Hey, if you’re new here, welcome! Thanks for stopping by to check out my Vinegar Roll recipe. You’ll find family favorite recipes here from the perfect chocolate chip cookies to a Sangria recipe that I perfected during our four years in Spain. You’ll also find a lot of traditional Polish recipes that I picked up on our most recent stint overseas. Hearty comfort food whether you’re Polish or like me (not Polish). Bon appetit!
I’ve been wanting to blog about Vinegar Rolls ever since I read Barbara Kingsolver’s Animal, Vegetable, Miracle. As Kingsolver’s family documents their decision to eat locally for one year, the beginning is tough. They’re waiting for fruits to come into season, craving a dessert.
I know they would have enjoyed one of my grandma’s recipes during this lean time. Vinegar rolls always remind me of apple pie without using a bit of fruit.
As a young boy, my dad and his family lived on a ranch in southeast Arizona. My grandparents and great-grandparents homesteaded back when Arizona was still a territory.
They raised and grew most of what they ate just like Kingsolver was attempting to do. There were no quick trips to the supermarket to pick up a missing ingredient or to satisfy a craving.
They made do with what they had on hand. Vinegar rolls are comfort food for our family – something my grandmother learned to make from her mother-in-law.
I don’t know a lot of family history, but I do know my paternal ancestors came from Germany. The use of vinegar fits in with my ideas of German cooking. It’s used in many ways that would seem uncommon in an American kitchen.
Made with only pantry staples, vinegar rolls are something you can whip up anytime to mimic the taste of apple pie, both sweet and tart with a bit of cinnamon. The liquid will become thicker during baking and gel a bit. It couldn’t be simpler. I’ve included two simple substitutions to make this a vegan dessert.
Enjoy!
Lois
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Vinegar Rolls
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 60 mins
- Total Time: 1 hour 15 mins
- Yield: 6-8 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Cuisine: American
Description
Simple ranch house cooking, an old family recipe
Ingredients
- single pie crust, purchased or your favorite recipe (vegan pie crust)
- 2 tablespoons butter, soft (vegan margarine such as Earth Balance)
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1/2 tablespoon cinnamon
- 2/3 cup water
- 2/3 cup sugar
- 1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425
- Roll dough into a 12 inch square
- Spread with butter
- Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons sugar and cinnamon
- Beginning with one side, tightly roll up the dough and place in a baking dish, seam side down
- Combine water and 2/3 cup sugar in a saucepan and stir over medium heat until the sugar dissolves
- Add the vinegar, and check the taste, your looking for a pleasant balance of sweet and sour, adjust as needed
- Pour the liquid into the pan with the dough
- Bake for 10 minutes, reduce heat to 350 and bake for another 50 minutes, occasionally brushing the top of the pastry with the liquid.
- Cool a bit before serving
Notes
Can easily be doubled
It’s very nice served warm with a little vanilla ice cream
(Vegan substitutions are in parenthesis)
An accountant by trade and a food blogger since 2009, Lois Britton fell in love with Polish cuisine during the years she lived in Poznań, Poland. As the creator of PolishHousewife.com, she loves connecting readers with traditional Polish recipes. Lois has a graduate certificate in Food Writing and Photography from the University of South Florida. She is the author of The Polish Housewife Cookbook, available on Amazon and on her website.
Jean
I haven’t had vinegar rolls in ages, but I’m going to very soon! It’s surprising how something so simple can taste so good. I’m a big fan of eating them warm with vanilla ice cream.
★★★★★
Stripesmom
outside of my family know one I’ve met has heard of vinegar rolls. takes me back to days where the kitchen smelled of tart, sweet, and cinnamon. such a great kept secret
★★★★★
polishhousewife
It does seem to be a family secret, but with 123 pins, at this point, that might change.
Anna
Should this be baked in a loaf pan?
Lois Britton
I usually bake in a casserole-type dish.
Patricia
My Grand mother made these as I grew up. When she passed away the recipe went with her. I made cinnamon rolls 6 months back and put together the water the sugar from my little girl memory. I didn’t know them as vinger rolls. My family knew them as vinagermarowns. So just maybe our families have changed the name but the taste makes me cry thinking about my Granma making us the rolls out of love. So I am going to pass these on to my Granddaughters reminding them of Grandmother’s love
★★★★★
polishhousewife
I’m so happy to connect you with this memory and recipe, Patricia! You’re the only person outside of my family I know of who has experienced them before.
Melanie
My grandmother made them and my family called them vinegar stickies. These look just like hers. It’s such a great memory. Can’t wait to try them. Thank you!
polishhousewife
Thanks for your comment, Melanie! I’m so happy to hear that someone else knew these growing up. I hope they’re as good as you remember!
Marlene Sinclair
My mother made vinedar dumplings
polishhousewife
Interesting! Were they also sweet and sour?
Annie Clark
My grandmother made us what we called tomatoes with dumplings it was so good. No one seems to know about this. My grand mother was from Mississippi. Rodney , Ashland, Fayette, out twenty. Highway.
Martha
My mother made this and the recipe died with her. This one seems to be the closest to what I remember – the pastry was so light and flaky that a pie crust base makes perfect sense. Can’t wait ti try it. Just sent the recipe to my brother since we had just been reminiscing about some of her recipes. Hope this turns out to the be one. Thank you.
polishhousewife
I hope it matches your memory. My grandmother never wrote this down, so it involved some trial and error get the same taste. All the best!
Gretchen Thomas
Do you slice them into rolls ( pinwheels) after you bake them?
★★★
polishhousewife
Gretchen, I have sliced them inch thick into pinwheels for buffets, but if I’m serving dessert family style, I’d probably slice them into a 3 or 4 inch serving and top with ice cream. Thanks for your question; I appreciate you taking the time!
Cindy
WHEN do you slice them? Before you bake them or when you serve them?
polishhousewife
Just before serving. Thanks for asking!
Donna
Thank you sooo much for posting this recipe. My granma and mom both made these. Unfortunately neither used a written recipe. I used to know how to make them too but an accident(skull fracture, bad concussion) messed with some of my memories and I haven’t been able to make them in years. I’ve come close in my attempts to recreate the recipe but I think this may be it.
polishhousewife
I’m glad to reconnect you with your family recipe, Donna. My grandmother didn’t use a written recipe either, so it’s taken some trial and error. I hope they’re as good as you remember!
Antoinette Smith
What type of pan is used and does the sauce cover the roll, I would like to try them.
polishhousewife
I use a baking dish large enough to hold the volume of dough I’m using, probably a 9-inch round or square pan, maybe a 9×13 if making a double recipe. I bend the rolled dough to make it fit. And the sauce probably hits the dough somewhere between the midway point and the top. If it just covers the top I think you’re OK, but I wouldn’t want it to be submerged by an inch or more that would be too much liquid. Let us know how it goes!
Louise Sofia
Haven’t tried them yet, but I will. My grandmother made a vinegar pie that I loved and it tasted like a lemon pie. Amazing what vinegar can do for a recipe
polishhousewife
That’s so true. It’s the last thing I would expect to find in a sweet recipe, but it’s full of surprises!
Juleen Dickins
I remember my mother making a “lemon meringue pie” using vinegar instead of lemon and this sounds like another of these great substitute recipes that were made during the depression and earlier. I’m going to try this asap, I know my brother will love this!
polishhousewife
Sometimes to you have to get creative! ❤️
Criss
What a great recipe !! I’ve never heard of them until now but I think they would make a great treat for breakfast or dessert. Thank you for sharing.
Deborah
My grandmother and mom would make these, thank you for the memories. Mom sliced them “Before” baking, put them in a cast iron pan and cooked them on top of the stove. I would beg for them to be made.
Nina
This sounds delicious! I can’t wait to try it. My grandmother used to make vinegar candy. It was a hard candy, to suck on and I’ve never heard of anyone else having this treat. Of course the recipe is gone now.
Aimee
Very interesting, my grandmother was Hungarian, I know many polish recipes are similar to Hungarian, but have never had this…that I can remember anyway! I might give this a try!
Karen cochran
So you roll from long side to long side.
polishhousewife
Yes
polishhousewife
Yep
Joyce
Would love to see the recipe! !!! Can’t find it on this page. It looks good.
polishhousewife
I hope you can find it now, Joyce. I’ve been having some server issues.
Heather
Can’t wait to try this and thank you for the kind Vegan substitutions!
polishhousewife
My pleasure, Heather! Vegans do not live by salad alone! ❤️
Janice Knight
My Grandmother, and then my Mother would do something like this with left over pie dough. But without the vinegar. We are Italian. And of course, my Grandmother never wasted anything!!
I can’t wait to try your recipe! And, thank you for sparking a wonderful memory!!
Janice K
My Grandmother, and then my Mother would do something like this with left over pie dough. But without the vinegar. We are Italian. And of course, my Grandmother never wasted anything!!
I can’t wait to try your recipe! And, thank you for sparking a wonderful memory!!
polishhousewife
Enjoy, Janice!
Sherry
I enjoyed reading about this ingenious recipe. I will be making this soon, probably this morning.
Brenda in TX
A cousin brought vinegar rolls to a family reunion years ago claiming our grandmother made them. Hers were quite tart. I do not remember my grandmother making them.
I am very tempted to try making them, but only a half recipe. I’ll let you know what my family thinks. Thanks for the memories. 🙂
polishhousewife
Enjoy!
L. K.
My grandmother always made what our family called a “roly poly” with the dough left over from making a pie. It was just like base of yours but without the vinegar sauce. I’m definitely going to try your recipe the next time I make a pie, to compare them! 🙂
polishhousewife
My mother-in-law always rolled the pie crust scraps with cinnamon sugar; my mom left them flat. I love it any way. Just be sure to make extra crust to try this!
GooWee
So you pour the juice over and around the bread? Does it sort of boil in the juice? Does the roll get done all through the middle? This is sort of like a cinnamon roll but with vinegar in the sugar sauce?
polishhousewife
Yes, you pour this watery syrup all around the rolled up dough. While it cooks, the liquids thickens. It’s kind of like a cinnamon roll, but not a yeast dough.
Sherry
Do you ever add raisins and/or nuts to this?
Thanks for recipe, I’m making this morning.
polishhousewife
Hi Sherry, sorry for the late reply. I’ve been traveling. I haven’t added nuts and raisins, but you certainly could. I think it would be good.
Susir
This was soooo good! I loved it!
Two of us ate it in one day! Followed
Recipe exactly as written. Smelled
Heavenly while baking! Yummy
★★★★★
polishhousewife
Susir, I’m so glad to hear you enjoyed the recipe! Thanks for letting me know.
Anthony Launza
Finally, people who knows what a vinegar roll is. My mother use to make this all the time growing up. Know as an adult I request it every time I go home. I ask her how to make it but she never measures. She does it by taste, so I never could get it right……. finally a recipe I can go by. Thank you!!!!
polishhousewife
My grandmother was the same way about not writing things down, it took a lot of trial and error to get the right taste! Enjoy, Anthony!
Diana
Hi I am getting ready to make this recipe. Sounds so yummy! Can this be frozen? And if so how long?
polishhousewife
Hi Diana, I haven’t frozen it, but I think it would work well.
Marianne
Can you make these a day or two ahead and reheat before serving?
polishhousewife
Yes, indeed!
Judy Greathouse
My mama used to make what she called “ Vinegar Pie” but I don’t have her recipe either and my mama is no longer with me . I really yearn for my mamas special cooking.
polishhousewife
Nothing is better than mama’s cooking! <3 Treasure the memories, Judy.
Trina Fitch
Are they supposed to be sliced into rolla before baking? When are they to be sliced?
polishhousewife
Hi Trina, I slice them after baking. Have fun in the kitchen!
Diana
OMG these are amazing! I’ve never heard of Vinegar Roll either. I was skeptical but willing to try. I am sooo glad I did. Thank you for a new family tradition for my family!
★★★★★
polishhousewife
It sounds crazy, but they really are tasty and budget friendly! I’m thrilled, Diana, to hear that your family enjoyed them, and I’m so grateful that you took the time to let me know. Happy baking!
Dee Kersbergen
D
Linda
it looked delicious..I want to try over holiday
polishhousewife
Enjoy, Linda!
Lana
Dziękuję xx