Nutella Cinnamon Rolls

Publication day. May 6th, 2025. "The Chain Doesn't Break: Recipes, Memory, and the Kitchens That Made Us" by Ruth Feldman. Published by Knopf. In bookstores. On shelves. In the world.

I woke at six and did the crossword. I made coffee. I made challah, because the first thing I did on the day my book was published was the first thing I do every day: I cooked. I braided the challah and I thought of Sylvia and Irving and the Bronx and the apartment on the Grand Concourse and the kitchen where everything began, and the kitchen is the first chapter and the last chapter and every chapter in between, and the book is the kitchen, and the kitchen is the book, and today the book is in the world.

Rebecca called at eight. "Mama, the book is in every Barnes & Noble in Manhattan." David called at nine. "Mom, it's in the waiting room of my practice. I bought six copies." Miriam called from Tel Aviv. "I'm reading it in Hebrew." (She is not reading it in Hebrew. It is not in Hebrew. But Miriam has always been a creative interpreter of facts.) Rachel called at ten. "Ruth, the Times piece is running tomorrow."

I drove to Cedarhurst at two. I brought Marvin a copy. I sat beside him and I said, "Marv, the book is published today. It's in bookstores. People are reading it. People are reading about your brisket and your love and your living room and the recliner that's in this room. They're reading about us, Marv. The whole story. Our whole story." He looked at me. He held the book. He said nothing. The nothing was the disease. The holding was the love. The holding was the review. The only review that matters.

I came home and sat at the kitchen table and opened the book to the first page and read the first sentence: "Sylvia Rosen's kitchen was small — New York apartment small — but she operated in it with the spatial efficiency of a submarine engineer, producing meals for six from a galley that could barely fit two." I read it and I cried. Not because it was sad. Because it was true. Because the true was in the book and the book was in the world and the world was going to read it and the reading was going to carry Sylvia's kitchen forward, past me, past my grandchildren, into the hands of strangers who would read it and taste it and remember. The chain doesn't break. Not today. Not ever. Not in this kitchen.

The challah was already braided and cooling by the time Miriam called from Tel Aviv and Rebecca called from Manhattan and David called from his waiting room full of my book. I had done the sacred thing. But the day kept opening — bigger and brighter than I knew how to hold — and by evening I wanted something indulgent and unambiguous, something that said celebration without apology. Nutella Cinnamon Rolls are not Sylvia’s recipe. They are not from the Grand Concourse. But they are warm and they are sweet and they are made by hand in a kitchen, and on a day when the kitchen was the whole world, that was exactly enough.

Prep Time: 30 min | Cook Time: 25 min | Total Time: 55 min (plus 1 hr 30 min rise time) | Servings: 12

Ingredients

3/4 cup warm whole milk (about 110°F)
2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast (1 packet)
1/4 cup granulated sugar, divided
3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
1/2 teaspoon fine salt
2 large eggs, room temperature
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup Nutella
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted (for brushing)
For the glaze: 1 cup powdered sugar, 2 tablespoons whole milk, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

Activate the yeast. Combine warm milk, yeast, and 1 tablespoon of the sugar in a large bowl. Stir gently and let sit 5–10 minutes until foamy.
Make the dough. Add the remaining sugar, eggs, and softened butter to the yeast mixture. Stir to combine. Add flour and salt, mixing until a shaggy dough forms, then knead on a lightly floured surface for 8–10 minutes until smooth and elastic. The dough should be soft and slightly tacky but not sticky.
First rise. Place dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover with a clean towel or plastic wrap, and let rise in a warm spot for 1 hour, or until doubled in size.
Roll and fill. Punch down the dough and roll it out on a floured surface into a rectangle roughly 12 by 16 inches. Brush the surface with melted butter. Spread Nutella evenly over the dough, leaving a 1/2-inch border along one long edge. Sprinkle cinnamon evenly over the Nutella.
Roll and cut. Starting from the filled long edge, roll the dough tightly into a log. Pinch the seam to seal. Using a sharp knife or unflavored dental floss, cut the log into 12 equal rolls.
Second rise. Arrange rolls cut-side up in a greased 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Cover and let rise 25–30 minutes, until puffy and rolls are touching.
Bake. Preheat oven to 350°F. Bake rolls for 22–25 minutes, until golden on top and just cooked through. Do not overbake — they should still be tender at the center.
Glaze and serve. Whisk powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla together until smooth. Drizzle over rolls while still warm. Serve immediately.

Nutrition (per serving)

Nutella Cinnamon Rolls — The Kitchen That Carries Everything Forward