It has nothing to do with a fear of yeast, which has never really bothered me. It’s pretty easy to use, unless the yeast is dead. And that doesn’t happen very often. No, it’s more about the ultimate convenience and endless wonder of a bread machine. Why work on the dough myself when there’s a lovely machine sitting on my counter that can do all the heavy lifting for me?

Now, now, bread enthusiasts. Back off. I’m sure that my machine can’t do the wonderful things you can do, but it sure can make some cinnamon rolls lickety-split. I made these (and they’re dairy-free, too!) the night of our big snowstorm, and they made a perfect breakfast to wake up to.

While the snow is slowly melting, more disasters loom. I was looking forward to a snow day or two to myself (my kids’ school went back midweek while my system remained closed) when my youngest came down with a fever. She can’t go to school like that, so now I’m on full-time nurse duty. If history repeats itself (and it does), I’ll catch whatever she has just in time to go back to teaching this coming Monday.

Parenting 101, y’all. Ready? The more children in the house, the more disease. It’s a given, and it’s totally gross. I used to think I wouldn’t be able to clean up anything disgusting, but I’ve proven myself wrong. I’m not saying that it’s fun, but I’ve seen enough stomach-churning sights over the past eight years that I’m kind of regretting my decision not to go into medicine. Would I have passed organic chemistry? Maybe not, but I would have been able to look at any kind of human ickiness without batting an eyelash.

Plus, I’ve become extremely adept at diagnosis. Most of the time when I go to a doctor, I already know what they’re going to say. If not for their magic access to prescription-only medication, I wouldn’t even go.  Oh, except for the fact that they know a lot more than I do and can save lives and all of that.

It’s a passion for research that has me scouring medical encyclopedias and cookbooks alike. With so few years on this planet (relatively speaking, that is), we’ve gotta learn whatever we can while we can! And have I mentioned that for me, a bakery visit also counts as research?

Whenever I go to the mall, I smell those famous Cinnabon devils baking. They had to put that right next to a DSW to tempt me, right? But I resist the urge every single time because I know I can make cinnamon rolls that are just as good and less of a calorie bomb right here at home. The dough comes out perfectly in a bread machine. See?

These are non-dairy. Translation: I used margarine. Or you can use any non-dairy butter substitute, or just use butter. I wanted to see what would happen without butter, and I’m happy to report that I still couldn’t stop eating these. So if Khloe Kardashian is still on that dairy-free diet, she’s welcome to dig in. I don’t think they’ll qualify as a health food. Sorry, K.

These come together super fast, and I also put mini chocolate chips in the filling to make the rolls especially melty and irresistible. Instead of a traditional cream cheese glaze, I used a simpler glaze for shine. Sometimes I like the cream cheese glaze, but most of the time I actually prefer a plainer roll. With the heavy glaze, it can be too much.

You’re one bread machine away from this happiness, so I recommend you hit it! And if someone gets sick, you can eat all of these to keep your energy up as you nurse the afflicted toward recovery. Either way, they make for a much cozier winter!

If I want a less indulgent version of that sandwich, I bake cinnamon raisin bread with whole wheat flour (mostly) and spread it with light cream cheese. It does the trick! Because really, what is better than freshly baked bread?

When we got married almost ten years ago, Kenny and I registered for (and got, yay!) a bread machine. I had visions of us in a perfectly appointed house with everything tidily in its place, eating bread that we’d made ourselves. With the help of the machine, of course.

And that’s come to pass, except with a lot more mess in the house and a lot lot lot more noise. The thing about bread machines is that some people think they’re cheating, and maybe they’re right. But I honestly don’t care. Bread that comes out of my oven is bread I made myself. And that is that.

Now, if you don’t have a bread machine, you can probably still make this bread using a dough hook attachment on your mixer, or even doing it by hand. It just won’t be so darn easy.

This recipe makes enough for two loaves, one for now and one to freeze. That way, I take out the frozen loaf when we’re having breakfast for dinner, reheat it, and it’s delicious. Because what could be better than cinnamon bread with, oh, just about anything?

This recipe works because even though it uses mostly whole wheat flour, I do put some regular all-purpose flour (or I also use bread flour) into the mix. When the dough is ready, you add the raisins and the cinnamon sugar. It’s very simple. I made this while watching my kids beat each other up.

Just kidding. Sort of. But the bottom line is, I can’t always get out for my cinnamon raisin bagel and cream cheese. When I want something warm, yeasty, and healthy, this bread is the best option. Talk about wish fulfillment!