Wednesday, October 23, 2013

Overnight Cinnamon Rolls

This is sort of a chain reaction recipe.  I found it on Pinterest on the blog http://sugarandspice-celeste.blogspot.com/2008/12/absolutely-sinful-cinnamon-rolls.html who copied the recipe from Pioneer Woman.  I have to say these really are Uh-May-Zing.  I didn't do them overnight I baked them the same day I made them.  I do, however, plan to use that little trick in the future.  I also will at some point freeze the cinnamon rolls to use at a later date and if I have any negative feedback with either of these methods, I will note them in an appendage to this post.  I didn't use the coffee flavored glaze that PW and S&S use on their rolls, instead I used a cream cheese frosting recipe I found on Epicurius, it was really, really perfect.  In both the PW and the S&S recipes it calls for 1 c. white sugar, I opted for 1/2 cup white and 1/2 cup brown sugar because I like the caramely flavor the brown sugar provides..  Several reviewers on Sugar and Spice said that their dough was very wet; mine was not.  It was a bit on the stiff side, but in the end it didn't matter.  The rolls turned out perfectly: gooey where they need to be, crusty where they need to be, and delicious where they need to me: in my mouth.  I ate 4 in as many days and do not at all regret my decision.  I honestly don't think I will ever use another cinnamon roll recipe.  I did use a little trick I kind of made up for the rising time: I preheated my oven to warm (in my oven that is 175) and put my pizza stone in it while it preheated.  After it was done, I took the pizza stone out of the oven, put it in the microwave and put the bowl with the dough that needed to rise on top of the pizza stone, closed the microwave door, and let the warmth do it's work: like a charm, the dough rose just the right amount. 

2 c. whole milk
1/2 c. vegetable oil
1/2 c. sugar
2 1/4 tsp. yeast
4 1/2 c. flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 Tbsp. salt

1 c. melted butter, plus more as needed
1/8 c. ground cinnamon
1/2 c. white sugar
1/2 c. brown sugar  

4 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 c. powdered sugar
1/4 c. butter, at room temperature
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1.  Mix milk, vegetable oil, and 1/2 c. white sugar in a pan.  Scald the milk (heat until just before the boiling point).  Remove from the heat and let cool 45 minutes to 1 hour.
2.  When the mixture is lukewarm to warm, but NOT hot, sprinkle in the yeast.  Let this sit for a minute then add 4 c. of the flour.  Stir mixture together.  Cover and let rise for at least 1 hour.
3.  Next, add 1/2 c. flour, the baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  Stir mixture together.  From here, you could cover the dough and put it in the fridge until you need it, overnight or even a day or tow, if necessary.  Just keep your eye on it and if it starts to rise out of the pan, just punch it down.  Or continue to make the rolls:
4.  Sprinkle work surface generously with flour and roll the dough into a thin rectangle shape, about 1/4" thick.  Brush melted butter on top, then sprinkle sugar over the butter, and finish with a generous sprinkling for cinnamon.
5.  Starting with the wide end, roll the dough tightly towards you in a neat line.  Next, pinch the seam to the roll to seal it.  Spread 1 Tbsp. melted butter in each pan/dish (I got enough rolls to fill one 9" round cake pan and one 6" round cake pan, the original recipe says it will make 3-4 pans, I'm not sure how that would happen, but that's what they say) .  With a sharp knife (or with dental floss) begin cutting the dough into 1 inch slices.  Lay them in your pans.  Let rise for 20-30 minutes.  Bake at 375 for 13-17 minutes, or until golden brown.
6.  While rolls are baking: with your electric hand mixer, whisk together all of the frosting ingredients until smooth.  Slather over the top of the rolls after they have cooled for about 10 minutes.

IF MAKING AHEAD FOR LATER USE:  Instead of putting directly into the oven, put the assembled rolls into the fridge and let them rise for their 2nd rising (the step right before you bake them) in the refrigerator overnight.  Then in the morning let them sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes, then bake them as directed.  If you plan to freeze the rolls, place the pan of prepared rolls in the freezer.  On the day you plan to bake them.  Take them out to defrost and rise about 3 or 4 hours before you want to devour eat them.

No comments: