My girlfriend, Mallory, and I managed to squeeze in one last girls night before the chaos of Christmas hit last month. We got together on a Saturday night, watched Something Barrowed, drank wine, and she taught me how to make the most amazing cinnamon rolls I have ever tasted! Seriously, they are the
VERY absolute best! Her mom has been making them for Christmas her entire life and I now plan to do the same because, honestly, they are way to good not to! I even made a batch for New Year's eve. Yep, at midnight when that ball dropped, ten of our friends, Richie, and I were eating cinnamon rolls in our living room!
Wild and crazy, I know! Below is the original recipe with details on the changes I made and in-depth directions.
Cinnamon Rolls
2 packages active dry yeast
1/2 cup warm water (105 to 115*)
2 cups lukewarm milk (scaled then cooled)
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup vegetable oil or shortening
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons salt
1 egg
6 1/2 to 7 1/2 all-purpose flour
Filling
1/4 cup butter softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon and 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
This is the original recipe but I like it better with 1/2 cup brown sugar, about 1/4 cup sugar and lots of butter (even more than 1/4 cup)!
While scalding the milk on the stove, add the active dry yeast to the warm water.
I don't know if you actually need to scald the milk, this recipe was written before the days of pasteurized milk, however Mallory scalds hers and I do too. The recipe comes out so yummy I'm afraid not to.
Stir in 1/3 cup sugar, oil
(I use canola oil), baking powder, salt, egg, 3 cups of flour, milk. Stir until smooth. Continue to add flour until the dough is easy to handle and no longer sticks to the sides of the bowl.
I don't actually measure my flour, I just keep adding it a half cup at a time until I'm satisfied with the way it looks.
Turn dough onto a well-floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. Place the dough in a greased bowl. Cover; let rise in a warm place until it doubles in size, about 1 1/2 hours. (Dough is ready if indentation remains when touched)
. I usually turn my oven on, let it warm up, then turn it off. When it's barely warm, I cover my dough and place it in the oven. It rises fast, which obviously make me very happy because as you know by now, I have zero patience!
Punch down the dough; divide the dough into two halves. Roll out each half into rectangle. 12x10 inches. In a bowl mix together 1/4 cup sugar, 1/2 cup brown sugar, cinnamon, and lots of butter. Spread the mixture over each rectangle, roll them up, and cut each half into about 12 slices. Place slightly apart into 2 9x13 pans.
You can wrap each pan with aluminum foil and refridgerate at least 12 hours but no longer than 48 hours. To bake immediately, do not wrap, place the pans in a warm place and allow rolls to double in size. About 30 minutes.
I have not tried refrigerating them so I let them rise and then bake.
Heat oven to 350*. Remove foil from the pans and bake until golden brown. 30 to 35 minutes. Frost while still warm.
Frosting Recipe
Let me apologize to all of you readers who prefer EXACT measurements. Here is the recipe that Mallory taught me.
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 tablespoon cream cheese
3-4 cups powdered sugar
1/4-1/2 cup butter
I mix these together, taste it, and then keep adding ingredients until it taste just right. The color will be a creamy white with a slightly thick texture.
Good luck!!!
I wish I had a picture of the final result in the pan but to be honest..I was way to excited to eat them to remember to take a picture. Dang! Oh and if they don't come out perfect the first time, don't give up! They take practice! I promise you that they are worth every second of work.
Xoxo,
Whitney
