Note: I'm generally hell on yeast bread recipes (to be clear I make bricks), and yet this recipe is pretty much super amazing and tasty every time I make it (and I have no idea how old the yeast in my fridge is at this point). I guess it's forgiving =)
Cinnamon Rolls
Rolls:
1 1/4 ounces package active dry yeast (~3 tsp if you've got bulk)
1 cup warm milk, 105 to 110 degrees (2% ultra pasteurized works well)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup butter, melted
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
4 cups all-purpose flour + ~1/2 cup
Filling:
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 1/2 tablespoons cinnamon (I just dump a bunch in)
1/3 cup butter, softened (I soften 1/2c and use what it takes)
Icing:
8 tablespoons butter, softened
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup (2 ounces) cream cheese, softened
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt
For the rolls, dissolve the yeast in the warm milk in a large bowl. Add the sugar and butter, mix well. Then add salt, eggs (slightly beaten) and 4 cups flour and mix well. Start with 4 cups flour and then add more as necessary to get a doughy, but not terribly sticky feel. Knead the dough into a large ball using your hands dusted lightly with flour. I knead in the mixing bowl - feel free to knead on a floured flat surface if you want. I don't knead a ton just enough so that it feels like dough - helpful aren't I?
Put in a bowl, cover and let rise in a warm place about 1 hour or until the dough has doubled in size. I usually cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place it into a slightly warmed oven (really slightly warmed) because we tend to keep the house too cool for happy rising unless it's summer and I honestly don't bake that much in the high summer. Once the dough's roughly doubled in size, roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface until it is approximately 21-by-16-inches. It should be about 1/4-inch thick. I make sure that it's loose from the rolling surface along the way - remember you'll be rolling this into a log and if it's stuck to your surface when you've already applied the filling, you'll be pretty sad.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
For the filling, combine the brown sugar and cinnamon in a bowl. Spread the softened butter evenly over the surface of the dough and sprinkle the cinnamon and sugar evenly over the surface. Once I've sprinkled, I usually work with my hands to spread and pat the sugar cinnamon into a smooth layer - you could probably do this with the back of a spoon or something if you're not into using your hands - but really, what did you do for kneading and rolling the dough? Hands on is part of the fun! Working carefully from the top, roll the dough down to the bottom edge. Cut the rolled dough into 1 3/4-inch slices and place 6 at a time, evenly space, on a parchment paper lined baking pan (feel free to grease a pan instead - just know that the excess sugar/cinnamon spill makes a mess that's easiest to salvage into your belly via the parchment paper - LET IT COOL FIRST - hot butter/sugar is HOT. Bake for 10 minutes or until light brown on top.
While the rolls are baking, combine the icing ingredients. Beat well with an electric mixer until fluffy. When the rolls comes out of the oven, coat each generously with icing. I usually wait a bit after they're out - I want the icing not totally melted, but your mileage will vary.
Makes roughly 12 rolls - depends on if you're going to measure each cut or not - and what you want to do with the ends.
Variations and musings
- I've had success swapping orange blossom water for the extract and Aric liked to use Almond vs Vanilla. Rose water is on my to do list too, but using non-extracts makes the icing a titch thinner - so I just keep adding sugar until I like the consistency.
- I've tried adding some sour cream, it's an old cheesecake trick - changes the flavor a bit, but also makes the icing thinner - so I just keep adding sugar until I like the consistency.
Dough:
- You can add cardamon to the dough at the flour stage. It starts running into a Swedish cardamon roll on purpose.
- I've pulled off the ends - cutting it more roughly square than it gets when I'm rolling, and then just played around with the edge bits.
- I've also tried making 'flowers' with the two ends when I'm not trimming to a square - they need something. The ends never have enough butter or filling and fall apart more then the others.
Filling:
- I often switch up the spicing - rarely just cinnamon - though that's always good. I add cardamon, dried ground ginger, cloves, allspice, etc. Cardamon's probably the only one I'd do a direct substitution for - the rest I add to the cinnamon base.
- I've been using light brown sugar, but I'd like to try dark
- You could add chopped nuts - I've been meaning too, but haven't gotten around to it yet.
Freezing:
- Most recipes suggest par-baking, so you could do that. I think you have less defrosting worries when you par-bake.
- I tried just freezing the rolls directly then letting them sit out to defrost and rise before baking (overnight or for a few hours during the day). That seemed to work well. Just eating a test roll that was raw freezer to toaster oven, 400 deg for 15-18 minutes, in a small pottery bowl. Pretty tasty - very gooey in the middle.
Freezing:
- Most recipes suggest par-baking, so you could do that. I think you have less defrosting worries when you par-bake.
- I tried just freezing the rolls directly then letting them sit out to defrost and rise before baking (overnight or for a few hours during the day). That seemed to work well. Just eating a test roll that was raw freezer to toaster oven, 400 deg for 15-18 minutes, in a small pottery bowl. Pretty tasty - very gooey in the middle.
