Aunt Jo's Cinnamon Rolls

Tysa Marie
Oct 16, 2013
3 min read

My great Aunt Josephine is a talented baker. In her younger years, she was able to take that talent and turn it into a small business ran from her home. She is also the type of person who must feed you when you visit said establishment. Food is a way to share love in our family and I have learned to ‘visit’ her home on an empty stomach. Aunt Jo will feed you, you will love it and you will eat every last bite.

A year or so ago, I started to probe her for some of her greatest (recipe) hits. My Uncle John quickly chimed in and stated that she had to teach me how to make THE cinnamon rolls.

Higbee’s department store is fairly famous for a number of reasons. First, it opened around 1931 in Ohio as the first, 12-floor department store in the greater Cleveland area. It was also featured in the 1983 movie, A Christmas Story. Remember the “you’ll shoot your eye out, kid” scene? That’s Higbee’s! Higbee’s officially closed in the early ‘90’s; the building is now home to the Horseshoe Casino. But what the locals remember Higbee’s for are the cinnamon rolls.

Aunt Jo grew up in Cleveland, and cinnamon rolls from Higbee’s were a big treat in her household. It’s been a few decades since the department store has closed and in the mean time Aunt Jo has built a recipe that my Uncle says is as close as you’ll get to the real thing. The recipe is below, but I learned a few tricks while making this recipe with Aunt Jo:

The box of cake mix is the key ingredient. I’m not sure I really want to know what is in a box of cake mix, but I will tell you it is the key to keeping these rolls from drying out. It also gives the dough great texture and flavor. There is no substitute for this ingredient in this recipe but you can use a variety of cake mix flavors. I like to use yellow or French vanilla.
Four really means five or six. The recipe calls for 4 cups of flour and when mixed with the yeast, cake mix and 2.5 cups of water, it will be very sticky. You’ll end up using at least another cup of flour when you are kneading the dough. Add a ¼ cup of flour at a time as needed until you get the dough to form to the right consistency. It will look shiny, subtle and will bounce back when you knead it.
Use quick-rise yeast. I should preference the following with the fact that I wake up early, but I can honestly say that by using quick-rise yeast I have made this recipe before work. The faster yeast activation helps me get it in the oven quickly so that I get ready for the day easily.
Quality cinnamon is a must. I use Vietnamese cinnamon. Why? It’s strong and rich in flavor and because of its higher oil matter, it diffuses more fully in your baked goods. Try it if you can find it!

Aunt Jo’s Cinnamon Rolls

Ingredients:

4 Cups White Flour

1 Box Cake Mix

2 Packets Active Dry Yeast

2 ½ Cups Hot Water

½ Cup Unsalted Butter, Melted and Cooled

2 Cups Brown Sugar

¼ Cup Ground Cinnamon, Sprinkled

1 Cup Powdered Sugar

½ Teaspoon Vanilla Extract

1-2 Tablespoons Milk

Yield: 12 rolls Prep Time: 1.5 hours Bake Time: 25-30 mins

Directions:

In a big bowl, add flour, cake mix and yeast. Mix well. Note: If using a KitchenAid, use the dough hook.
Add hot water slowly to the dry ingredients; add extra flour as needed.
Once mixed, knead the dough until smooth and add extra flour as needed.
Put smooth dough into a greased bowl. Cover and let rise until twice in size.
When raised, put dough onto floured board and roll out the dough until it forms a 12” wide by 24” length rectangle.
Take melted and cooled butter and paint one side of the dough. Sprinkle the brown sugar, covering the painted surface, then sprinkle cinnamon on top of the brown sugar.
Roll into a jelly roll shape and cut 12/2-inch slices.
Arrange slices into a greased, 11x14 pan.
Bake at 375 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown.
While baking, prepare the vanilla frosting by mixing together the powdered sugar, vanilla extract and milk. Let rolls cool for 15 minutes before applying frosting liberally. Enjoy!