NOTICE

At the time of publication, all recipes were free of the allergens listed as being free of in the title (i.e. soy-free, milk-free, etc.), and all other information shared was accurate to the best of my knowledge.
Though I strive to update outdated information quickly and work diligently to make sure you have the most accurate information possible at all times, it is your duty to double check labels EVERY TIME to ensure that the ingredients you use are SAFE FOR YOU.
DO NOT RELY SOLELY ON THIS INFORMATION AS INGREDIENTS AND INFORMATION DO CHANGE.
Your doctor or allergist should also be your first go-to for information on how to handle your medical needs. That being said, if you DO notice an error, please send me an email letting me know (tell me what page or recipe the error is on, what the error is, etc.), and I will correct the error ASAP.
Thank you so much!

Please Be Advised:
I make sure all of my recipes use foods that are free of the allergens they say they are free of. You will need to do the same. For help with this, please see the appropriate "Alternative Names" page for the allergen(s) you need the recipe free of.

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Tuesday, December 24, 2013

Merry Christmas!

I know you all have noticed my absence as of late.  We've been spending time with family off and on since Thanksgiving, and fighting illness, too (I am on an antibiotic as we speak), and working hard at homeschooling (which finished Friday).  It's been pretty hectic, but happy, too. :)  Though school is done and illnesses are nothing too serious (though it did keep me from some travels - Elaina and I are home as the boys and hubby are with his family which is not ideal, but couldn't be helped, and we hope to not have to do it again and maybe work out a time to see everyone in the near future), it will still be a little bit before I'm here more often.  It is the holiday season, after all, and I have family coming in or that has already arrived that I am very much looking forward to see, provided we are all well because, as much as my family loves me, I know they don't want me to share that kind of love, if you get me. :) So far, I am grateful that this antibiotic seems to be doing the trick for me and that Elaina continues to get better.  Hopefully the boys' colds don't morph into something more sinister, but I think they will be just fine, and I'm glad they know how to cover coughs and sneezes and all that. :)  Anyway, I promise that I will be around more after the new year begins.  I have lots of plans for this blog starting in January, so I hope you will be around to share in all of that!
In the mean time, I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!  I will still be answering comments and emails as they come, though it may take me a little longer to respond than usual, but I will get back with you. :)
Just a little story for you all before I end this post and try to get myself ready for the day and see if I'm feeling up to making those goodies for our family party in a few days or if they need to wait another day yet, I want you all to know something about the picture above, the stockings specifically.
You see the one on the middle of the left side?  It's white with pink little flowers on it and lace?  That is the stocking my Granny made for me when I was born.  I love it.  I can't imagine a Christmas without it.  Last year, when I was hanging it up, I realized that I would love for my kids to have a gift like that - a heritage gift.  I asked my Granny if she would be willing to make stockings for my kids (and my nieces and nephews) as something they could have from her, made for them.  She said she would work on it, but didn't know when she'd get them done.
I must admit, I did forget I'd asked her for such a gift, until Thanksgiving.  You see, on Thanksgiving, my Granny always gives us a gift or a few gifts to open that are for Christmas.  It's a tradition we've had as long as I can remember.  This year, the kids and hubby all got a handmade, one-of-a-kind stocking from Granny!  I nearly cried.  How cool are they?  The camo one is my hubbys, the red one with gold is for Stephen, the blue one is Sean's and the red one with lace is for Elaina (the little one is for our cat, Crush, and not from her - it's just a store bought thing).  Now we all have special stockings from my Granny, and I couldn't be more thrilled!  I can't wait for her to see them hanging up there tomorrow afternoon when they come over (provided we are all still improving in health) to Skype with my brother and his family in Africa! :D
~*~*~*~
What's your favorite Christmas tradition?
Do you have any heritage gifts?
~*~*~*~
Merry Christmas!


(This post was originally posted on my original site, Fibro, Fit and Fab!)


Monday, December 23, 2013

Peanut Butter Fudge (Soy, Wheat, Fish and Egg-Free, Can Be Milk and Nut-Free)

Peanut Butter Fudge, before cutting into it.

I don't know about you, but Christmastime normally means family time, and family time normally means goodies (i.e. cookies, candies, pies).  One of the things I remember having most often as a child at Christmas was peanut butter fudge.  Now, the fudge I remember having wasn't made with very allergy-friendly ingredients, but this one is! :)  This recipe is a modified version of one I found on allrecipes.com as posted by ANGIEH.  This recipe is soy (if you use all soy-free ingredients), wheat, fish and egg-free, and can be milk and nut-free (see variations).  It also melts in your mouth, is deliciously rich and decadent and super simple to boot!  I hope you make it and that it becomes a part of your Christmas traditions! :)

Peanut Butter Fudge

1/2 Cup full fat, salted butter

2 Cups brown sugar

dash of salt (up to 1/8 teaspoon)

1/2 Cup milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 Cup soy-free peanut butter (creamy or crunchy - the choice is yours)
(JIF Natural or Smucker's Natural are great choices here.)

3 Cups powdered sugar
(make sure this ingredient is gluten-free if you need the recipe to be)

  1. Grease a 9x13 inch pan and set aside.
        
  2. Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat.
      
  3. Stir in brown sugar, salt and milk and bring to a roiling boil and boil and stir for 2 minutes, stirring constantly.
      
  4. Remove mixture from heat and stir in the peanut butter and vanilla until the peanut butter is melted and fully incorporated.  (Note: Feel free to go a little heavy handed on the peanut butter if you wish.  If you like it more peanut buttery, use a rounded Cup of peanut butter (up to 1 1/4 Cups).  If you like it not quite as peanut buttery, use a scant Cup (down to as little as 3/4 Cup).)
      
  5. Pour the peanut butter mixture over the powdered sugar in a large mixing bowl and beat until smooth.
       
  6. Pour/scoop the mixture into the prepared 9x13 pan and carefully press the mixture with a wooden spoon or spatula into the pan until the fudge is evenly distributed throughout the pan.  (Note: You can use your clean, bare hands to do this part, but the fudge mixture can be very hot, so I don't recommend this method.  If you want to do it that way, however, you may, but I recommend greasing your hands with butter first to reduce the risk of getting a burn.)
        
  7. Chill the fudge until firm and then cut into squares and enjoy.

Makes at least 48 pieces.

Variations (Please keep your individual allergen needs in mind when using variations!):
  • Milk-Free: Use a dairy-free butter (such as Melt or Earth Balance) and dairy-free milk (such as SoDelicious) in place of the butter and milk.  Make sure you grease the pan with a dairy-free fat, too.
        
  • Other Nut or Nut-Free: If you can have tree nuts, you can easily sub a tree nut spread for the peanut butter.  If you can have neither, you can use a seed butter instead.

  • Other Flavors: You can substitute any peanut butter, tree nut or seed butter spread or a combination of a few for the peanut butter in this.  This means you could use a flavored peanut butter (like the ones by Peanut Butter & Co.), Nutella or any other flavor that suits your fancy. :) 

Sounds good, right?  It is, trust me!  You really should make some and let me know what you think.  I promise you, you won't be disappointed! :)  Just start off with a small piece - this stuff is rich! :)

~*~*~*~
I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and blessed holiday season!  Most likely I will not be back until after the New Year in order to spend some time with my extended family, including my Granny who will be up here for a month!  I am excited! :D  Anyway, stay safe, have fun and enjoy your time with loved ones!  I will still answer emails and comments, so feel free to send them along, but forgive me if it takes me longer than normal to respond. :)

~*~*~*~
What are  your favorite Christmas goodies?
What are your favorite Christmas traditions?
What is your favorite part about Christmas?



(This recipe was originally posted on my original site, Natural and Free.) 



Wednesday, December 4, 2013

The Thanksgiving Feast and Festivities Link-Up ~ Feature Day


Thank you to all who participated in the link-up party!  You all are the best!  For those of you who missed out, I shared some recipes from the archives here and shared some Thanksgiving/Thankfulness-themed posts on Fibro, Fit and Fab! as time allowed last week, and gave people a chance to link-up some of their favorite Thanksgiving recipes, posts about thankfulness or family, Thanksgiving/Autumn crafts, etc.  Today (and I'm sorry it wasn't sooner, but time and "real life" have not been my friends lately!), I am sharing my features in hopes that these posts can inspire you in your Thanksgiving meal endeavors and maybe just with some ideas for next year or maybe some ideas with how to spread thankfulness year round. 

Since there weren't a lot of posts linked up and since I couldn't possibly choose between them all, I decided that all the posts would get a featured spot! :) I am sorry I don't have a badge for you other than the original one, but again, time has not been on my side lately, and I didn't want to delay any longer posting this.  Hopefully next time things will go a little smoother and I will get that feature badge together! :)  Anyway, I hope that  you all will take the time to go through the posts that are linked up.  There are some amazing ideas on there for recipes, ways to teach your kids to be thankful, adorable crafts and more!  Seriously, y'all!  Check them out!  You won't be sorry and you'll gain some great ideas!





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I hope you take the time to check out all the fabulous posts that linked up!

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If you haven't yet, please grab a badge!

(This post was originally posted on Natural and Free.)

The Thanksgiving Feast and Festivities Link-Up ~ Feature Day


Thank you to all who participated in the link-up party!  You all are the best!  For those of you who missed out, I shared some recipes from the archives on Natural and Free and shared some Thanksgiving/Thankfulness-themed posts here as time allowed last week, and gave people a chance to link-up some of their favorite Thanksgiving recipes, posts about thankfulness or family, Thanksgiving/Autumn crafts, etc.  Today (and I'm sorry it wasn't sooner, but time and "real life" have not been my friends lately!), I am sharing my features in hopes that these posts can inspire you in your Thanksgiving meal endeavors and maybe just with some ideas for next year or maybe some ideas with how to spread thankfulness year round. 

Since there weren't a lot of posts linked up and since I couldn't possibly choose between them all, I decided that all the posts would get a featured spot! :) I am sorry I don't have a badge for you other than the original one, but again, time has not been on my side lately, and I didn't want to delay any longer posting this.  Hopefully next time things will go a little smoother and I will get that feature badge together! :)  Anyway, I hope that  you all will take the time to go through the posts that are linked up.  There are some amazing ideas on there for recipes, ways to teach your kids to be thankful, adorable crafts and more!  Seriously, y'all!  Check them out!  You won't be sorry and you'll gain some great ideas!




~*~*~*~
I hope you take the time to check out all the fabulous posts that linked up!

~*~*~*~
If you haven't yet, please grab a badge!

(This post was originally posted on my original site, Fibro, Fit and Fab!)

Saturday, November 30, 2013

The Thanksgiving Feast and Festivities Link-Up ~ Final Day


Thank you to all who have joined in on the link-up party so far! You all are the best! For those of you who don't know what's going on, I have been sharing some recipes from the archives here and sharing some Thanksgiving/Thankfulness-themed posts on Fibro, Fit and Fab! as time has allowed. There are still a few hours left to link-up (you can link up until 10pm EST tonight), so keep 'em coming! It is my hope that you will link-up some of your favorite Thanksgiving recipes, posts about thankfulness or family, Thanksgiving/Autumn crafts, etc. It is my hope that these posts can inspire you in your Thanksgiving meal endeavors and maybe just with some ideas for next year or maybe some ideas with how to spread thankfulness year round. At any rate, you can link-up as many posts as you like, and I will be sharing my favorites the next week, so the more posts you submit, the more likely you are to be featured! I hope you will join in the fun! :)

I thought that today would be the perfect time to share some recipes from the archives that could help you use up those Thanksgiving leftovers!

~*~*~*~


Chicken Noodle Soup (Soy, Fish, Nut and Milk-Free, Can Be Egg and Wheat-Free)   


Easy "Meat and Potatoes" Skillet (Soy, Fish, Milk, Egg, Wheat and Nut-Free)

For each of the above recipes, you can just sub your leftover turkey for the chicken.   If you had ham, you can even use that in the skillet.

~*~*~*~

What do you like to make with Thanksgiving leftovers?


~*~*~*~

I hope to share more posts with you as time permits, and hope that you will take the time to go over to Fibro, Fit and Fab! and check out the posts I've shared there as well as click on some of the posts linked up below.  I also hope that you will link-up some posts, too, and help spread the word! The more the merrier! :)





~*~*~*~
Now It's Your Turn!

~*~*~*~
Grab A Badge!

(This post was originally posted on Natural and Free.)

The Thanksgiving Feast and Festivities Link-Up ~ Final Day


Thank you to all who have joined in on the link-up party so far!  You all are the best!  For those of you who don't know what's going on, I have been sharing some recipes from the archives on Natural and Free and sharing some Thanksgiving/Thankfulness-themed posts here as time has allowed.  There are still a few hours left to link-up (you can link up until 10pm EST tonight), so keep 'em coming!  It is my hope that you will link-up some of your favorite Thanksgiving recipes, posts about thankfulness or family, Thanksgiving/Autumn crafts, etc.  It is my hope that these posts can inspire you in your Thanksgiving meal endeavors and maybe just with some ideas for next year or maybe some ideas with how to spread thankfulness year round.  At any rate, you can link-up as many posts as you like, and I will be sharing my favorites the next week, so the more posts you submit, the more likely you are to be featured!  I hope you will join in the fun! :)

Today I just want to share with you a few highlights from my Thanksgiving.

~*~*~*~

Thursday was spent with just us and my parents.  The men hunted, my mom and I finished cooking, the kids played, and then we had a delicious lunch of turkey, mashed potatoes, etc.  Delish!  And lots not forget the pie for dessert!  YUM!  Then the guys went back out hunting for a little while longer and the kids and my mom and I got to watch a wonderful movie called Christmas in Canaan.  We had an absolute blast!

Today was the day that we had the really big Thanksgiving meal, though.  My sister and her family, my family and my parents all got together for another turkey with all the fixings, more pie and lots of family time.  The kids even did these really cute Christmas crafts that I hope to be able to post a picture of later when I have more time.  We even got to watch White Christmas (my favorite Christmas movie).  What a great time!  I just love time with the family!

Right now, we are watching Robin Hood together and going to finish the last of our "leaves" for this month.  It has definitely been a great weekend, and I am not looking forward to Monday in the least!

~*~*~*~

How was your Thanksgiving?

What was your favorite part?


~*~*~*~

I hope to share more posts with you as time permits, and hope that you will take the time to go over to Natural and Free! and check out the recipes from the archives I've shared there as well as click on some of the posts linked up below.  I also hope that you will link-up some posts, too, and help spread the word! The more the merrier! :)




~*~*~*~
Now It's Your Turn!

~*~*~*~
Grab A Badge!

(This post was originally posted on my original site, Fibro, Fit and Fab!)

Thursday, November 28, 2013

The Thanksgiving Feast and Festivities Link-Up ~ Happy Thanksgiving!


Thank you to all who have joined in on the link-up party so far!  You all are the best!  For those of you who don't know what's going on, I am going to be sharing some recipes from the archives here and sharing someThanksgiving/Thankfulness-themed posts on Fibro, Fit and Fab! as time allows until Saturday.  It is my hope that you will link-up some of your favorite Thanksgiving recipes, posts about thankfulness or family, Thanksgiving/Autumn crafts, etc.  It is my hope that these posts can inspire you in your Thanksgiving meal endeavors and maybe just with some ideas for next year or maybe some ideas with how to spread thankfulness year round.  At any rate, you can link-up as many posts as you like, and I will be sharing my favorites the first week in December, so the more posts you submit, the more likely you are to be featured!  I hope you will join in the fun! :)

Since I'm just about to head out the door to spend some time with my family, I don't have a lot of time, but wanted to share with you 2 pie recipes from the archives that would be a great addition to any holiday meal!

~*~*~*~


Cinnamon Sugar Apple Pie (Soy, Nut and Fish-Free, Can Be Egg, Milk and Wheat-Free and Diabetic Friendly)  


Pecan Pie (Soy and Fish-Free)

Don't they look delicious?  If you want to try making the Pecan Pie even more allergy-friendly, try some of the ingredient substitution ideas listed here.

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What is your "must have" for Thanksgiving dinner?


~*~*~*~

I hope to share more posts with you as time permits, and hope that you will take the time to go over to Fibro, Fit and Fab! and check out the posts I've shared there as well as click on some of the posts linked up below.  I also hope that you will link-up some posts, too, and help spread the word! The more the merrier! :)

Happy Thanksgiving!




~*~*~*~
Now It's Your Turn!

~*~*~*~
Grab A Badge!

(This post was originally posted on Natural and Free.)

The Thanksgiving Feast and Festivities Link-Up ~ Happy Thanksgiving!


Thank you to all who have joined in on the link-up party so far!  You all are the best!  For those of you who don't know what's going on, I am going to be sharing some recipes from the archives on Natural and Free and sharing some Thanksgiving/Thankfulness-themed posts here as time allows until Saturday.  It is my hope that you will link-up some of your favorite Thanksgiving recipes, posts about thankfulness or family, Thanksgiving/Autumn crafts, etc.  It is my hope that these posts can inspire you in your Thanksgiving meal endeavors and maybe just with some ideas for next year or maybe some ideas with how to spread thankfulness year round.  At any rate, you can link-up as many posts as you like, and I will be sharing my favorites the first week in December, so the more posts you submit, the more likely you are to be featured!  I hope you will join in the fun! :)

Since I'm just about to head out the door to spend some time with my family, all I want to share with you today are some quotes about thankfulness.

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"When you rise in the morning, give thanks for the light, for your life, for your strength. Give thanks for your food and for the joy of living. If you see no reason to give thanks, the fault lies in yourself."
~Tecumseh

"The unthankful heart... discovers no mercies; but let the thankful heart sweep through the day and, as the magnet finds the iron, so it will find, in every hour, some heavenly blessings!"
~Henry Ward Beecher

"The thankful receiver bears a plentiful harvest."
~William Blake

(For more great quotes, go here.)

~*~*~*~

Do you have any favorite Thanksgiving/Thankfulness quotes?


~*~*~*~

I hope to share more posts with you as time permits, and hope that you will take the time to go over to Natural and Free! and check out the recipes from the archives I've shared there as well as click on some of the posts linked up below.  I also hope that you will link-up some posts, too, and help spread the word! The more the merrier! :)

Happy Thanksgiving!



~*~*~*~
Now It's Your Turn!

~*~*~*~
Grab A Badge!

(This post was originally posted on my original site, Fibro, Fit and Fab!)

Monday, November 25, 2013

The Thanksgiving Feast and Festivities Link-Up


So, I had this idea for a link-up party, and I hope you all will enjoy it and participate.  I am going to be sharing some recipes from the archives here and sharing at least one Thanksgiving/Thankfulness-themed post over on Fibro, Fit and Fab! as time allows from now until Saturday.  It is my hope that you will link-up some of your favorite Thanksgiving recipes, posts about thankfulness or family, Thanksgiving/Autumn crafts, etc.  It is my hope that these posts can inspire you in your Thanksgiving meal endeavors and maybe just with some ideas for next year or maybe some ideas with how to spread thankfulness year round.  At any rate, you can link-up as many posts as you like, and I will be sharing my favorites the first week in December, so the more posts you submit, the more likely you are to be featured!  I hope you will join in the fun! :)

What I want to share with you today is two of my favorite allergy-friendly recipes for Thanksgiving from the archives.

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First is a recipe for 

These smoothies taste exactly like pumpkin pie sans the crust, and are a great alternative when you need something that is festive and fun that fits a wide-variety of allergy needs.

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The second recipe I want to share is

My favorite side dish at Thanksgiving is Green Bean Casserole, so I was so thrilled to find a recipe that I could use that was allergy-friendly!  It is so very good and easy, too!

~*~*~*~

I hope to share more recipes from the archives with you as time permits, and hope that you will take the time to go over to Fibro, Fit and Fab! and check out what I've shared there as well as click on some of the posts linked up below.  I also hope that you will link-up some posts, too, and help spread the word! The more the merrier! :)


~*~*~*~
Now It's Your Turn!

~*~*~*~
Grab A Badge!

(This post was originally posted on Natural and Free.)

The Thanksgiving Feast and Festivities Link-Up


So, I had this idea for a link-up party, and I hope you all will enjoy it and participate.  I am going to be sharing some recipes from the archives on Natural and Free and sharing at least one Thanksgiving/Thankfulness-themed post here as time allows from now until Saturday.  It is my hope that you will link-up some of your favorite Thanksgiving recipes, posts about thankfulness or family, Thanksgiving/Autumn crafts, etc.  It is my hope that these posts can inspire you in your Thanksgiving meal endeavors and maybe just with some ideas for next year or maybe some ideas with how to spread thankfulness year round.  At any rate, you can link-up as many posts as you like, and I will be sharing my favorites the first week in December, so the more posts you submit, the more likely you are to be featured!  I hope you will join in the fun! :)

What I want to share with you today is our new Thankfulness tradition, that I plan on making a year round thing.

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The above picture is of our Thankfulness Basket.  As I mentioned above, it is something that I hope we will be able to do monthly.  I think it is a great way to keep your mind on the good things, and we could all use a little more of that in our lives. :)

What I did was take some construction paper - a different color for each family member - and cut out some leaf shapes (you can find some great free patterns online - just Google "free leaf patterns" or something like that) for this month (I will use a shape that fits the season each month, i.e. candy canes or stockings for December, flowers for May).  I then labeled each leaf with the appropriate family members name and the month and year (for example, my leaf color is brown, so on the brown leaves I wrote "Mom" and "November, 2013") so that we know, when we look through them later, what time of year it was and who was thankful for what.

On the other side of the leaves, we wrote the specific date (i.e. 11-25-13) and then something we were grateful for, an answer to prayer, etc.  There is everything from "LEGOs" to "family" to "pancakes" on them (I'll let you guess who wrote what).  It has been so great to see my kids think of new things to be grateful for, and it is so good for me to think about my blessings!  I can't wait to see what else will be added to the pile! :)

The plan, for now, is to read them together at the end of each month and to add to the pile as we need/want to.  I am so glad that we have decided to do this.  It truly is a blessing to think about your blessings!

~*~*~*~

Do you do anything to help you count your blessings and help you focus on being grateful?
Do you do it only during Thanksgiving/November or all year round?
Do you have any Thanksgiving traditions?


~*~*~*~

I hope to share more posts with you as time permits, and hope that you will take the time to go over to Natural and Free! and check out the recipes from the archives I've shared there as well as click on some of the posts linked up below.  I also hope that you will link-up some posts, too, and help spread the word! The more the merrier! :)



~*~*~*~
Now It's Your Turn!

~*~*~*~
Grab A Badge!

(This post was originally posted on my original site, Fibro, Fit and Fab!)

Saturday, November 9, 2013

Quick and Easy Glazed Cinnamon Rolls (Soy, Egg, Nut and Fish-Free, Can Be Milk and Wheat-Free)



I don't know about you, but Saturdays are our work-around-the-house days, but they are also our sleep-in-and-have-a-big/special-breakfast/brunch-whenever-possible days, too.  We didn't have a super big breakfast, but we did have a special one of (mostly) homemade, glazed cinnamon rolls.  They were so good, I had to share the recipe with you!

These cinnamon rolls are super easy to make thanks to the use of pizza crust for the rolls and melt-in-your-mouth wonderful, glazed with vanilla icing and filled with cinnamon-y goodness.  They are great for the days you want to do something special for a crowd (this recipe makes 12 large rolls), but are short on time (these take about 45 minutes start to finish compared to 90 minutes+ for most cinnamon roll recipes).  Did I mention they are super easy and next to impossible to mess up?  Gotta love that! :)  They are also soy-free if you use all soy-free ingredients,  fish free, egg-free and nut-free, and can be milk and wheat-free (see variations).  Yah, baby!  This recipe is definitely a winner!


Quick and Easy Glazed Cinnamon Rolls
Roll Portion



2 Cup hot (NOT boiling) tap water
flour for kneading
(Make sure it's soy-free!)
Salted, Full-Fat Butter; softened
White sugar
Brown Sugar
Ground Cinnamon

1.  Preheat oven to 350oF.

2. Grease a 13x9 glass pan with butter and set aside.

3. Add water to contents of Jiffy packages in a large bowl; stir until moistened.  (If mixture is too dry, add a little more water, 1 Tablespoon at a time until all contents is MOISTENED only.  It's supposed to be a bit sticky and lumpy.)

4. Cover bowl and let stand for 5 minutes in a warm place (about 85o).  (I just put the bowl on the top of my stove top towards the back while the oven is preheating for this step.  There's generally enough heat coming from the oven for the dough to rise this way.)

5.  Knead the dough several times on a floured board/counter top.  (Note: Be generous with the flour - you will need more than a light dusting (think more along the lines of a Cup of flour total)!  The dough is really sticky, and flour keeps it from sticking to the counter top and your fingers/hands too much.  I recommend scraping the dough onto the floured counter top with a spatula and then sprinkling some flour on top of the dough before kneading and working with it, adding more flour to your hands/counter top as needed.  It will stick to you some, but using the flour will help!)

6. Stretch out dough to about a 12 inch by 24 inch rectangle.

7.  Spread softened butter onto the top of the dough rectangle generously (amount of butter is up to you, but I normally use a whole stick, but you can definitely use less than that).

8.  Sprinkle top of dough with white sugar, brown sugar and cinnamon to taste.  (Note: I use enough of each ingredient to cover the top evenly.  You can mix them together first, then sprinkle over the top if you want, too.  You can start with about 1/4 Cup white sugar and 1/4 Cup brown sugar and a Tablespoon cinnamon (less if you don't want too much cinnamon) and see if that is to your liking.  If that seems too much, you can use even less of all or some.  If that seems too little, add more of all or some.  It it completely up to you! :) )

9.  Roll the dough rectangle up horizontally so that you are left with a 24-inch long rope.

10.  Cut the rope into approximately 12 pieces.

11.  Arrange pieces so that you can see the swirls of dough and filling in the greased 13x9 pan.
12.  Bake for 25 - 35 minutes or until dough is light golden brown (should look like baked pizza crust).  (Note: If you are not sure if your rolls are done or not, you can check the middle roll for done-ness by using a fork and removing a small portion.  If it is cooked through and not doughy, your rolls are done.)
13.  While the rolls are baking, prepare the glaze portion.

Glaze Portion:

1/4 Cup full-fat, salted butter (softened)

2 Cups confectionery sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

Pinch of salt (no more than 1/8 teaspoon)
 
2 Tablespoons milk

Mix butter, sugar, vanilla and salt until well-blended before adding the milk.  The mixture should be thick, but if you find it too stiff, add more milk, 1 teaspoon at a time, until it is the right consistency.

14. When the rolls are done, immediately remove them from the oven and frost them with the glaze.

You can enjoy these rolls right away or after they've cooled, whichever you prefer.

Makes 12 large cinnamon rolls.




Variations (Please keep your individual allergen needs in mind when using variations!):
  • Milk-Free:  Use a dairy-free milk and dairy-free butter (such as Earth Balance and SoDelicious brands) and a dairy-free pizza crust mix or make your own dairy-free crust and cook as directed  (You need enough crust to make four 12-inch pizzas.).  Also, be sure to grease the pan with oil or a dairy-free butter.   
  • Wheat-Free: Use gluten-free crust mixes or make your own (enough for four 12-inch pizzas) and use a gluten-free flour to knead it in and bake as directed.
  • Citrus or Fruit-Glazed Cinnamon Rolls: Use Orange Juice, lemon juice, lime juice, fruit juice, etc. in place of the milk in the glaze portion.  You can omit the vanilla or not; your choice.  If you want extra citrus or fruit flavor, you can also use warm citrus or fruit juice in place of the water in the roll portion.  You can also use a mix of the juices, too.
  • Cream Cheese-Glazed Cinnamon Rolls: If you prefer a cream cheese frosting and can have it, you may substitute it for the glaze listed.
  • Chocolate-Glazed Cinnamon Rolls: If you really like chocolate and you can have it, you could glaze these rolls with chocolate frosting.
  • Caramel-Glazed Cinnamon Rolls: If you really like caramel and you can have it, you could glaze these rolls with caramel frosting.
  • Other Fillings: You can use a fruit spread in place of the cinnamon and sugars.  You can even add nuts, seeds or raisins/dried fruit if you like them and can have them, though I would not use more than a Cup of add-ins.
  • Smaller Rolls: If you don't like large cinnamon rolls, you can cut the dough into smaller pieces, between 18 and 24 pieces.  If you do this, your cooking time will be on the lower end, maybe even under 20 minutes, so watch them closely!


These rolls are awesome with coffee, too! :)

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What if your favorite Saturday or weekend treat for breakfast?

Do you prefer your cinnamon rolls glazed or plain?

Do you prefer one large cinnamon roll or a few smaller ones?




(This recipe was originally posted on my original site, Natural and Free.)