Last updated on December 30th, 2012
DO YOU EVER DREAM ABOUT FOOD? I do. In fact, as I slept last Saturday night, visions of cinnamon rolls danced in my head. They were soft. They were gooey. They were…something I had to make the following morning:
Cinnamon Rolls
Ingredients for about 15 rolls
The “Sweet Roll” Dough:
1 package active dry yeast
1/2 cup warm water
1/2 cup milk, scalded then cooled
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup (5 and 1/3 Tbsp) butter, softened
1 tsp salt
1 egg
3 1/2 – 4 cups all-purpose flour
Non-Stick spray
The Filling:
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar mixed with 2 tsp ground cinnamon
The Glaze:
4 Tbsp butter, softened
2 cups confectioner’s sugar
1 tsp vanilla
Special Equipment — 2 cake pans, 9 inches in diameter, and 2 inches deep. Butter and sprinkle with 1 Tbsp sugar the bottom of each pan. Do you like this recipe already?
1. Making the Dough – In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water, and let it proof for 5 minutes. Add milk, sugar, butter, salt, egg and 2 cups of the flour; stir with a stout wooden spoon until smooth. Then mix in enough of the remaining flour to make the dough easy to handle.
Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface (I used my marble slab); knead until smooth and elastic – about 5 minutes.
Quickly wash out the large bowl, dry it, and then grease it with oil or vegetable spray. Place dough in bowl; turn “greased” side up. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise until double, about 1 1/2 hours.
TIP: Because I live in a drafty old house, in winter I always let my yeast doughs rise on a heating pad set to “low.” You can buy such a pad at any drug store for about $10.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees before proceeding with the next step.
2. Filling and rolling the dough — Punch down the dough, turn it onto a floured surface, and then roll it out to form a 15″ x 9″ rectangle. Spread the dough with the softened butter; sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar. Then roll it up tightly, beginning at the 15-inch side, as shown. Pinch ends to seal.
Now cut the dough into 1-inch slices. Place the slices slightly apart in the buttered and sugared cake pans. I managed to fit 8 slices in one pan, and 7 in another.
Let rise until double, about 40 minutes.
3. Baking — 25-30 minutes at 350 degrees. Set the pans on the lower middle oven rack, and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the rolls have slightly browned. Don’t over-bake, or you’ll have crispy cinnamon rolls (this isn’t necessarily a bad thing). Set pans on a wire rack to cool slightly.
4. Glazing the rolls — Mix butter, confectioner’s sugar and vanilla until smooth. Add hot water, a tablespoon at a time, until the glaze is thin enough to pour. Drizzle the glaze in between and all over the rolls.
Incidentally, in Food Rules: An Eater’s Manual, author Michael Pollan says: “Eat all the junk food you want, as long as you make it yourself.” Now that’s a rule I can live with. How about you?
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April Heline says
Oh my goodness, these look amazing! I am going to try out this recipe next weekend!
Kevin Lee Jacobs says
April – Let me know how they work out!
Cary Bradley says
I do not know how you do it! You post my dreams! Very wild. Kevin, homemade cinnamon rolls is my Christmas dream. My mother made them one Christmas morning and I have never forgotten and always dreamed of making them for my kids for Christmas morning because they were so fabulous. As a kid, our BIG annual party was a Christmas Eve party for the church after our 11 p.m. Christmas Eve service, which my father directed. We who sang in the choir were exhausted but thrilled to come to my parent’s house for the gala. We kids and Mom, were exhausted from scrubbing and waxing floors, silver, preparing hors d’ouerves, chilling champagne.. After this bash, Mom making cinnamon rolls in the a.m. was over the top fabulous. Hence, I remember her only doing it once :)! Thank you for spurring and encouraging me to make this delight for my little family this Christmas morning. Wish you could join us. Really believe we may have been related; you speak my mind so clearly. Happy December dear boy!
Kevin Lee Jacobs says
Cary – Maybe cinnamon rolls will become your family’s Christmas morning tradition? Hope I didn’t make them sound difficult to prepare; they are, indeed, very easy.
Loved reading about your parent’s Christmas eve gala. What fun! (Save, perhaps, for the floor-scrubbing and silver-polishing…work I am mighty familiar with.)
We are certainly kindred spirits, you and me.
badger gardener says
The cinnamon rolls do look dreamy.
I’ve been exploring your site’s new look. Very nice. In categories I really like “What to Do When” (I don’t remember that from the ol’ look, but maybe I just missed it.)
Great job! Yours really is the most useful site I’ve encountered in gardening, and love all the other ideas I’m getting too.
badger gardener says
A new reply feature. Yay!
Cary,
What a great tale of your Christmas memories. Your telling of it is so vivid I feel like I’m there w/ a glass of champagne and Christmas hubbub all around.
Thanks for sharing.
Kevin Lee Jacobs says
badger gardener – How nice it was to read your comment this morning! Thank you.
Cary Bradley says
What fun that would be! That was an era indeed. So glad you enjoyed the fun :)! Let’s raise our glasses ;)!
Cary Bradley says
You are a delight, my friend! Kindred spirits is a very powerful phrase to me, ever since I heard Anne Shirley speak the words. You honor me, thank you kindly..!
Kevin, we are about to make some test specimens. In your picture the butter looks melted, is it?
Thanks! Big hugs, Cary
Kevin Lee Jacobs says
Cary – To soften the 1/3 c of butter (for the dough), I sliced it up and then placed it in the glass measuring cup which held the scalded milk. I scalded the milk in the microwave. As the butter softened, the milk cooled. Thus I was able to kill two birds with one stone. So to speak.
Let me know how the rolls work out for you…
(And by the way, my mother recently made these rolls. Except, instead of glazing them as I did, she waited until they had completely cooled, and then smothered them with butter-cream frosting. So that’s another almost-too-yummy option.)
sara swift says
Kevin
Can you fax me some of those delicious looking cinnamon rolls for breakfast!!
sara
Brenda Johnson says
Once again you have managed to capture the season and all it holds… and put it on a plate! After reading the other responses- I would have to say they would agree! Well done my friend! I may have to give up my granola breakfast for one of these in the near future!
Kevin Lee Jacobs says
sara – I just tried, and you should see the mess on the fax-machine glass!
Brenda – You don’t have to give up granola for breakfast. A cinnamon roll with a poached egg on top would be delicious for dinner. Think of the protein!
Joy says
I made these rolls last evening letting the dough rise overnight, which made the rolls super light. It is the best recipe I have made yet. I have a grandchild who loves cinnamon rolls but is picky about them. I am sure she will consume more than 1 at 1st bite and beg me to make them continually. thank you.
Mary Lou Mayfield says
These sound wonderful. One question though… I must be not reading it right but I don’t understand the measurement for the sugar in the filling. 1/2 what?
Kevin Lee Jacobs says
Joy – Your grandchild sounds a lot like me. I can never stop at just one cinnamon roll!
Mary Lou Mayfield – Nice to meet you. What good eyes you have. Under “filling,” the quantity of sugar should read “1/2 cup.” Fixed now.
Joy says
When I made these, they rose abundantly and my oldest grandaughter was home from college that w/end for a cancer fund drive. When they all went to the drive, they munched on these rolls. My youngest g-child said I finally made the perfect ones. My oldest g-child took the remaining 6 home with her and said best ever eaten. I actually made the filling with an addition of cinnamon chips, as i did with the frosting, adding a few to flavor a little. Thank you and Happy Mothers Day to all the moms out there. I am making more of these Cinnamon Rolls for my youngest g-child to share with mom tomorrow when they go to the local amusement park for the day.
Kevin Lee Jacobs says
Joy – Thanks for letting me know you tried the cinnamons rolls and liked them. You are teaching your grandchildren a valuable lesson: homemade cinnamon rolls ROCK.
meeri says
My Finnish mother-in-law has me hooked on cardamom sweet bread. Try adding a tablespoon of fresh-ground cardamom to your recipe (bought in the pod, i use a small electric coffee grinder that is reserved just for this purpose) and to further enhance the Scandia vibe, add a little bit of elderflower (available at IKEA) to the icing. Got a 12-step program for sweet rolls? I’m there! Happy dreams….
Andreas says
Hi Kevin, Gorgeous cinnamon rolls – I’ll have to make some tomorrow !!
Carol says
Did I miss the cut and paste version of this delicious looking recipe? I need it for our Christmas breakfast!
Thanks.
Sue says
Wow! My mouth is watering. I am going to make these for Christmas morning breakfast.
Cathy says
Do you think it would work if I raised and rolled the rolls then refrigerated them and baked in the morning? I’m looking to do this on holiday mornings and it’s just too hectic to roll in the morning. What do you think Kevin?
Cathy A says
My Mom used to make these every month – thank you for taking me back in time
Cylinda says
We made these cinnamon rolls a couple of weeks ago and they are delicious! We had them for brunch and I froze the remaining – which we took out a portion yesterday morning and warmed up and made more icing to go on top.