The Best Cinnamon Rolls

Are you tired of the snow wherever you are? We've only gotten a tiny bit of snow/ice once last week and once this week, but it sure is pretty to see it fall! The first time it started icing I was already at home with the day off, and I was in the middle of making these cinnamon rolls. It was the perfect snow day (sort of) activity: the snow was falling outside and I was inside all warm and cozy with my dough rising. These cinnamon rolls are the best homemade cinnamon rolls I've ever had, no lie. They rose beautifully (I'm very picky about that) and had just the right amount of filling and icing for each cinnamon roll. This has become my go-to cinnamon roll recipe. I hope you have a warm and cozy weekend, complete with fresh cinnamon rolls.

Cinnamon Rolls with Vanilla Icing
for the dough
1 cup whole milk
5 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened
1/3 cup sugar
2 1/4 tsp (1 packet) active dry yeast
4 cups flour, plus more for rolling
1 tsp salt
1 egg

for the filling
1/2 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 brown sugar
1 1/2 Tbsp ground cinnamon

for the icing
2 cups confectioners' sugar
1 Tbsp butter
1 tsp vanilla
3-4 Tbsp whole milk

Prepare the dough:
Heat milk and butter in a small heatproof bowl in the microwave until warm. Stir in sugar. Transfer milk mixture to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Sprinkle yeast on top of warm milk mixture and let rest for 2 minutes. Gently stir together. (Temperature of liquid should be between 100-110 degrees when using Fleischmann's and between 120-130 degrees for Red Star active yeast.)

Add 3 cups of flour, salt, and egg and mix on low until combined. Switch to the mixer's dough hook. Add remaining cup of flour and knead dough for a few minutes until it pulls away from the bowl. If needed, add another tablespoon of flour to help all the dough completely pull away from the sides of the bowl.

Spray a medium bowl with non-stick cooking spray. Remove dough from mixing bowl. Knead dough a couple of times by hand and then shape into a ball. Place in coated bowl and turn over to coat each side. Cover bowl with plastic wrap or a clean towel and let rise in a warm spot for 2 to 2 1/2 hours or until dough doubles in size. If dough reaches top of the bowl, punch down.

Prepare the filling:
Butter two 8x8-inch pans. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Keep extra flour handy to coat your rolling pin, hands, and work surface if needed. Roll into a roughly 14 x 24 inch rectangular shape with the longest side closest to you. Roll so that the dough is almost 1/4 inch thick.

Drizzle melted butter on dough, spread around to coat, leaving about a 1/2 inch uncoated along the edges. Sprinkle both sugars and cinnamon all over surface of the dough.

Starting from the side opposite you, roll dough tightly towards you to form a long cylinder of dough. At the end, pinch the seams together and turn so that the long seam side is down. If needed, gently squeeze or shape the dough to help form more equal sized cinnamon rolls. Cut dough shape into 18 1-1/2 inch sections with a serrated knife and place nine cinnamon rolls in each pan. There will be a little space between each roll.

Let rolls rise a second time in a warm spot for about 30 minutes. Heat oven to 375 degrees and then bake rolls for 15-17 minutes.

While the rolls are baking, prepare the vanilla topping. Sift confectioners' sugar into a medium bowl. Whisk in melted butter, vanilla, and milk until completely smooth. Remove rolls from the oven and pour topping evenly over cinnamon rolls while warm. Makes 18 cinnamon rolls.

source: bakerella

Classic Cinnamon Rolls

I've taken a bit of a break from blogging over the holiday season, but I'm back and ready to (hopefully) be more consistent with my blogging in 2014! We had a wonderful Christmas and were thankful for the week we spent in Virginia with our families. We got to spend Christmas Eve and Christmas morning with my parents (the first we've done that since we've been married!), and I made these cinnamon rolls for our Christmas morning breakfast. I put together the sweet-roll dough the night before and left it in the fridge overnight, so that in the morning I just had to prepare the cinnamon rolls. The recipe is surprisingly easy, so if you're craving some warm, gooey cinnamon rolls while we endure these frigid temps, these are just the thing :)

Classic Cinnamon Rolls
for the rolls:
1 1/2 sticks (12 Tbsp) unsalted butter, softened, plus more for the pan
1/3 cup granulated sugar
2 Tbsp ground cinnamon
flour, for dusting
1 batch sweet-roll dough (recipe below)

for the glaze:
1 1/4 cups confectioners' sugar
4 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
3 Tbsp milk
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
pinch of salt

Make the rolls: Butter a 9x13-inch baking dish. Whisk the sugar and cinnamon in a bowl. On a floured surface, roll out the dough into a 10x18-inch rectangle. Spread the butter over the dough, leaving a 1-inch border on one of the long sides. Top with the cinnamon sugar. Brush the clean border with water. Tightly roll the dough into an 18-inch log, rolling toward the clean border; pinch the seam to seal.

Slip a long taut piece of thread or unflavored floss under the roll, about 1 1/2 inches from the end. Lift the ends of the thread and cross over the roll, pulling tightly to cut off a piece. Repeat, cutting every 1 1/2 inches, to make 12 rolls. Place the rolls in the prepared baking dish.

Cover the rolls loosely with plastic wrap and let rice in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour, 10 minutes.

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Uncover the rolls and bake until they spring back when pressed, 25-30 minutes. Let cool 10 minutes in the pan.

Make the glaze: Whisk the confectioners' sugar, melted butter, milk, vanilla and salt in a bowl until smooth. Drizzle over the warm rolls.

sweet-roll dough:
1/2 cup whole milk
1 1/4-ounce packet active dry yeast (2 1/4 tsp)
1/4 cup sugar
4 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled, plus more for brushing
1 egg yolk
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 3/4 cups flour, plus more for dusting
3/4 tsp salt

Warm 1/2 cup water and the milk in a saucepan over low heat until a thermometer registers 100-110 degrees F. Remove from the heat and sprinkle the yeast on top, then sprinkle with a pinch of the sugar; set aside, undisturbed, until foamy, about 5 minutes.

Whisk the melted butter, egg yolk and vanilla into the yeast mixture until combined. In a large bowl, whisk the flour, the remaining sugar, and the salt. Make a well in the center, then add the yeast mixture and stir with a wooden spoon to make a thick and slightly sticky dough. Turn out onto a floured surface and knead until soft and elastic, about 6 minutes. Shape into a ball.

Brush a large bowl with butter. Add the dough, turning to coat lightly with the butter. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature until the dough is doubled in size, about 1 hour, 15 minutes.

Turn the dough out of the bowl and knead briefly to release excess air; re-form into a ball and return to the bowl. Lightly butter a piece of plastic wrap and lay it directly on the surface of the dough. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight.

source: recipe from food network