This weekend is my mother-in-law’s birthday. She is a wonderful, fun-loving, giving woman and I am fortunate to be part of her family. Eric & I have always been able to depend on Nana Heuser to come to where ever we were living for a visit or to stay with our kids so we could go away. She has also done this for Eric’s brother’s and sister’s families. She  is devoted to all 6 of her grandkids and has a wonderful relationship with all 3 of her own kids and their spouses.

Linda Terry Heuser, circa 1943.

Nana with Wade & Sparky.

Nana always makes time for the normal grandmother things –  births of grandkids, sporting events, school functions and graduations and has gone with all 3 families on vacations and outings to amusement parks, museums, restaurants & more. She has also gone beyond the realm of normal. Not too many grandmothers would wear a pet snake to keep it warm during a February power outage while visiting with the grandkids!

In celebration of my mother-in-law on her birthday weekend, I am sharing a recipe of hers. Her and I share the name Linda Heuser. We also share a love for Eric and a love of baking for the people in our lives. Nana Heuser started making cinnamon buns and taking them to family reunions and other gatherings a real, long time ago. They are always a hit and disappear very quickly. At a recent gathering of both mine & Eric’s families, Nana Heuser made her cinnamon buns for Sunday breakfast. They can be quickly put together the night before then baked in the morning for a great start to the day.

The Heuser side of the family.

Cinnamon Buns (Serves 24)

Directions

Thaw the bread dough according to the package directions. Butter a 9 x 13” baking pan and sprinkle with 1 cup chopped nuts and/or raisins if desired. Break off bread dough and roll into meatball size pieces. Arrange them in the pan.

Add chopped nuts or raisins or both to the buttered dish.

Mix the melted butter, cook & serve pudding, brown sugar, milk and cinnamon then pour the mixture over the bread balls in the pan.

Drop meatball sized dough balls in the pan.

Cover the pan with plastic wrap and refrigerate it overnight. Remove the plastic wrap and bake it at 350˚ for 30 minutes.

cover the dough balls with the butter/pudding/brown sugar mixture.

Cool the buns in the pan for 10 minutes. Turn them out, upside down on a plate. Serve warm. Immediately soak the pan in hot water to prevent the leftover sauce from turning to cement!

They won’t last very long!