Cinnamon Rolls

So, this blog was never intended to be all about "my sucky childbirth" experiences...they're part of who I've become, but that's it, they're just a small part of our life. I created this blog to motivate myself to continue to learn new things and to be a better person. I figure if I write down what I'm up to, then maybe I'll strive to be more interesting than the SAHM who watches NCIS marathons.

I made cinnamon rolls from scratch today...I can tell you, these are definitely not for the faint of heart. They take a lot of work, I'm not gonna lie, but they're totally worth it in the end!

For those interested, here is the recipe

Dough
4-4 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 package active dry yeast
1 cup milk
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup butter or margarine
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs

Filling
1/4 all purpose flour
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1/3 cup butter or margarine

Optional

1/2 cup golden raisins
1/2 cup chopped pecans

1 recipe for vanilla frosting or cream cheese icing

In a large mixing bowl (I use my cuisinart) combine 2 cups of the flour and the yeast; set it aside.


In a small saucepan, heat and stir milk, granulated sugar, 1/3 cup butter and salt until warm (120-130 degrees F) until butter almost melts. Also preheat oven to 200 degrees. When oven is preheated, turn it off. You're creating a warm place for dough to rise.

Add to flour mixture along with eggs. Beat with an electric mixer on low to medium speed for 30 seconds, scraping bowl. Beat on high speed for 3 minutes. (I use my cuisinart dough hook... so I omit the next "wooden spoon" step).

Using a wooden spoon (or your cuisinart dough hook) stir in as much of the remaining 2-2 1/2 cups flour as you can.

Turn out on a floured surface. Knead in enough remaining flour to make a moderately soft dough that is smooth and elastic (about 3 minutes of kneading).
Shape dough into a ball. Place in a lightly greased bowl, turning once to coat the surface of the dough. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and allow it to rise in a warm place until it doubles in size (I wait 90 minutes)


Punch dough down. Turn on a lightly floured surface. Divied int half. cover and let rest 10 minutes. Lightly grease baking pans (I use pie plates, but any shallow baking dish will do) and set them aside.


To make filling, stir together cinnamon, brown sugar and flour. Using a pastry blender, cut in butter until it resembles coarse crumbs. Or, you could do what I do, grate the butter using a cheese grater and mix it it together...I find it's easier to "cut butter in,..." I don't have a pastry blender, so I just use a fork.

Roll dough out into a 12x8 rectangle. Sprinkle filling over dough, leaving 1 inch unfilled on one long side. Roll up each rectangle, starting from the filled long side. Pinch dough to seal seams. Slice into 12 equal parts. I do this by cutting in 1/2, then 1/2 again, then 3rds. Arrange in pans. Cover and let rise in a warm place until double in size (about 30 minutes)





Preheat oven to 375F. Bake for about 20 minutes until golden brown. Cool about 5 minutes, remove from pans (if desired...I leave them in there). Frost as desired. I like to make a cream cheese icing..or better yet, buy one from the store...after all the work you just put in, finishing with something easy is pretty nice :)