Cinnamon Rolls

Warning: The post you are about to read contains food porn. Please cover children's eyes and place a bowl beneath your lip to catch the drool.

 

Homemade cinnamon rolls. Yesssssss.

I've been wanting to make cinnamon rolls for a couple of years now. I decided to try Paula Deen's Cinnamon Roll recipe (from www.FoodNetwork.com) on a whim; I had some free time and a craving and a lot of faith in the way Southern people use sugar. I also liked this recipe because it's very basic--there's no fuss here, no funky ingredients or nutty bits or cobblery little berries secreted away inside. These rolls are made just the way I like them, with good, old fashioned cinnamon, sugar, and butter. And a little more butter. And maybe just a touch more.

Oh, heck, just throw the whole stick in there!

Anyway, I'm especially proud of these because I've never made cinnamon rolls solo before. I've watched other people make them. I've made Pilsbury's sad little replicas. I've made monkey bread and baking soda/baking powder cinnamon thingies. But I've never tackled cinnamon rolls alone before.

I've also never worked with yeast in a rising dough, which means I've never kneaded or punched down dough. I was worried I'd muck things up somehow, but despite my inexperience, I found these to be foolproof yet phenomenal.

These are not the soft, squishy type of cinnamon roll. The filling is rich and dark and sweet but not syrupy. The dough has substance, backbone: instead of being a doughy, damp mess at the bottom, these rolls have crispy, caramelized little bases that come from a well-greased pan sprinkled with white sugar.

My favorite thing about working with yeast was watching the changes the dough went through. I started off with an ugly, unpromising sort of dough ball with lots of cracks and lumps.

After ten minutes of kneading, I had a smooth, moist ball of dough that didn't look nearly large enough for a whole pan of rolls.

After an hour and a half to rise, I had a huge puff of stretchy, almost rubbery dough.

After punching out the excess air (which was extremely rewarding, by the way), I rolled the dough, poured a wide slick of melted butter over it, and sprinkled it very, very (very!) liberally with the cinnamon and sugar.

After it was rolled and cut, I had a very wimpy little pan of raw rolls.

The looked like a hot mess, but after forty-five more minutes of rising, they started to look respectable.

By the time they were done baking, they had expanded to fill the cake pan from side to side, and they grew from one inch tall to two and a half inches high at their centers.

But as fun as these were to make, they were also epic: I started baking at 9:45 in the morning and didn't get the rolls out of the oven until 1:15 in the afternoon. They were worth the time, but I understand why these don't get made fresh too often!

The glaze was good but not amazing. I wish I had made it with less butter, a little milk, and more hot water. Following the recipe, it was just too rich; the cinnamon rolls had such a nice flavor and texture that the frosting glopped on top just weighed them down. (As you can see in the first picture, I kept two rolls at the front of the pan pretty dry for Charlie, who believes in moderation when it comes to frosting. I wish I had done the same for the rest of the pan!)

Besides reducing the amount of frosting on each roll, the only thing I would change about this recipe is the filling. I like my cinnamon rolls to have a dark, caramely flavor that plain old white sugar can't provide, so I would replace most (or all) of the white sugar in the filling with brown sugar. That's it. Everything else here is crispy, sugary, melty, cinnamony, toothsome perfection.

And if you want an overnight cinnamon roll recipe that won't force you to get up at 5:00 a.m. to serve breakfast at 9:00, I've heard great things about Alton Brown's cinnamon rolls!

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Paula Deen's Cinnamon Rolls

From www.FoodNetwork.com

Ingredients 

Dough:

• 1/4-ounce package yeast
• 1/2 cup warm water
• 1/2 cup scalded milk
  
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup butter or shortening
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg
• 3 1/2 to 4 cups all-purpose flour

Filling:

• 1/2 cup melted butter, plus more for pan
• 3/4 cup sugar, plus more for pan
• 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
• 3/4 cup raisins, walnuts, or pecans, optional

Glaze:

• 4 tablespoons butter
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 to 6 tablespoons hot water

Directions

In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water and set aside. In a large bowl mix milk, sugar, melted butter, salt and egg. Add 2 cups of flour and mix until smooth. Add yeast mixture. Mix in remaining flour until dough is easy to handle. Knead dough on lightly floured surface for 5 to 10 minutes. Place in well-greased bowl, cover and let rise until doubled in size, usually 1 to 1 1/2 hours. 

When doubled in size, punch down dough. Roll out on a floured surface into a 15 by 9-inch rectangle. Spread melted butter all over dough. Mix sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle over buttered dough. Sprinkle with walnuts, pecans, or raisins if desired. Beginning at the 15-inch side, role up dough and pinch edge together to seal. Cut into 12 to 15 slices. 

Coat the bottom of baking pan with butter and sprinkle with sugar. Place cinnamon roll slices close together in the pan and let rise until dough is doubled, about 45 minutes. Bake for about 30 minutes or until nicely browned. 

Meanwhile, mix butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla. Add hot water 1 tablespoon at a time until the glaze reaches desired consistency. Spread over slightly cooled rolls.