This week we are making some cinnamon biscuits and topping them with apple cider vinegar syrup!
These are Quick Vinegar Rolls!
AuthorRetroRuth
From Salina Journal in Salina, Kansas, December 17, 1973. It was submitted by Mrs. Jerry Gasaway of Ada, Kansas
Tested Recipe!
[cooked-sharing]
Combine the first 4 ingredients and stir over low heat till sugar dissolves. Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Cut in shortening, stir in milk with a fork to form a soft dough.
On a lightly floured surface, roll to a 12x11 inch rectangle. Spread with 2 tablespoons of butter and sprinkle with combined ¼ cup brown sugar and cinnamon. Roll up, starting at the longer side, and cut into 12 slices.
Place cut side up in a 10x6x2 inch baking dish. Dot with remaining butter. Pour hot vinegar mixture evenly over dough. Bake in moderate oven (375 degrees) from 35 to 40 minutes. Invert on serving plate and serve warm.
Ingredients
Directions
Combine the first 4 ingredients and stir over low heat till sugar dissolves. Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Cut in shortening, stir in milk with a fork to form a soft dough.
On a lightly floured surface, roll to a 12x11 inch rectangle. Spread with 2 tablespoons of butter and sprinkle with combined ¼ cup brown sugar and cinnamon. Roll up, starting at the longer side, and cut into 12 slices.
Place cut side up in a 10x6x2 inch baking dish. Dot with remaining butter. Pour hot vinegar mixture evenly over dough. Bake in moderate oven (375 degrees) from 35 to 40 minutes. Invert on serving plate and serve warm.
Notes
This recipe is from a recipe box I picked up a few years ago. It’s a newspaper clipping, and I’m not sure what newspaper it’s from, but it has 1969 helpfully written on the back. I have never made a batch of rolls where I pour straight liquid over them before I put them in the oven, so when I saw these I was excited to try them and see what happened!
This was a good dough for making into cinnamon rolls. It came together quickly and rolled out really well.
Buttered.
Done! Practically in a blink of an eye. The recipe didn’t lie on the quickness.
Here is the hot syrup. It was still very liquid, so I started having doubts.
Look at all that liquid! They are swimming in it.
But they didn’t end up falling apart at all. Didn’t they turn out lovely? And you could see the syrup bubbling up from the sides of the rolls, so it looked like it had thickened nicely.
The finished product. The syrup was nice and thick and smelled strongly of apples. I was shocked and very happy.
“What do you think?”
“Is there fruit in here? It tastes like a cinnamon biscuit mixed with an apple fritter.”
“But…there aren’t any actual apples in there.”
“Apple fritter, I say!”
The Verdict: Apple Fritter
From The Tasting Notes –
Against all odds, these actually worked. And even though I didn’t actually chop a single apple, they ended up with a good, strong apple flavor. A lot like a good apple fritter. It was sort of miraculous and unexpected. It makes me wonder if this isn’t a Great Depression recipe, you know? A fruit-flavored dessert for when there was no fruit in the house. (Some internet research says it’s actually an old German recipe, but I haven’t found anything solid yet.) The rolls tasted more like biscuits than a traditional, yeast cinnamon roll. But I grew up eating Hardees’ Cinnamon Raisin Biscuits, which was our after-church treat of choice, so these were very nostalgic to me. The syrup topping ended up a thick, intensely apple-flavored glaze, that was a good level of sweetness and only had a slight tart aftertaste. If I didn’t know what went in it, I would guess cider and wouldn’t guess apple cider vinegar. Overall, a fun and delicious win!
My great grandmother made one very similar to this but using cocoa. From my brother’s blog… http://platefodder.com/2013/03/03/roll-on-one-claras-chocolate-roll/
It was a family favorite! Mom would also substitute peach butter or apple butter for the cocoa filling.
Enjoy!
Interesting, I wonder if you could substitute cider for the apple cider vinegar, or even add some chopped apples to make it even more apple-y.
This recipe is from the Salina Journal in Salina, Kansas, December 17, 1973. It was submitted by Mrs. Jerry Gasaway of Ada, Kansas. (Thanks, newspapers.com)
I’ve been a lurker for quite some time, but this looks so yummy that I had to comment and say hi! I love your blog.
I’m digging the vinegar idea. It’s funny how sour items like vinegar or sour cream go so well in dessert recipes.
The baking powder would definitely make a big difference in having it taste more like a “quick-bread” such as biscuits. These probably didn’t have the chewy texture that would come from proofing a yeast dough.
I tried this recipe, It came out perfect. Very easy to make and came together very quickly. I really didn’t care for the apple taste, it does have a strong apple flavor. Very interesting recipe.People who love apple should definitely try this.
http://www.food.com/recipe/old-fashioned-vinegar-rolls-222038
gives essentially the same recipe and the following:
“This was an answer to a recipe request in the Star -Telegram sometime in the early 90’s. The recipe was in the Parade Magazine published in 1961. The article said the recipe dated from 1880. I thought some of you might be collectors of old historic recipes.”
I am reminded of Ritz Apple Pie which was presumably a Depression-era recipe although that may be an urban legend.
I’ve been trying to find a recipe for vinegar rolls for years and years my grandmother and my mother used to make these I remember it tastes so good that I never forgot it I can’t wait to make these for my grandkids and for my self
Do you think these could be frozen at some point prior to baking?
This recipe is so good that when my last phone died I automatically had to track it down and copy it to my new phone to have it on hand. Though I should probably write down a hard copy sometime. But anyway, thank you so much for introducing it to us.
I found this recipe just before yours. You were right, it is a German recipe. https://polishhousewife.com/vinegar-rolls/
Ritz apple pie is real and very very Ozarks not a money saver now though as ritz cost more than apples
My Mammaw Cheney made these. As a senior citizen, I knew she was on limited funds, so I asked her to make me a pan of Vinegar Rolls. Best Birthday present ever.