it's a special day in Sweden today, which we call "kanelbullens dag" in the native tongue - "cinnamon roll day" for english speakers! ;3

i used to bake cinnamon rolls with my grandma whenever i stayed at her house as a kid - they're pretty easy to make, and i've attached the recipe at the bottom of this blog post for anyone who'd like to try their paws at making them! (we always used the recipe that was on the flour bag, so it's nothing extravagant X'3)

cinnamon rolls are kind of a big deal for Swedes, because we invented them!* it also seems we'll make a special day for many other treats we like, because cinnamon rolls are far from unique in having their own holiday - they may just be the most well-known and beloved one! here's a list of a few other national holidays dedicated to foods:

  • jan 12 - marzipan day: marzipan is common in swedish pastries and candies, so it's not too surprising it'd get its own special day!
  • semmeldagen: a "semla" is a cardamom-spiced sweet bun, split in half and filled with almond paste and cream. it's traditionally eaten on "shrove tuesday"/"fat tuesday", which usually falls somewhere in mid-february.
  • mar 1 - pancake day: technically speaking, march 1st is international pancake day! depending on who you ask, pancake day is on shrove tuesday (see above). swedish pancakes are thin and buttery, a bit more like a crepe than the fluffy american pancakes!
  • mar 25 - waffle day: swedish waffles differ quite a bit from what you typically find in the US - they're thinner and crispier, and traditionally made into heart shapes!
  • may 11 - chokladbollens dag: a swedish "chocolate ball" is a no-bake pastry made with oats and rolled in coconut flakes! it's also common to add a splash of coffee to give it a mocha flavor.
  • oct 4 - cinnamon roll day: that's today! :3
  • nov 7 - kladdkakans dag: a "kladdkaka" is a gooey chocolate cake, which i've often heard compared to brownies! it's one of my personal favorite swedish desserts~
  • dec 13 - Luciadagen: this is "saint Lucy's day" in Sweden, and the traditional food associated with it is the "lussebulle" - a yellow saffron bun, rolled into a sort of S-shape and decorated with raisins.

i'm a very food-motivated critter who doesn't celebrate a lot of other "traditional" holidays anymore, so i have a bit of extra love to give to silly holidays about treats we like! if you're like me and want an excuse to make something tasty today, why not try out my favorite cinnamon roll recipe?

* okay, so we can't really *entirely* confirm this, and it's possible it was around in other scandinavian countries before or around the same time...Sweden just has the first recorded instance, so i guess that counts?

Swedish Cinnamon Rolls (makes ~40 rolls)

(recipe translated from this one)

  • 150 g butter or margarine, room temperature (or 1,5 dl melted)
  • 5 dl milk
  • 50 g (1 pkg) yeast for sweet doughs*
  • 1 dl white sugar
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 2 tsp cardamom (optional)**
  • 800 g (ca 1,4 l) flour
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • Pearl sugar, for topping (optional)***

Cinnamon filling:

  • 150 g room temperature butter or margarine
  • 1 dl white sugar
  • 2 Tbsp cinnamon

Instructions:

  1. Warm the milk to ~98 °F (37 °C)
  2. Crumble the yeast into a large bowl, add the milk and mix together. Cube the butter and add to the bowl along with sugar, salt, and cardamom (if using).
  3. Measure up the flour, do not sift. Add it to the bowl, reserving ½ dl for rolling out the dough later.
  4. Work the dough for 5 minutes with a stand mixer/machine, or 10 minutes by hand, until smooth.
  5. Cover the dough with a cloth and let rise for 30 minutes.
  6. Gently knead the dough down a bit, then divide it into 4 portions. Use a rolling pin to roll out each dough portion into a flat, oblong rectangle.
  7. Mix together the ingredients for the cinnamon filling, then spread thinly across each rectangle of dough. Starting at one of the long ends, roll the dough up into an oblong roll.
  8. Cut each long roll into approximately 10 sections, then lay them flat on a tray covered in parchment paper, leaving plenty of space between each roll. Let rise under a cloth for about 40 minutes before baking.
  9. Preheat the oven to 435 - 480 °F (225-250°C). Brush each roll with a beaten egg, sprinkle pearl sugar on top (if using), then bake in the middle of the oven for 5 - 10 minutes. Let cool on a rack for 10 minutes afterwards.

* In Sweden, the yeast you get at the store is typically fresh and comes in cubes. There’s also different kinds depending on what you’re baking (sweet vs savory). If you’re like me and can only get ahold of dry yeast where you live, you can substitute with a conversion of 10 g fresh yeast = 1 tsp dry yeast. For this recipe, that’ll be 5 tsp!

** I personally really hate any amount of cardamom in my cinnamon rolls. The taste is too sharp and spicy!

*** I highly recommend using the pearl sugar if you can get any! It makes them really pretty!