SUNDAY MORNING CINNAMON ROLLS

Who doesn't love waking up to the smell of cinnamon rolls on a cold weekend morning? I made these this morning and my 4-year-old daughter came running into the kitchen saying, "That smell just sneaked up into my room and pulled me here." :)
Don't be afraid of cooking with yeast! This recipe has a few steps but the results are worth it. Plus you can do most of it the night before. Keep in mind this makes 27+ rolls so make sure you have plenty of mouths to feed or you can divide the dough and make Buttered Rosemary Buns. You can make the rolls the night before, put them in a prepared pan, cover and they will be ready to bake in the morning.

The frosting flavor is up to you. Omit the coffee or change the vanilla to almond or maple...whatever you want. I like the espresso b/c it cuts some of the sweetness of the powdered sugar. Also add more milk if too thick add more powdered sugar if too runny.

Cinnamon Rolls
Adapted loosely from Morning Cinnamon Rolls, The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Recipes from an Accidental Country Girl, by Ree Dummond

DOUGH:
2 cups Milk
1/2 cup Vegetable Oil
1/2 cup Sugar
1 package Active Dry Yeast or 2 1/4 teaspoon of yeast
4 cups (Plus 1/2 Cup Extra, Separated) All-purpose Flour
1/2 teaspoon (heaping) Baking Powder
1/2 teaspoon (scant) Baking Soda
1/2 Tablespoon (heaping) Salt

FILLING:
1 stick of Butter (unsalted and softened)
1 cup (or more) Brown Sugar
Generous Sprinkling Of Cinnamon

FROSTING:
1/4 - 1/2 bag (.5-1 lb) Powdered Sugar
1 teaspoon Vanilla Flavoring
1/4 cup Milk
1/8 cup Melted Butter
Shot of Espresso or 1/8 cup strong coffee
pinch of Salt

Mix the milk, vegetable oil and sugar in a pan. “Scald” the mixture (heat until just before the boiling point, bubbles will form around the edges of pan). While actively stiring.



Turn off heat and leave to cool for 1 hour. When the mixture is lukewarm to warm, but NOT hot, sprinkle in Active Dry Yeast. If the mixture is too hot and you add the yeast you will kill it! Make sure you wait the full hour. Let this sit for a minute.



Then add 4 cups of all-purpose flour. Stir mixture together.



Cover and let rise for at least an hour.



After rising, add 1/2 more cup of flour, the baking powder,



baking soda and salt.



Stir mixture together.



At this point, you could cover the dough with a towel and put it in the fridge until you need it –overnight or even a day or two - just keep your eye on it and if it starts to overflow out of the pan, just punch it down.



I prefer to make the rolls, cover and then put in the fridge overnight. To make the rolls: sprinkle rolling surface generously with flour. Take the dough and form a rough rectangle. Then roll the dough thin, maintaining a general rectangular shape.



Smear butter over the dough. Now sprinkle brown sugar over the butter followed by a generous sprinkling of cinnamon (more the better).



Roll the dough in a neat line.



Keep the roll tight but not too tight otherwise the middle of the rolls will peak when baking.
Next, pinch the seam of the roll to seal it.



Grease/Spray 3 round cake pans. Then cut the rolls approximately ¾ to 1 inch thick and lay them in the pans (about 9 per pan).



Let the rolls rise for 20 to 30 minutes.



Bake at 400 degrees until light golden brown, about 15-18 minutes.

For the frosting, mix together all ingredients listed and stir well until smooth. Taste and adjust as needed.



Drizzle over the warm rolls.




PRINTABLE RECIPE