I was on Facebook. I follow a group called Recipes (Amish and More). I like the group for the most part. All of the recipes are made from scratch and feature more traditional or old fashion foods.
I saw a posting from someone asking for a recipe for Long Johns. For those of you who don’t know, they are a rectangle-shaped doughnut flavored roll. Most have a frosting. Some have a cream filling inside.
There were many recipes, ideas, and suggestions to the post and I found myself reading them. I saw this recipe.
Then I saw the person who posted the recipe also put up this picture…
and wrote:
“When our middle son got married we converted his bedroom into our baking room. I absolutely love it. You can also use this recipe for what we call a Cinnamon Swirl. Be sure to add the cinnamon in the dough for those. After the dough rises the first time roll it out like you’re going to make cinnamon rolls, but only put a thin layer of cinnamon down then roll, cut & let them rise again before frying. Glaze when hot.”
Um, the rolls looked delicious so I decided to half the recipe and give them a try.
Look, I had a helper…GANNON!!
We mixed up the dough, let it rise and then rolled it out as suggested. We sprinkled with cinnomon.
We put them on a greased cookie sheet so they could rise again.
Then after they had risen, we fried them.
I made maple frosting for them.
So how were they…VERY GOOD. I’ll be making them again. I will make sure to cut the rolls thinner though. I had the rolls in the oil frying long enough, but they were too thick and were slightly doughy in the inside…not bad and perfectly edible but to make them even better, I would cut them thinner. Cutting them thinner would allow the inside to cook better.
Also, I used a recipe for the frosting that was provided but I’ll go back to using my own recipe that has cream cheese in it. That recipe is:
1/4 cup butter
4 oz cream cheese
1 Tablespoon of maple flavoring
Enough powdered sugar to be your preferred consistency
Everyone in the family really liked these. A half of a batch made 18 rolls. I think I would aim for the recipe to make 20 rolls instead so that the inside isn’t doughy.
One thing I was pleasantly surprised about, the rolls were really good the next day. Other recipes left the rolls a little dried out the next day. So, it’s okay to make a batch and have leftovers…YAHOO! That sounds like a good plan.
That sweet little boy. His face is so precious !
Oh my! I love donuts and these look heavenly. My husband would faint if I made these because I never fry anything. So tempting!
Yum, they look wonderful! And you had such a fun helper, Gannon is such a sweet boy. When making them again would you slice them about an inch thick or ??? I think I may just give this recipe a try, it’s been decades since I last made doughnuts. Thanks for the post!
They look yummy. What a great helper you have! Enjoy.
They look fabulous! How much yeast did you use? Love reading your blog.
Hi Jo!
Oh my, these look wonderful! My question is: How long did you fry them, and did you have to flip them in the oil to get them completely done? My husband would be SO happy if I made these!
My friend used to make these at work. Her boss would check the rolls and count how many swirls the rolls had because they had to be thin and have a certain number of swirls. I’m sure these are delicious.
You can bake these next time at 350 for 20 min. I make something similar for Christmas. Once you prepare the rolls with cinnamon and raisins, etc. You slice and put into a glass pan and refrigerate over night. Christmas morning you bake them and then ice them. Yummy. Cuts down on the calories to bake them. You can also make pecan buns by pouring melted butter, brown sugar and pecans over them and bake. More yum.
Thanks, i prefer baked. Oh, the pecan variety will add lots of calories with the yum!
Thanks for the suggestion. I always make a mess with deep frying. A bit healthier when baked.
I wonder how they would be if baked instead of fried???
Hi Jo, The rolls look delicious! and your helper is adorable. Can you please clarify the dough mixing directions? When do the scalded milk and oil get added? Can’t wait to try the recipe.
I used to work in a donut shop. The recipe sounds a lot like what we used. We always made cinnamon rolls at the end of our dough as they were very popular. Thanks for sharing the recipe I will bake them as I have to count total calories daily.
This is so funny because just before I read this my hubby was heading to the store and I said, “It wouldn’t hurt my feelings if a long john showed up in the grocery bag.” So many friends from other states (than WY) don’t know what a long john is.
We have them in Colorado, and I love them, although I haven’t had one in a very long time. I like the kind with the marshmallowy filling rather than the custard stuff. Now I want one!
My mother used to make cake donuts… I can still recall the wonderful aroma of the donuts frying! As I was printing the recipe, my husband wandered by, saw the photo, and is hoping I will try the recipe soon.
I never fry anything – what type of oil did you use to fry them?
I use canola oil.
I just finished making a half recipe. They are delicious. I baked half and fried half to taste the difference. Next time I think I will try some chopped sauted apples to make them into apple fritters. Thank you so much for the recipe.