Cinnamon Rolls.........yummmmmmmmmmm! Better yet....Homemade Cinnamon Rolls........double yummmm! What can be more appetizing then a sweet, gooey, cinnamon-y, out of the oven, freshly baked roll?
I rarely make these unless we are having company because the recipe is just to darn fattening and my family and I would eat the entire batch in two days.
But when I do make them....watch out! This roll is actually the result of two recipes that I compiled together. I used the method that I use for my homemade yeast rolls (recipe can be found here for that) and combined it with the ingredients from Ms. Paula Deen's recipe...which can be found here.
Husband Man and the kids love, love, love, love, love these and are always wanting seconds and thirds every time I make 'em. Good thing I only make them on occasion ;)
Originally, I wasn't going to post a tutorial on them; However, working with any type of homemade yeast bread can be a tricky thing. And I know from experience, that pictures along with directions help :)
So...let's get started....
First, combine 1/2 cup of milk (nonfat, whole, 2%, whatever you prefer) with a 1/2 cup of water in a microwave safe bowl. Place in microwave on medium-high heat for 1 minute and 15 seconds. Take it out of the microwave and place in a large mixing bowl.......
Next, take 1/4 cup of sugar and place it in the mixing bowl. Stir until the sugar is well combined with the liquid.
After the sugar is well mixed, take 2 and 1/4 tsp. of yeast and mix it with the liquid.
Let the yeast mixture sit for 10 minutes...giving it a chance to get nice and poofy................
After the 10 minutes, mix 1 tsp. salt, 1/3 cup of butter or shortening, and 1 egg in with the liquid. Mix until well combined.....
Next, add 3 and 1/2 cups of flour to the mix. Keep mixing until it becomes a cute little ball.....
Place the ball of dough in a glass bowl (or leave it in the mixing bowl) with a dish towel over it. Let it sit in a warm, dark place (I usually preheat my oven and place the bowl on the top of the stove) for a good hour or so.
While the dough is rising, take a glass baking pan or any other kind of baking pan and cover the bottom and sides with some butter. Sprinkle a good amount of sugar over the butter afterwards....
When the hour is up, the dough should double in size and look like this....
Punch it down......
Take the dough out of the bowl, spread it on a lightly floured surface, and roll it into a 15x9 inch rectangle. If you're really anal about measurements, like me, just take a tape measure and measure the dimensions....or not...lol....
Melt 1/2 cup of butter and spread it all over the rolled out dough.
Mix 3/4 cups of sugar with 2 tablespoons of ground sugar. Spread it onto the dough. Don't be generous with it either. Use all of it and pile it on ;) The more sugar/cinnamon....the better :) You can also put nuts, raisins, or anything else that you want.
Once the sugar/cinnamon mixture is on, take the 15 inch side and start rolling it upward. Roll it nice and tight...making sure to pinch any open edges to seal them shut. After it's rolled, you should have something that resembles a long, dough-like shaped tube.
Cut the dough into 1 inch pieces using a pastry cutter or a serrated knife. Once again, if you are anal like me, you can measure out each inch and make a mark with the knife so you know where to cut.
Place each roll piece onto the buttered baking pan.
Cover the pan with a dish towel and let it sit on top of the stove (or someplace warm) for another 45 minutes, or until the dough pieces double in size.
Bake in the oven for 20-30 minutes, or until rolls are light brown.
While rolls are cooling down, combine 2 cups confectioner's sugar, 1 tsp. vanilla extract, and 4 tablespoons of melted butter until well mixed. Add 2-5 tablespoons of hot water until it reaches desired consistency.
Glaze rolls with the sugar and enjoy :)
Homemade Cinnamon Rolls
Ingredients For The Dough:
2 and 1/4 tsp. Fleishman's Bread Machine Yeast (You MUST use this for it to turn out right)
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup shortening or butter
1 tsp. salt
1 egg
3 and 1/2 cups of all purpose flour
Ingredients For The Filling:
1/2 cup melted butter plus more to grease pan
3/4 cups sugar plus more for pan
2 tbsp. ground cinnamon
3/4 cup raisins, nuts, etc... (optional)
Ingredients For The Frosting/Glaze:
4 tbsp. butter, melted
2 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2-4 tbsp. hot water
How To Make The Dough:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Combine 1/2 cup of milk with a 1/2 cup of water in a microwave safe bowl. Place in microwave on medium-high heat for 1 minute and 15 seconds. Take it out of the microwave and place in a large mixing bowl.
Next, take 1/4 cup of sugar and place it in the mixing bowl. Stir until the sugar is well combined with the liquid.
After the sugar is well mixed, take 2 and 1/4 tsp. of yeast and mix it with the liquid.
Let the yeast mixture sit for 10 minutes...giving it a chance to get nice and poofy.
After the 10 minutes, mix 1 tsp. salt, 1/3 cup of butter or shortening, and 1 egg in with the liquid. Mix until well combined.
Next, add 3 and 1/2 cups of flour to the mix. Keep mixing until it forms a ball.
Place the ball of dough in a glass bowl (or leave it in the mixing bowl) with a dish towel over it. Let it sit in a warm, dark place for a good hour or so.
While the dough is rising, take a glass baking pan or any other kind of baking pan and cover the bottom and sides with some butter. Sprinkle a good amount of sugar over the butter afterwards.
To Make The Filling:
Combine the sugar and cinnamon (and nuts/raisins) for the filling into a bowl.
After the hour is up, take the rising dough and punch it down.
Take the dough out of the bowl, spread it on a lightly floured surface, and roll it into a 15x9 inch rectangle.
Melt 1/2 cup of butter and spread it all over the rolled out dough.
Take the sugar/cinnamon mixture and spread it over the butter.
Once the sugar/cinnamon mixture is on, take the 15 inch side and start rolling it upward. Roll it nice and tight...making sure to pinch any open edges to seal them shut.Cut the dough into 1 inch pieces using a pastry cutter or a serrated knife. Place each roll piece onto the buttered baking pan and let it rise for another 45 minutes.
Place in preheated oven for 30 minutes.
While the rolls are cooling, combine the ingredients for the glaze/frosting. Proceed to frost rolls.
Eat and enjoy ;)
