8.21.2010

Sweet treat of the week: Cinnamon Rolls

Homemade cinnamon rolls are amazing, and this recipe, from the book Miserly Moms: Living Well on Less in a Tough Economy is by far my favorite version.  Let's get down to business.  Pop on an apron and roll up your sleeves 'cause things are about to get messy.

Oh, and one more thing.  This recipe requires quite a bit of butter.  Please, use real butter!  Julia Child loved butter and lived to be 91.  Butter is best!


For the dough you'll need:
1 Tbsp. instant yeast (not active dry)
1 cup warm milk
1/3 cup white granulated sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) melted butter
1 tsp. salt
2 eggs
4 to 5 cups all-purpose flour

Dissolve yeast in warm milk.  Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well (I use the dough hook on my trusty KitchenAid Artisan Mixer).  Knead into a ball.  Let rise until doubled in size, about 1 to 2 hours.

Here's the dough ball:
I took advantage of the hot Florida sun and let the dough rise in the sticky, moist heat outdoors (after wrapping tightly with plastic wrap, of course).  The AC is running a lot to keep the house cool so there are cold drafts in the kitchen--which can really impede the rising process.  Be sure to find a nice, warm, draft-free place for your dough to rise.

And here's what it looks like after rising:

But don't forget about your dough, or you'll come back to this: 
Ooops! Luckily yeast dough is pretty forgiving!

Punch the dough down and turn it out onto a clean and dry floured surface. 

Roll into a rectangle until dough is about 1/4 inch thick.  You're ready for your filling now! 

For the filling you'll need:
1/4 softened butter
1 cup brown sugar
3 Tbsp. cinnamon

Spread butter on dough evenly.  Sprinkle sugar and cinnamon over dough evenly.  Roll dough up.  Slice roll into 1.5 inch slices. (I made a dozen rolls, and discarded the ends of the dough roll because they do not get very much of the cinnamon swirl throughout.)

 

Place in a greased 13x9 metal or glass baking pan.


Let rise again until doubled--this took about an hour for me. 
Look how pretty they are when they're ready to bake:

Bake at 375 for 15-20 minutes. 

While the rolls are baking, you'll want to make the delicious frosting! 


For the frosting you'll need:
1/4 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup cream cheese, softened (1/2 brick)
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
Beat all ingredients together until fluffy.  Set aside.  Just after you remove the hot cinnamon rolls from the oven, you'll want to spread all that delicious frosting over the top.


Eat 'em as soon as they're not so hot that they'll burn your mouth. 

Tip:  You can make these the night before they're needed.  Skip the final rising step and let rise overnight in the refrigerator.  Bake as directed in the morning.  What a way to impress overnight company! 

So, who's gonna make cinnamon rolls this weekend??

4 comments:

  1. oh man, I really want to make these! they look delicious!

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  2. My downfall when trying to diet. I love cinnamon rolls and those pictures are GREAT!

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  3. You've made me hungry... I may need to bake now! Looks like a great recipe!

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  4. YUM! I'm pretty sure that if I make these, my husband will do just about anything I ask for however long the cinnamon rolls last. Thanks for the recipe! :)

    ReplyDelete

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