Cinnamon Rolls

When I was growing up, a friend of ours made these heavenly cinnamon rolls.  I got the recipe from her and spent the next few years working on making the recipe just perfect. I have to say, It takes a few times getting it just right, but even the mess up batches tastes wonderful! Follow my steps and you'll get it in no time! The bread portion of this recipe is the same as the Basic White Bread recipe that I posted a while back. That's part of the reason why I love this recipe.  If I don't want such a huge batch of cinnamon rolls, I'll split it and make bread or rolls too.  ]

I started a cooking class at my house this week.  Kind of more of a cooking group. A girls time out if you will. I had been wanting some adult time and loved when others would ask me to teach them different things.  So I decided to schedule a time each week to make it official.  I charge a small fee to cover ingredients, but really, I'm just in it for a good time.  I really enjoyed today's class.  I was able to walk them through the steps of the cinnamon rolls and show them some tricks that I learned.  For these classes I try to show some of my dishes that would be better understood in person.  Like cinnamon rolls. 

We will be making things like Flat bread tacos, tamales and different freezer meals in upcoming classes.

But for now, on to the cinnamon rolls. 

Cinnamon Rolls



4 tbsp, saf instant yeast.  (other yeast will do, but not the best. See tip below)

5 C Water

1 C Canola oil

4 eggs

1 C. sugar

2/3 C. Powdered dry milk

2 tsp. salt

14 C. flour approx. (bread flour is best but all-purpose works great too)

Combine 5 cups of flour, salt, sugar, yeast and powdered milk into a bread mixer. I use a Bosch.  Don't add all of the flour quite yet!

Next add the wet ingredients. Eggs, oil and water. I just realized, I didn't get a picture of the rest of the mixing part. Guess I'll have to make another batch:)  Just kidding. Just mix well. Then slowly add flour until it starts to pull away from the sides of the mixer.  You will want it as sticky as possible without totally driving you crazy when trying to mold it. The amount of flour you need to add, depends on the humidity, temperature of your house, etc.  Some days I add 15 cups and some days I only add 12 cups.  Its a new adventure each time you make it! You can add flour when you are rolling it out later, if you need to.

After it starts to pull away from the sides. If you are not using saf yeast, you are missing out! At this point you will need to knead it for at least 8-10 minutes to get your yeast really active!  That's what I love about Saf. It's instant yeast, so you don't have to do all the extra steps. If you are using Saf, just mix it until it's combined and you are done.

Now, coat  your counter top with flour (make sure to clear a big area. It's gonna get big!) Cover the blob of dough with a towel and let it rise until at least doubled. (about 30-45 minutes.) Again, use Saf!  It rises in almost half the time. It makes for a long day when you don't use Saf!  No no no, they aren't paying me to advertise for them, I've just tried the other kinds, and it's not nearly as good. The only problem is that its usually only sold at food storage places or kitchen stores like Shar's.  So stock up when you find it!

See, I told you it would get big! Ahh, don't believe me check out this picture below!

It's like 2 feet wide by 1 1/2 feet deep and about 6 inches high!  That's a lot of dough! I say hey, if you are going to take time to make cinnamon rolls, do it right baby!  Take some to the neighbors, or even freeze them for later! (you can cut the recipe in half though if you want to)

Now that it has doubled in size, pound it down. It's a great time to get that aggression out on something! 

Next you are going to roll it out into a huge rectangle. I usually split the dough pile it half at this point because half of the recipe will cover most of the counter above, length wise.

Here's a couple tips for ya. The longer (from left to right) your rectangle is, the more cinnamon rolls you will have.  The deeper it is, (front to back of counter) the bigger they will be.  The thinner you roll the dough and the deeper the rectangle, the more swirls you will have. So make them however big you want them.  If you want to make a TON of them but want to make them pretty small, stretch that dough out as long as you can and not very deep.  I like to make them nice and huge and fat!

When you have it rolled out, pour melted butter all over the top.  (I like to spread it evenly with a pastry brush. (Don't worry about the mess. That's the best part! K maybe not, but lets be honest, it's a dirty job but someones got to make em! ) I use about 2 cubes or 1 cup of butter for the whole batch. It's totally up to you how much you use. Next, soak up all of that butter with some sugar and cinnamon.  Give it a good coating of both.  Here is also when you can add chopped pecans or walnuts.  And even raisins if you like.  Me, plain ol' cinnamon and sugar is best!

Starting from the front, roll up the dough. Continue to roll towards the back of the counter until you have rolled it all the way. No need to roll it tight just gently roll it up.

When you have it nice and rolled up, grab a piece of thread, fishing line, or even dental floss.  Just please, make sure it's not used fishing line! Or better yet, mint dental floss.  We want cinnamon rolls, not fish flavored or mint flavored rolls!

Slide the thread, under the roll and criss-cross it, like this. I usually go about an inch from the end.  It's up to you, how fat you want them. Just remember, these little guys are going to rise again and double in size, at least! So measure accordingly. And try to keep them all about the same size so they cook evenly.

So, after you have criss-crossed the string. Pull both ends and it will act as a knife, making a nice clean cut.

Lay them about an inch to an inch and a half apart, in a baking pan.  Cover them with a towel and let them rise until doubled.

Bake them at 350 for about 20-30 minutes depending on the size you make them.  They will get golden brown on top.  I like to insert with a toothpick into one of the centers of the cinnamon rolls in the middle of the pan to see if it comes out clean. If it does, they are done.  Another tip, you may need to turn down the oven to 325 if you made them beyond huge, so they don't burn on top, before the middle gets done.  But even I, have never made them THAT big.

Straight out of the oven, pour a generous amount of frosting (recipe below) over the top. It's best to do this step while they are really hot, because the frosting melts and oozes all down into the crevices and makes them simply Heaven!

Enjoy!

Meet some of my friends that came to the class today. Stephanie and Ana.  Great friends! And Good Company! Thanks for coming girls! (don't you totally love my fingerprinted microwave in the back!)

Now onto the best part! The frosting!!!
1 cube of butter

1 (8 oz) package cream cheese

8 C Powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla

Pinch of salt

Milk 1 tbsp at a time

Soften cream cheese and butter to room temp.  Add cream cheese first and mix well. (I've found it's creamier when you mix up the cream cheese by itself first) Then add butter, vanilla and salt. Next, you are going to add the powdered sugar and milk alternating to get the consistency you want.  (It's best not to add the whole bag at once, just so you don't white wash the entire kitchen before you get enough liquid in there to tone down the powder! Also, whip it for a good 3 minutes or so, to make it nice and fluffy and creamy.

I like my frosting pretty thick, but it's totally up to you. The best consistency for me is where it just starts to drizzle (with an even stream) off of the spoon when you dip it into the bowl and hold it up.


You can freeze these, already frosted, or just after you place them into the pan (before the 2nd rising stage).  Make sure to thaw them, let them rise and then bake them.

Cinnamon Rolls (full recipe)

4 tbsp, Saf instant yeast. 

5 C Water

1 C Canola oil

4 eggs

1 C. sugar

2/3 C. Powdered dry milk

2 tsp. salt

14 c. flour approx

Mix 5 cups flour, salt, sugar, milk and yeast.  Add Water, oil and eggs.  Mix thoroughly and add flour just until it pulls away from the sides.(of mixer)

Let rise until doubled, punch dough.

Filling

1 cup butter (approx.)

Cinnamon

Sugar

Nuts or raisins (optional)

 After rising, roll out 1/4 inch thick into a big rectangle. Spread with melted butter. Sprinkle with cinnamon then sugar. Roll up and slice 1 inch thick. Put into a 9x13 inch greased pans or cookie sheets with sides. Let rise until doubled. Bake at 350 for 20 min. (longer if needed)

Frosting

1 cube of butter

1 (8 oz) package cream cheese

8 C Powdered sugar (I just use a whole bag. It's about the same amount)

1 tsp vanilla

Pinch of salt

Milk 1 tbsp at a time

Soften butter and cream cheese. Whip and gradually add sugar and milk intermittently until desired consistency. Add Vanilla and salt. Whip until fluffy.

Yeast tip:  If using a non instant yeast, Add warm water and yeast into a separate bowl and whisk until dissolved.  Let it sit for about 10 minutes, until bubbly. Then add it into the mixture, when you add the wet ingredients.

Enjoy!