cinnamini rolls

“this is either my fourth or fifth….(shrugs shoulders)…oh well”

ok, ok…i admit…i’ve been on a bit of a cinnamon kick lately. i will take that into consideration for my next post….but seriously…it’s just so tasty…is it really that bad? :)

again i went on a hunt for cinnamon roll recipes. i have a different one in almost every cookbook i own…and there’s always the internets to search too. since smitten kitchen served me well for the scones, i went with them again for the cinnamon rolls…but with a Zoe Francois twist…minis! – cause if it’s bite size…it doesn’t count, right?!

these little buddies aren’t lazy…so give yourself some time. they can be lazy if you want to buy frozen dinner rolls to substitute making your own dough…but that’s just not my style. me….i enjoy the bread dough process….it’s where the little baker in me shines, so if it’s the one thing i’ve got…i’m not gonna skip that step. but by all means…if your not the sticky dough hands, kneading kind of person….don’t let my ways influence yours!

ingredients:

dough:

1 cup whole milk
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 1/2 cups (or more) unbleached all purpose flour, divided
1/2 cup sugar
1 large egg
2 1/4 teaspoons rapid-rise or instant yeast (from 1 envelope yeast)
1 teaspoon salt
Nonstick vegetable oil spray

filling:

3/4 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
Pinch of salt

frosting:

4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

ok…so right off the bat, know that you have about 3 hours of dough rising in here….plan accordingly. i’m a – let it rise while i’m sleeping – kinda girl….cause waking up to do step two, then another hour of rising and then baking is hard enough….so part one was knocked out before bed.

part one:
combine your milk and butter in a glass measuring cup and heat in microwave till butter is melted. heat little by little and stir frequently with a temperature goal between 120 and 130 degrees F. take the temperature seriously because yeast is a tricky little buddy….too hot or cold and it won’t play nice. while heating your milk/butter, combine in mixing bowl 1 cup of flour, sugar, egg, yeast and salt. mix together with your milk/butter for about three minutes, stopping occasionally to scrape sides of bowl. add in the rest of your flour a cup at a time. once dough is formed you have two options. one: if you’re using a stand mixer and can switch to a bread hook continue mixing/kneading for about eight more minutes. two: no bread hook…it’s time to get messy….lightly flour a clean surface and begin kneading dough by hand. this dough, in particular, is very sticky…add flour, a tablespoon at a time, until the dough is manageable. keep in mind that the “wetter” you can keep the dough, the better. next, spray a large bowl, at least twice the size of your dough with cooking spray. put the dough in the bowl and turn over to lightly coat, cover bowl with plastic wrap and kitchen towel, and let rise. rising will take about 2 hours to double in size….or shut it down for the night and go to bed, letting that dough rise while you dream away.

part two:
once your dough has risen, transfer to a lightly floured surface and roll out to a 15 x 11″ rectangle. now time for the filling! combine cinnamon, brown sugar and salt in a bowl. spread butter over the dough, leaving 1/2″ border on one side..then sprinkle cinnamon mixture over dough. (i still had cinnamon chips left over from the scones…so i went ahead and sprinkled some of them on there too) with the long edge of the dough begin rolling dough into a log. pinch the end closed to keep it together. you can go ahead and cut the rolls now….OR…you can make them minis! for the minis stretch the log out so that it’s about the width of a broom stick and then cut you rolls about an inch thick. place in well-greased mini muffin pan, cover with plastic and let rise till doubled in size – about 45 min to an hour.

dough enjoys warm areas when it comes to rising, so i pre-heat my oven to 375 while i wait…put the pan on top of the oven and let the warmth of the stove top work to my advantage – this can speed up your rising time. however, when using this trick at my sister’s once, the stove top got so hot it started to bake the bottom of the dough….arg….not a happy surprise!…so you gotta know your kitchen.

once dough has doubled, bake at 375 for 10-15 minutes. mine were more on the 10 and under side so just start paying attention once you hit the five-minute mark. if you’re not making minis though, they will bake a little longer at 15-20 minutes.

part three:
mix together your frosting, while rolls are baking with an electric mixer – just throw it all in there – cream cheese, powdered sugar, butter and vanilla.
when the rolls are light to golden brown take out and transfer immediately to a cooling rack and add frosting.

pour a glass of milk…and enjoy!

this recipe made about 36 cinnamon rolls and they were all gone pretty quickly. while the co-workers were very pleased…i would give them 3 stars. they were very tasty, but not the flakey, ooey-gooey cinnamon rolls that i imagined them to be while their aroma was filling my apartment. add on the amount of time it takes to get these guys together….i’m just saying, i’ll have to find the MOST perfect recipe if i’m going to put so much time into making them. so…if you have an amazing recipe you should send it our way!

-L

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