You read the title. Yes, these Cinnamon Rolls do have cottage cheese in them. But don’t fret, they are completely delicious.

I found the original recipe for these cinnamon rolls in the cookbook Teens Cook by Megan Carle. I discovered this book written by teens, for teens when I was 14. This recipe has been tweaked and adjusted to my liking, and is still a staple in my dorm apartment today.

Now I know what word is coming to your mind right now when you think homemade cinnamon rolls: yeast. But wait a second here dear reader, I’ll let you in on a little secret: there is no yeast in these rolls. Making these cinnamon rolls during finals week or when you have serious cravings has never been easier. All you need is a blender, a bowl, and a pan to throw in the oven. I kid you not, it’s that easy.

One quick side note before we move on to the recipe: these aren’t your Cinnabon cinnamon rolls that disintegrate in your mouth and are three-quarters gooey and covered with a million calories in icing. These rolls are dense and hearty like bread to keep you full and don’t have an icing. You don’t need one!

Now, lets get this party started!

Cottage Cheese Cinnamon rolls 

• Adapted from Teens Cook
• Baking time: 35-40 mins
• Total time: 1 hour

Ingredients

• Dough
  • 1 cup cottage cheese
  • 3/4 cup white sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/2 cup oil
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 2 tablespoons baking powder
  • 4 1/4 cups flour (plus more for dusting)
• Filling
  • 2 cups packed brown sugar
  • 1 1/2-2 tablespoons cinnamon
  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 1/2 cup honey

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
2. Grease a 9 x 13 inch baking pan ( or something of similar size, remember this is easy).
3. Put the cottage cheese in a blender and blend until the lumps are gone. Add the sugar, eggs, oil, and milk and blend until things are smooth.
4. Pour the mixture into a large bowl and add the baking powder. Stir to combine.
5. Add the flour a little bit of a time (in about 1/2 cup increments) until the dough is smooth. This part gets a little messy. I find it easiest to work it in with my hands and knead it while adding the flour until the dough stops gluing itself to my hands.
6. Flour a table, or a kitchen countertop, and stretch the dough out until it is a large rectangle that is about 20 by 25 inches. Extra points if you actually use a rolling pin.
7. Next, prepare the filling. Mix the brown sugar and cinnamon in a bowl. Depending on your liking of cinnamon, you can taste the mixture and adjust accordingly.
8. Melt the butter in a microwave. Brush the melted butter over the stretched out dough.
9. Drizzle honey over the butter. Try not to lick your fingers.
10. Sprinkle the sugar mixture over the calorie-laden goodness, I mean honey and butter. Try to fill in as much of the dough as possible.
11. Roll the dough up as tightly as possible.
12. Using a knife, preferably serrated, cut the roll into 1 to 1 1/2 inch slices and place into the greased pan.
13. Put the rolls into the preheated oven and let them cook for 35 to 40 minutes. The tops should get a nice golden brown color and if you pull up on the center of the roll, it should separate and not pull.
14. Serve warm straight out of the oven. Store leftovers in the refrigerator.

One more thing: these babies taste great reheated in the microwave. Just pop them in for 45 seconds to a minute and get ready to relive the cinnamon goodness.

Enjoy and Happy Cooking!