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    Home » Top Amish Recipes » Pies, Cakes & Breads

    Updated: Old Christmas and Sinful Cinnamon Rolls - Which Communities Observe?

    Published: Jan 6, 2016 · Updated: Jan 6, 2017 by Kevin Williams | 16 Comments

    By Kevin Williams

    There's a decent chance that if you were planning to visit Amish country today you might find the doors of your favorite bakery closed today.   Today, many Amish families are celebrating or observing what is known as “Old Christmas”.  We’ve discussed the significance of this date in past years, but it relates to the old Gregorian calendar and the 12 days of Christmas.  Not all Old Order Amish observe this day.

    The Amish that do celebrate the Epiphany (Old Christmas) today will do so with a spread of homemade cinnamon rolls or perhaps Long John Rolls, an oblong, frosted doughnut.

    Bruce Stambaugh,a blogger in the heart of Amish Country, has a few observations about Old Christmas among his Holmes County, Ohio neighbors.  Click here to read.

    I talked to Gloria (our Amish Cook columnist based in Flat Rock, Illinois) this morning and asked her if her community observes Old Christmas and she confirmed that they don't.  Gloria is a member of a horse and buggy New Order church. She said some of the New Order churches in Ohio will observe the day out of respect to their Old Order neighbors.  Gloria said that in general New Orders do not observe the day.  Here's a brief list of settlements that I have experience with and what they observe:

    LANCASTER COUNTY, PA/WAYNE COUNTY, INDIANA/PARKE COUNTY, INDIANA: Amish businesses closed, they do observe Old Christmas

    BERNE, INDIANA/SWITZERLAND COUNTY, INDIANA/SEYMOUR, MISSOURI;   Amish businesses open, Old Christmas generally not observed

    HOLMES COUNTY, OHIO/LA GRANGE COUNTY, INDIANA:  Old Christmas is observed and Amish businesses are closed.

    These are some cinnamon rolls which you'd likely find in Amish kitchens today.  I've been in some Amish kitchens on Old Christmas and been greeted by quite a spread! Yet, as noted, other places you'll barely see any acknowledgment or knowledge about the day.  Traditions in Amish settlements are very insular and what is popular one place may be unknown in the next.

    Old Christmas Cinnamon Rolls

    Old Christmas Cinnamon Rolls

    Here is a recipe for these delicious creations!

    5.0 from 2 reviews
    Old Christmas Cinnamon Rolls
     
    Print
    Prep time
    3 hours
    Cook time
    20 mins
    Total time
    3 hours 20 mins
     
    Serves: 2 dozen
    Ingredients
    • 6½ cups bread flour
    • 2 c. warm water (105-115°)
    • ½ c. granulated sugar
    • 1 T. salt
    • 2 packages active dry yeast
    • 2 eggs
    • 1 /3 c. lard
    • 6 T. margarine or butter, softened
    • 1 c. packed brown sugar
    • 3 t. ground cinnamon
    Instructions
    1. In a large mixing bowl, combine 2 cups of the bread flour with the water, sugar, salt, and yeast. Beat the mixture for two minutes with a wooden spoon, then add the eggs and the lard.
    2. Stir until all of the ingredients are evenly incorporated.
    3. Gradually add the remaining bread flour to the mixture and stir until a firm dough is formed.
    4. Cover the bowl and set it in a warm area to rest for 20 minutes.
    5. After resting, punch the dough down, divide it in half, and form it into two balls.
    6. On a floured surface, roll one ball of the dough out as thinly as possible.
    7. Brush half of the softened margarine evenly over the dough, then sprinkle with half of the brown sugar and half of the cinnamon.
    8. Roll the dough up like a jelly roll.
    9. Cut each roll into slices that are 1 /2 to ¾ inches thick.
    10. Place the slices 1 /2 inch apart in a buttered jelly roll pan.
    11. Repeat with the remaining ball of dough and the remaining margarine, brown sugar, and cinnamon.
    12. Place the rolls in a warm area and allow to rise until doubled in size, about 45 minutes.
    13. Bake the rolls at 350° until they are golden brown, about 15-20 minutes.
    14. Allow the rolls to cool on wire racks for 15 minutes. I
    15. f desired, you may spread the rolls with your favorite frosting before serving.
    16. Makes about 2 dozen rolls.
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    About Kevin Williams

    Hi, my name is Kevin Williams and I am owner of Oasis Newsfeatures and editor of The Amish Cook newspaper column.

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Tom

      January 06, 2016 at 7:10 pm

      Kevin,

      Thanks for sharing the cinnamon roll recipe and especially the Bruce Stambaugh reflections. So nice to read about what Christms really should be!

      Reply
      • Kevin

        January 08, 2016 at 8:12 am

        Sure, Tom, I think Bruce is a really good writer, I hope to meet up with him sometime!

        Reply
    2. Beverly

      January 07, 2016 at 5:02 pm

      Sounds wonderful! Going to try this recipe.

      Reply
      • Kevin

        January 08, 2016 at 8:08 am

        You won't be disappointed, Beverly, those are some good cinnamon rolls!:)

        Reply
    3. Robin Gorbet

      February 05, 2016 at 9:14 am

      Thank You For This My Husband Just Loves Them , God Bless You & Your Family In Jesus Name Amen ,
      Yes I Will Get Back To You On Rate This Recipe Soon Ok . Love From Pastor David Gorbet & Robin Gorbet .

      Reply
    4. Scott

      February 24, 2016 at 3:13 pm

      Hi Kevin,

      These Old Christmas Cinnamon Rolls sound great but living in the UK I'm having a bit of trouble trying to figure out if the T's in the ingredients are for tea spoons or table spoons. ?

      Reply
      • Kevin

        February 24, 2016 at 3:20 pm

        Oops, sorry, Scott, the T are tablespoons, the t are teaspoons. Sorry about that, but welcome to Amish365.com from the UK!

        Reply
        • Scott

          February 25, 2016 at 8:51 am

          Hi Kevin,

          Thanks for the quick reply. Will be showing the recipe to my mam when I see her on the weekend. She's an amazing cook and often cook's for my 6 brothers and sisters and me plus all the grand kids. So this should be enough to feed the tribe ?

    5. Marion Desatnik

      March 26, 2016 at 2:43 pm

      These Christmas Cinnamon rolls sound delicious. I must try them for the next brunch at our "Young At Heart" brunch at
      our church!

      Off subject. Do you have a recipe for good olde fashion Amish Butterscotch Pie? I try, but cannot measure up to the
      flavor or texture of an Amish made pie.

      Thank you, and have a blessed Easter,
      Marion

      Reply
      • Kevin

        March 26, 2016 at 11:45 pm

        Thanks for stopping by Marion,try this buttercotch recipe

        Reply
    6. Linda

      January 06, 2017 at 6:35 pm

      quick ???? can I substitute all purpose flour for the bread flour? so excited to try these my family loves the ones we buy each time we go to Amish country

      Reply
      • Linda

        January 08, 2017 at 4:19 pm

        fyi I tried the cinnamon rolls today with all purpose flour, and they were wonderful.....thanks for sharing this recipe with us...

        Reply
        • Kevin

          January 09, 2017 at 9:09 am

          Awesome, Linda, thank you for letting us know!

      • Kevin

        January 09, 2017 at 9:31 am

        Oops, Linda, sorry, I just saw this, yes, you can sub that flour

        Reply
    7. Tonya Hix

      November 15, 2017 at 3:36 pm

      I made these for my family. They are wonderful!! Easy to make too. I plan to make them again soon.
      Tonya. Alto Ga

      Reply
    8. Tonya Hix

      November 15, 2017 at 3:38 pm

      Easy to make and very good.
      Tonya. Alto Ga

      Reply

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    Kevin Williams - The Amish Editor Amish Cook Column

    Hi There, I'm Kevin!

    Welcome to Amish365, where I share my knowledge of Amish cooking and culture! I’ve spent almost three decades exploring Amish settlements and kitchens from Maine to Montana and almost everywhere in between. I’ll occasionally throw in stories of my travels, journalism adventures (I’m a Pulitzer prize-nominated journalist), fascination with grocery stores and Kmarts, and much more!

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