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Honey Cinnamon Roll-Ups -- The Sweetest Ornament on the Tree

December. Christmas baking. Zaria is my full partner now — she measures, mixes, decorates, and quality-controls with the precision of a five-year-old who takes baking as seriously as her grandmother takes cooking. She made snickerdoodles this year — Marc's favorite cookie — and she said, "These are for Uncle Marc." I put three in a small bag and hung them on the Christmas tree. The cookies are an ornament now. The sweetest ornament on the tree.

Zaria chose snickerdoodles because she knew cinnamon and sugar were Uncle Marc’s language of love — and that instinct is something I want to honor every time we bake together. These Honey Cinnamon Roll-Ups carry that same warmth: simple, sweet, and impossible to resist. They’re the kind of thing she can roll up herself, which matters, because the making is just as sacred as the eating.

Honey Cinnamon Roll-Ups

Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 15 minutes | Total Time: 25 minutes | Servings: 12 roll-ups

Ingredients

  • 6 flour tortillas (8-inch)
  • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
  • 3 tablespoons honey
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt
  • Optional: powdered sugar for dusting

Instructions

  1. Preheat. Heat your oven to 375°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
  2. Make the cinnamon-sugar. In a small bowl, stir together the granulated sugar, cinnamon, and salt until evenly combined.
  3. Prep the tortillas. Lay each tortilla flat on a clean surface. Brush the entire surface with melted butter, then drizzle with honey and spread gently to coat.
  4. Season. Sprinkle the cinnamon-sugar mixture evenly over each buttered, honeyed tortilla.
  5. Roll. Roll each tortilla up tightly into a log. Place seam-side down on the prepared baking sheet. Cut each log in half crosswise for easier serving, if desired.
  6. Bake. Bake for 12—15 minutes, until the roll-ups are golden and the edges are just crisp. Watch closely in the last few minutes — the honey can go from golden to dark quickly.
  7. Cool and serve. Let rest for 5 minutes before serving. Dust lightly with powdered sugar if desired. Serve warm.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 118 | Protein: 2g | Fat: 5g | Carbs: 17g | Fiber: 1g | Sodium: 108mg

DeShawn Carter
About the cook who shared this
DeShawn Carter
Week 350 of DeShawn’s 30-year story · Detroit, Michigan
DeShawn is a thirty-six-year-old single dad, auto plant worker, and a man who didn't learn to cook until his wife left and his five-year-old asked, "Daddy, can you cook something?" He called his mama, who came over with two bags of groceries and spent six months teaching him the basics. Now he's the dad at the cookout who brings the ribs, the guy at the plant whose leftover gumbo starts fights, and living proof that it's never too late to learn.

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