Well, here I am again.
It's mid-afternoon and the kids are at school and the house is
quiet. I should be at the gym right now,
but the house is so warm and cozy and I'm comfortable here. Maybe I'll go work out tonight, but who am I
kidding. I say it all the time, but I
hate the house when it's quiet. When
will I stop thinking about who should be here with me? Maybe when Garrett SHOULD be in first grade,
I'll stop looking at the clock and thinking that he should be here, right now,
at this very moment, telling me how bored he is and that he can't wait to be in
school full time and eat in the big kid cafeteria.
So for now, I bake.
This is my third batch of cinnamon rolls in four days and I've had a few
people ask me how to make them. So while
I sit here and watch old episodes of "The Walking Dead", I'm thinking
about the end of the world and making cinnamon rolls and I'll tell you exactly
how I make them. This is (what I believe
to be) a Cinnabon copycat and they are darn good. You'll need:
Rolls:
2 1/4 tsp yeast, or one package
1 C warm milk (remember from my last post, the temperature
you'd bathe a baby in)
1/2 C white sugar
6 Tbsp softened butter
1 tsp salt
2 eggs
4 C white flour
Filling:
1 C brown sugar
6 Tbsp melted butter
3 Tbsp cinnamon
Icing:
6 Tbsp softened butter
2 oz softened cream cheese
1 1/2 C powdered sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
dash of salt
*I don't want to
repeat myself on my bread making technique from my last post on making basic
white bread. I suggest you go back and
read it about softening yeast, getting the oven the perfect temp, etc.
First, let the yeast soften in the cup of warm milk for
about three minutes. In a separate
mixing bowl, combine the white sugar, butter, salt, eggs, and one cup of the
flour. When the yeast milk is ready,
pour it into the butter mixture and get it really well combined. Then one cup at a time, add in the additional
flour. Remember what I said about not
overdoing it on the flour? It's crucial
with these rolls. This dough will be a
little sticky and soft but trust me, do not add additional flour. Use no more than one extra tablespoon on the
counter surface when you do the final kneading by hand. Again, this will be a little softer and
stickier than normal bread dough! It
will harden up a little when it rises.
Lightly grease a different bowl and put the dough in it to
rise. Put it in a warm oven (see
previous post) and let it rise about an hour, or until doubled in size. This dough will NOT get as big as bread
dough, or even other roll dough, so don't get discouraged.
After it's risen, punch it down and let it rest for about
five minutes. In the meantime, lightly
flour the counter surface in preparation to roll the dough out. Roll the dough out to approximately 10x20
inches. In a small bowl, combine the
ingredients for the filling until well mixed.
Slather it on the rolled dough and use your hands to evenly spread it,
almost to the edges. Don't be afraid to
get your hands really messy!
Very gently, start rolling the dough up along the longer
side. Don't be in a hurry- you want it
to me nice and even. Grease a 9x13
pan. With a butcher knife, cut off about
half an inch on both ends of the roll to make it more even (discard those
pieces). Then cut it evenly into 12
segments. Chances are the four segments
in the middle will be slightly thicker than those on the ends, so those are the
pieces you want on the OUTSIDE of the pan because they will need to get more
heat. Evenly space the 12 segments flat
side down in the pan. Whatever pieces
feel smaller or lighter to you, put those in the middle of the pan. Got it?
Heavier pieces on the outside?
Put the pan back in the warmish oven to rise for a second
time. In about 45 minutes, they are
ready to bake! Take them out of the oven
while you preheat it to 350. Then bake
them uncovered for 22-25 minutes. While
they are baking, mix up the icing and be ready to slather it on the top as soon
as they come out of the oven. There, you
just made cinnamon rolls!!!
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