Cinnamon Rolls

Everyone loves a cinnamon bun. These were intimidating to me for a long time. I'd tried making a recipe a few years ago and wound up with overly dry bread, a recipe that really disappointed me.

I'm not one to completely give up, so I put the cinnamon roll concept to the back burner and powered on through other recipes, slowly building up my baking confidence again. It's really the yeast recipes that I've found the most intimidating, but I've grown rather fond of Yeast Rolls and learned that yeast is a totally conquerable feat.

Cinnamon rolls give me warm feelings of holidays and weekends, since that's when I tend to have them. For the most part my experience is with (a) bakeries or (b) the canned variety, so I was excited to do some from scratch.

First, I added some warm milk to my stand mixing bowl, then mixed in 2 eggs, softened butter, salt, and sugar. I then stirred in the flour and let the dough rest for about 5 minutes. When adding in the flour, I also sprinkled in a little cinnamon and nutmeg to add some flavor to the dough.

I  used the dough hook on my mixer to knead the dough for about 7 minutes, until the dough began to form into a ball. 

I let the dough rise for about an hour, though really only 30-45 minutes is needed. The original recipe posted cautioned not to let it go too long so that the dough doesn't get too airy.

On my floured pastry board, I rolled out the dough into a sheet about 24 x 15 inches in size.

I began gently rolling up one of the long sides of the dough, gently folding the dough into a log shape. I rolled up the entire piece of dough into one log.

Finally, I divided the dough into even pieces. I find the easiest way to do this is to cut the entire log in half, then into quarters, and continue dividing equally until you've got 12 equal-sized rolls.

I sprayed some baking spray in a large cake dish and placed the rolls in, then let them rise for another 20 minutes.

And the last step before baking was pouring some heavy cream over all the rolls. I just imagined them soaking it up in the oven and the anticipation was nothing short of glorious.

They only took about 25 minutes but rose a bit more in the oven and came out a nice light golden brown color.

Rather than a cream cheese frosting, I went with a basic powdered sugar and milk one.

Moist. Flavorful. The perfect breakfast dessert! I was really happy with how these turned out. I don't know if the heavy cream is the big game changer, but I really loved the end result here. They turned out pretty to look at, too. I've got some ideas churning for next time, including a red velvet version or possibly a banana nut?  These were not all that challenging to make, so the possibilities are endless. The biggest thing is making sure there is fresh yeast and a little bit of patience.

Cinnamon Rolls Recipe

Ingredients:

For the dough:
1 cup milk (I used 2%)

1 packet active dry yeast (2 1/2 teaspoons)

2 eggs (at room temperature)

1/3 cup melted butter

4 cups flour

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup sugar

For the filling:

1/2 cup softened butter

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup honey

2 tablespoons cinnamon

For the frosting:

2 tablespoons milk

2 cups powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

Instructions:

Heat milk in the microwave for about 1 minute. Add the warm milk to a stand mixing bowl then sprinkle the yeast over it. Add eggs, butter, salt, and sugar, then add the flour. Stir gently until the ingredients are lightly combined. Set aside the dough to rest for 5 minutes. Using the dough hook or hands and a floured surface, knead the dough for 5-7 minutes, until the dough begins to form into a ball. Add up to 1/2 cup additional flour if the dough is too sticky. Remove the dough hook and cover the dough with a towel and place in a warm area for 30-45 minutes. Mix the filling ingredients together in a small bowl. On a floured surface, spread the dough out. Use a rolling pin to roll the dough into a rectangle about 24 x 15 inches in size. Spread the filling across the entire surface, then gently roll the dough up, working from the longer side - the goal is to make the most amount of rolls. Once rolled, slice in half, then quarters to keep the dough sections even. Continue slicing until you have 12 rolls. Place into a baking pan sprayed with baking spray, then allow the dough to rise for another 20 minutes. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Pour heavy cream evenly over the rolls. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until lightly browned. To make the frosting, use a fork or whisk to mix the milk, powdered sugar, and vanilla. Pour over warm cinnamon rolls.

adapted from homemade cinnamon rolls