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Dessert

Coffee Rolls

A yeast dough pastry rolled, layered, baked, and dusted with confectioners’ sugar and vanilla.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
By Fannie Merritt Farmer · From a historical cookbook (Project Gutenberg) · 12 ingredients
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Why it works: Cinnamon and vanilla match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 5,287 recipes. Both carry 4-methoxybenzaldehyde, which smells sweet, anise. The science ↓

Coffee Rolls

Ingredients

Directions

Make the dough

  1. Scald milk.

  2. When lukewarm, add yeast cakes, and as soon as dissolved add three and one-half cups flour.

  3. Beat thoroughly, cover, and let rise.

  4. Add butter, lard, sugar, egg unbeaten, cinnamon, salt, and flour enough to knead.

  5. Knead until well mixed, cover, and let rise.

Shape the rolls

  1. Turn mixture on a floured cloth.

  2. Roll into a long, rectangular piece one-fourth inch thick.

  3. Brush over with melted butter.

  4. Fold from ends toward centre to make three layers and cut off pieces three-fourths inch wide.

  5. Cover and let rise.

  6. Take each piece separately in hands and twist from ends in opposite directions, then shape in a coil.

Bake and glaze

  1. Place in buttered pans, cover, again let rise, and bake in a moderate oven twenty minutes.

  2. Cool slightly, and brush over with confectioners’ sugar moistened with boiling water and flavored with vanilla.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

966Calories
28 gProtein
39 gFat
123 gCarbs

Counts 9 of 10 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 9 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Flour1 cup (125g) all-purpose455
Milk1 cup (244ml) whole149
Lard1 tbsp (12.8g)115
Butter1 tbsp (14g)102
Egg1 large egg (50g)78
Sugar1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated49
Vanilla1 tsp extract (4ml)12
Cinnamon1 tsp ground (2.6g)6
Salt1 tsp (6g)0
Cakenot in our table0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

By Fannie Merritt Farmer. Recipe from a historical cookbook (Project Gutenberg).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures. See the original page.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Cinnamon + vanillatop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together5,287 recipes

    Shared aroma: 4-methoxybenzaldehyde (sweet, anise).

  2. Milk + vanillatop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together19,187 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).

  3. Milk + buttertop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together81,283 recipes

    Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).

  4. Sugar + vanillatop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together35,032 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).

  5. Flour + cinnamontop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together17,341 recipes

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

Sugar and vanilla barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 35,032 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Flour
Forms the gluten structure that traps gas and gives the rolls their chewy crumb.
Yeast
Produces carbon dioxide during rising, which makes the dough light and airy.
Milk
Adds moisture and richness to the dough and helps it brown gently.
Butter
Adds fat for tenderness and flavor, and helps the layers separate richly.
Lard
Adds fat that keeps the dough tender and soft in texture.
Egg
Adds richness and structure to the dough, helping it hold together.

The step that matters

Let the dough rise fully before shaping. Yeast needs time to build gas and strengthen the gluten network. Shaping or baking too early leaves dense rolls that may not puff properly in the oven.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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