sharing this recipe. My daughter loves cinnamon rolls. This is definitely a keeper. I also saw a recipe for Blueberry Scones I'm going to try. Your blog looks delicious! I'm so glad I found you. I'll be back often. I bet I could find some goodies on here for Mother's Day lunch! Thanks.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Wonderful looking butterflies..I would love one right now with my coffee!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I hope you all are working on a recipe book. I now have (with this one) 84 posts saved on Bloglines. :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Anneliese,
    These look just scrumptious! The step by step photos are beautiful...Thank you for taking the time to post this.

    ReplyDelete
  5. OH I'd love one right now. . maybe I'll make them this afternoon, they just look so wonderfully fragrant. . .and soft.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Well now, look at that. How creative! Oh...and I can tell Crystal that those blueberry scones...those are so terrific!!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  7. anything with cinnmon is worth trying.....this looks so good....i can even smell them...;-)

    ReplyDelete
  8. Well, since I found your blog I know my diet is going to suffer! Your recipes are wonderful. I must try these rolls.

    ReplyDelete
  9. These look lovely and very tasty

    ReplyDelete
  10. You re something else! I always marvel at what comes form your kitchen to our blog. Thanks again for another recipe I know we will enjoy. Kathy

    ReplyDelete
  11. I am just delighted to have found your blog! Thank you for commenting and allowing me to find you! And what a SWEET comment it was too! Thank you!
    Mona

    ReplyDelete
  12. These sound delicious! The recipe sounds fantastic. Thank you so much for sharing it. I will be back often...:)
    Mona

    ReplyDelete
  13. These sound phenomenal! A must try! ;) Drats, and I'm trying to lose weight....I think I'm only losing the $39 monthly fee I pay to Curves...cuz I'm not making it there often enough! ha! ~CC Catherine

    ReplyDelete
  14. I'll be back to check this one sometime soon. Looks yummy!

    ReplyDelete
  15. These look absolutely wonderful!!! I have been wanting to try making cinnamon buns for a long time but must confess have never tried any yeast recipe [yikes]. Must bite the bullet and do it soon, and this recipe has given me incentive!!! Does one not have to wet [soak] the yeast somehow first?... that is how I recall most yeast recipes to be. This one I think just said to throw it in there with some other ingredients..? Help. [I hate to confess who I am here, sigh].

    ReplyDelete
  16. To anyone who has not used yeast before (Lynnette you're not the only one)If you buy instant quick rise yeast, you can just mix it right in with the flour like baking powder. Just make sure the liquids you are adding the flour mix to are warm, then add the rest of the flour needed and cover with tea towel and plastic to keep warm while rising (if called for). Go ahead and try it, it's easier than it used to be.
    You can also read the directions on the yeast pkg and follow those directions.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Thanks Anneliese. Seeing as I have lost my shyness [ha!], I will ask another yeast related question. I have 'active dry yeast' at home. I am assuming that the difference between it and the 'instant yeast' is that you need to pre-mix mine with water first..[I just read the label]....?... whereas not with the 'instant'...? BUT... is the amount of yeast the same... 2 tbsp. of either???... or is there something in them that is different and therefore the amount needed different..?? [Maybe you will tell me just to go out and buy the instant yeast, ha!]. I am curious though! Help again!! :)

    ReplyDelete
  18. Lynnette,
    I would tell you to go and buy instant dry yeast if the yeast you have has been in the cupboard for longer than you can remember. If the yeast is fresh,you can use that. In a small bowl, mix 2 Tbsp yeast with 2 Tbsp sugar, pour 1/2 cup warm water on top, don't mix, just let stand for 10 - 15 min. (it will become all bubbly) then stir in with your other liquids. (deduct 1/2 cup hot water that's in the recipe or add more flour at the end.) The amounts are the same - instant or active dry yeast. Store yeast in the fridge or freezer. I hope that answers some questions out there.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Thanks Anneliese!! My yeast is new... I use it in my bread maker... so, I guess I have used yeast before, but I considered a bread maker cheating!!!! Thanks for your many helpful answers.. I believe I understand the whole process now!! Now I just have to 'bite the bullet'.. ha, ha.... and then hopefully bite into some scrumptious cinnamon buns!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  20. My 10 year old daughter made these today and the were so delicious!

    ReplyDelete
  21. Do you think you could use this recipe with frozen bread dough as well? they look wonderful and so inviting! mmm I bet it makes the house smell great! ha

    ReplyDelete
  22. May I add a comment, Lynette? There is a special yeast used for bread machines. It will say on the yeast package so check it before using it for regular yeast baking. I've used the instant dry yeast for years now and won't go back to the kind that needs to rise first.
    Good luck - once you've tried yeast baking, you'll do it often.

    ReplyDelete
  23. I made these rolls last week and they are superb! I don't use instant yeast...only the regular dry one, so I changed the directions a bit but they still came out nice! thanks for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
  24. These were amazing! I've made them twice in the past few months, and they don't stick around long. I made a batch using pizza sauce, cheese, onion, and garlic instead of cinnamon and sugar too. They were wonderful with savory flavours as well!

    ReplyDelete
  25. I made these with my youngest daughter the other day. She was so excited about the idea of making butterfly wings. Her favourite part was brushing the melted butter on the dough. They was so quick and easy to make. We all LOVED these! They did not last very long in this house, either. Thank you for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
  26. I just made these and the ones that were done are delicious, but mine must be bigger than the ones in the recipe because most of them came out raw after the 15 minute cooking time (lovely and golden on top but completely wet underneath). I had to double the cooking time (and cover them with foil to keep them from browning too much). And my oven doesn't run cold.
    I am curious about what the dimensions of the finished buns were in this recipe, to make a comparison.

    ReplyDelete
  27. Kim,
    Thank you for your comment.
    The recipe should make about 30 - 36 buns ...about 3-4 sq. inches.
    Now, about the "not browning" underneath ... it could be the baking sheet .. is it the kind that is insulated? If I may, I would suggest lowering your oven rack.

    ReplyDelete
  28. These were delicious! I made a few substitutions to accommodate what I had on hand (wheat flour for white, half the butter, yogurt instead of buttermilk and finely chopped pecans added to the sugar mix) and everyone loved them! I've been following your blog for a little while now, your site has the best recipes, thanks so much for sharing them!

    ReplyDelete
  29. These look like Finnish Cinnamon Rolls, but the recipe itself sounds like they will be a bit more moist than the finnish recipe I have. I can't wait to try them. Thanks for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
  30. Teona....I thought so too. I added 1 tsp of finely ground cardamon seed to the dry ingredients. Yum! Just before baking, I put an egg wash on the rolls, and sprinkled white sugar over all. Double yum!

    ReplyDelete
  31. LOVE this recipe! It was a real winner with my husband and three sons. It was so much easier to make than what I anticipated. Thanks for sharing.

    ReplyDelete