Saturday, November 23, 2013

Cinnamon Rolls 101 - A Sunday Snack!

Cinnamon Rolls 101

     So let me start off by saying that I am not a baker, I've only recently started because I moved in with my boyfriend who eats pretty much whatever I make (he likes perusing Pinterest or allrecipes.com to find weekend breakfast recipes and healthy meals to challenge me with). Since I’ve had more time on my hands now that I graduated college, what better way to spend my free time!


     I’m Shlee, by the way, V’s younger sister, I will be guest blogging for her a time or two while she and her hubby adjust to having a new addition!


    So on one of my bf’s recipe hunts he came across a recipe for cinnamon rolls (which is his favorite weekend breakfast). I thought this would be impossible to make – we didn't have yeast, we didn't have cream cheese for frosting, and we didn't have bread flour for dough, but I found this recipe that I already had the ingredients for in the pantry, and it turned out just as delicious as the premade Pillsbury rolls but more fun to make.

So this is everything you’ll need for the cinnamon rolls.

Mix together the filling ingredients until they are a crumbly mixture.

Mix the ingredients for the dough together. The dough will very soft and sticky.

Roll the dough out into a rectangle, make sure it is thick enough that it won’t tear when you roll it up.

Sprinkle the cinnamon filling onto the rolled out dough. Leave a little bit of room on all sides to make sure the filling doesn’t leak out, then roll up the dough so that the filling stays inside.

Use a sharp knife to cut the rolled up dough and filling into 12 (semi) equal parts.

Place the 12 cut rolls into greased muffin tins. (This is where you can add the extra cinnamon, butter and sugar mixture into a few of your tins if you’d like an extra gooey cinnamon roll.)

This is how they look when they’re fresh out of the oven.

Once they’re cooled enough to remove from the pan, add your icing glaze (which is what I used since we were out of cream cheese) or cream cheese frosting and enjoy while they’re warm!

     This recipe is perfect for a cold, lazy weekend morning or a fun project for small children to help with on a holiday – maybe I’ll try it with Stenni and Cuatro for Christmas! Enjoy =)

Filling: 
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup packed brown sugar
3 teaspoons cinnamon

Dough: 
2 cups bread or all-purpose flour (plus whatever you’ll need for rolling)
2 tablespoons granulated white sugar
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup milk
1 large egg, beaten

Cream Cheese Frosting:
2 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
2/3 cup powdered sugar
3 tablespoons milk or buttermilk

 OR 

 Glaze:
 2/3 cup powdered sugar
 1/2 tsp vanilla
 2 tablespoons milk

 Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Spray a muffin tin or round cake pan with nonstick spray.
2. Prepare the filling: In a small bowl, combine the filling ingredients with a fork (I used my hands) until a crumbly mixture is formed.
3. Prepare the dough: In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Use clean hands to work the butter into the dry ingredients. Add the milk and the egg and stir to combine. The dough will be very soft.
4. Roll the dough out on a floured surface into roughly shaped large rectangle. Sprinkle the filling evenly over the surface of the dough, leaving a 1/2-inch border all the way around. Carefully roll up the rectangle. Use a sharp knife to cut 12 rolls. If you want smaller rolls, cut them a little smaller and you'll get 18. Carefully place the rolls in the prepared muffin tin.
5. Bake 20 to 25 minutes. Let cool, then pipe on frosting and enjoy!

*For some of my cinnamon rolls I added about a teaspoon of a mixture of brown sugar, melted butter and cinnamon to the muffin tin for a sweeter, more gooey treat. But believe me, the recipe is delicious either way.

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