Schnecken are a lot like cinnamon rolls–rich, sweet, and delicious. The word schnecken means snails in German, as once these are cut up, that’s what they resemble. Your kids will love helping you roll out the dough, fill it, and roll it into long logs before baking. And I know my Grandma Hilda, who gave me this recipe, will be happy to know that so many children out there are making her schnecken!
Even if you’ve never heard of schnecken, once you make this recipe, you’ll be hooked.
You’ll Need:
For Dough:
4 cups flour
3 T sugar
4 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1/4 lb. butter
2 T Crisco
1 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
For Filling:
box raisins
coconut
cinnamon
sugar
For Topping:
Sugar
Cinnamon
For rolling and baking:
Margarine
Rolling pin
Wax paper
Teaspoon
Cookie sheet
Sharp knife
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Mix together all of the ingredients for dough.
3. Once dough is formed, shape into 4 or 5 balls.
4. Rip out two sheets of wax paper, each one approximately two feet long.
5. Place one ball of dough on one sheet of wax paper and place the second sheet on the top.
6. Roll out the dough, using a rolling pin, to approximately ¼” thickness, in a rectangle.
7. Using the back of teaspoon, scoop out small amounts of margarine and smooth around the outer circumference of the rolled-out dough (about ½ “ from the edge). (Essentially, you are icing this outer part of the dough so that you will be able to seal in the filling).
8. Smooth a small bit of margarine in the center of the dough.
9. Mix together ingredients for filling. a small bit of margarine in the center of the dough.
10. Spoon in several heaping scoops of filling into center of dough and smooth around – do not completely cover all of the rolled-out dough.
11. Roll dough into a log using the bottom sheet of wax paper as your guide.
12. Once completely rolled, fold and close in ends so filling does not squish out during baking, and place log on cookie sheet.
13. Repeat with the other balls of dough until you have four or five filled logs.
14. Take a sharp knife and make cuts into the logs (starting at one end) every inch or so, as if you were slicing individual schneckens (rolls). But do NOT cut all the way through – only about half way.
15. Sprinkle a small dusting of sugar/cinnamon mixture on top and bake for about 45 minutes.
16. Let cool and then slice through and separate individual schneckens.
Looking for more delicious treats? Try our rugelach, pumpkin chocolate-chip cookies, or hamantaschen.
