Cinnamon Rolls

For the people who know me, its no secret that I have a pretty major sweet tooth.  I’m pretty sure that is what makes me so much better at baking than cooking: I want the sweets I make to be WELL worth their calories.  And this one is a keeper.  My mom used to make these for my dad when they were courting.  I learned to make them about a year ago and was amazed at how delicious and easy they are!

And when I learn something new I’m a step by step kinda girl… so fair warning, there are a lot of pictures in this post!

Here’s your recipe:

Dough:

• 3 1/2 cups of all purpose flour
• 1 pkg active dry yeast
• 1 1/4 cups milk
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup shortening
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg

Filling:

• 1 1/2 sticks of butter
• sugar (2-ish cups)
• cinnamon (maybe 1/4 of a cup)

First put 1 1/2 cups of the flour into your mixer and add the package of yeast.

Heat your milk, sugar, butter, and salt until it is just warm.  These are the directions where I go… Wait, What?! How am I supposed to know when that is!?  But have no fear… I have a picture for you! So first put all those ingredients into your saucepan. I cut my butter up into squares so it will melt more evenly.

Then when your butter is starting to melt but you still have a few bits of butter in there, take it off the stove.  You don’t want it to be so warm that it kills the yeast.

Now pour that into your mixer with flour and yeast already in it.

Beat at low speed for 30 seconds, scrape the bowl.  Then beat on high for 3 minutes. Now stir in the other 2 cups of flower by hand.

Once that is all mixed in, shape it into a ball. From there place it into a large bowl which has been greased (I used about a tablespoon of olive oil to coat the bottom of mine) and then flip it over.  This ensures that both sides have a thin layer of oil on them.  Now it should look like this:

Put it out of the way in someplace warm.  My kitchen is pretty warm all the time, so I just leave it on the counter, covered with a dishtowel.  I’m apparently celebrating Cinco-de-Mayo’s half birthday with a dishtowel a friend made me for my wedding shower… Thanks Missy!

Leave it to rise “double” which is about 1.5 to 2 hours.  Now it should look like this:

I know its kinda hard to tell perspective from a picture on a computer screen… but trust me, its about double its original size.  Punch it down.  Literally… punch it to get out the air pockets and set it on a floured surface.  Now that you have punched it, the dough is traumatized, so leave it alone for bout 10 minutes.  I’m kidding… about the traumatized part.  But really, leave it 10 minutes on its floured surface.

While that is resting for 10 minutes, it is time to make your filling.  Melt your stick and a half of butter:

Then start pouring in your cinnamon and sugar.  I had a leftover jar of pre-made cinnamon and sugar that you can see in the picture above, but usually I just use regular sugar and regular cinnamon until it reaches my desired consistency.  This is where it gets a little less exact.  Just start pouring in the sugar and cinnamon until it looks a lot like this:

When you stir it, it should go back to its original position, but take a few seconds to get there.  And this part is all about how you like your cinnamon rolls.  I like mine to have plenty of filling, so I make the full 1.5 sticks of butter and plenty of cinnamon and sugar.  But if you prefer yours to be mostly bread, make less filling.  I know, I know… you couldn’t possibly have figured that out on your own and you are so grateful for me sharing my vast knowledge.  You’re welcome.

Now that your 10 minutes is up, get out your rolling pin and roll it into a long oval-ish rectangle shape.  Ignore the fact that I switched out cutting boards on you… I realized my wooden one wasn’t big enough, so I got out my massive marble slab (every time I say that it makes me crave ice cream) to roll them out on. I make mine about 1/4 to 1/2 an inch thick.

Spread your filling out evenly

Now take one of the long edges and start rolling it towards the other side until you have a log roll of cinnamon-roll-like dough.

As you cut them, place them in a greased glass baking pan, but don’t pack them in as tight as they will go… leave them some breathing room.

Now cover and let rise until double.  Again.  About 45 minutes.  Now here is my trick: I really really really love my sleep… so the likelihood that I am going to wake up 3 hours before breakfast to make cinnamon rolls?  About once upon a never.  So I usually make these up the night before, and when I’m at this step, I stick them in the fridge.

The cold prevents them from rising too fast, but the fact that they have overnight means they have raised their required ‘double’ and they look a lot like this:

See? No more room to breathe and they come up a little higher in the pan.  Now pop those babies in a 400 degree oven for 15-20 minutes (until the tops are golden brown).  And you have delicious home-made cinnamon rolls! No frosting needed… these babies are sweet enough on their own!

Bon Appetit!

ps… I think the recipe for the dough is the one for basic roll dough out of Better Homes and Gardens red and white checked cookbook.  And can be used for lots of different rolls!