Murder and Cinnamon

I’m reading Roberto Bolano’s 2666, a novel that averages nearly one murder per page (for 898 pages), and was thinking I needed a pick-me-up.  Why not cinnamon rolls!

First of all, I did not make the dough.  My friend Toastmaster took on that responsibility.  I don’t have the skills or the trust in myself to kneed my own dough.  It all seems so scientific, and I’m not sure I have the mind for or the desire for the mind for that sort of thing.

The instructions said to roll the dough out into a 18×24 square.  I find this whole rolling out dough thing comical.  My pizzas are more of a trapezoid than a circle.  Maybe rhombus, on a good day.  I took the whole 18×24 thing with a grain of salt (baking pun!) but I did approximate those dimensions.  The dough was almost square-like as well.  Wonders never cease—next thing you know, I’ll be kneading my own dough (baking rhyme!).

Then it was time to spread an unseemly amount of butter and sugar and cinnamon on this nearly-square of dough.  I recently made the switch to fruits for desert instead of things like brownies and cake and ice cream and chocolate.  I had crazy withdrawls.  When I mixed the sugar and cinnamon together, it sorta disgusted me.  The instructions said to roll the dough tightly, like a jellyroll.  Does anyone know how African Americans in the 1920s used the term jellyroll?  Anyway, I had a good chuckle.  Also, I have no idea what a jellyroll is except how African Americans in the 1920s used it.  That wasn’t helpful for this particular step.

We got these trash bags that are supposed to eliminate food odor in the trash.  They seem to be working pretty well—though they don’t hide thrown away minced, roasted garlic that well.  Baking cinnamon rolls really takes advantage to that neutralized odor.  It smells so good in here.

Well, I baked most of them too long.  I hate the instructions, or the oven.  They were just a little too brown for me.  They didn’t turn out too bad, though.  How do they taste?  Like God is rubbing my tummy.  Why would you even need to ask?

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