Classic Cinnamon Rolls

The saying is: “when you love your job you never work a day in your life.” Ahem… I love my job but I love dawdling around in my pajamas even more. Especially at 5:45 in the morning. But alas…duty calls! So as boss-lady and I discuss what shall sustain us during this Saturday morning a couple of options came to mind…donuts, waffles, pancakes…cakes…birthday cake? No no… I’m only allotted one birthday cake breakfast a year…or maybe two,…three? Ahem…shake it off, Lauren. Shake it off!

Then it happened…a revelation. A cinnamon roll revelation. An ooey-gooey, cinnamon roll revelation. Mmmm…I can just taste them now. Let’s just take a moment of silence to appreciate the gooey visions of cinnamon rolls dancing around in my head (and to wipe the drool up off the desk).

Now that our moment of silence has concluded….let me share with you a little known fact. Did you know the soul-mate of the cinnamon roll is none other than the latte? Another little known fact: Cinnamon rolls are infinitely better as a breakfast item than as a dessert. You see…when a breakfast cinnamon roll is paired with a latte, a number of things happen…the best of which is: you will have experienced taste-bud nirvana and thus enter a delusional, heaven-like state for the next 8.3548351 hours (long enough to sustain your work day).

First stop on the road to deliriously good cinnamon rolls…combine the flour and remaining dry ingredients. And then commence the process of combining your wet ingredients. Heat your milk and white sugar to just before boiling. Then sprinkle the yeast in! Let it sit for 10-15 minutes.

Mix in some melted butter with your milk, add in the eggs, and combine with the flour and voila! Heaven in a bowl. Well…almost.

The dough is just a bit too sticky so we add in the rest of the flour! And in the process, manage to spill it all over the counter, the floor, and your clothes. Good thing my taste-tester is partial to a messy home. Perhaps love really is blind? Maybe he loves being taste-tester to my food sooooo much that he is just oblivious to the poor maid that I actually am. Yes, I think that must be it!

Ahh…almost finished. Isn’t that the most lovely log o’ dough you’ve ever seen? I think we should take another moment of silence (to inhale deeply and sigh longingly) Ahh!

Cut the dough in half and work with one half at a time. Or perhaps if you have four arms and a six-foot reach you could manage the dough. I however, am inadequately sized with rather short T-Rex like arms. Therefore we cut the dough in half, roll it out into a thin square, add the filling, and start rolling!

Taste-Tester took this picture for me! Ain’t he grand?

So this is may or may not be the defining moment for the cinnamon rolls! I mean we are craving some good ole’ fashioned, classic cinnamon rolls like grandma used to make, right? Well here is one of those oh-so-secretive tips that you can only get from your grandma. Do not…and I repeat…DO NOT cut your cinnamon rolls with a knife.

This defining moment requires one and only one tool…string! Slide it under your cinnamon roll log, criss-cross the string and pull! Simple as that! And now you won’t have any squished or mashed rolls and your filling won’t come flying out the sides at your already-ruined wardrobe.

goodness gracious! Would you just look at those swirls! Just close your eyes and take a big gigantic whiff! Ahhh…smells like breakfast! Just whip up your icing while those bake. Put the icing on before they cool because you want that crazy, delectable icing to get into each and every crevice of your breakfast masterpiece!

Dare I say…these are the most purty things I’ve ever seen atop a paper plate! Pure cinnamon bliss! Next time i’m thinking maybe a maple twist?  Or perhaps pecans? Oh oh…I know! A cinnamon-pecan filling with a maple-coffee icing! Hmm…thoughts? What would you guys like to see?

Classic Cinnamon Rolls

Ingredients:

Dough:

• 2 cups whole milk
• 1 cup white sugar
• 2/3 cup melted butter
• 9 cups bread flour (or all-purpose flour)
• 2 tsp salt
• 2.5 tablespoons active dry yeast
• 4 eggs
• 2.5 teaspoons baking soda
• 2.5 teaspoons baking powder

Filling:

• 6 generous tablespoons ground cinnamon (or more depending on preference)
• 2 cups packed brown sugar
• 2/3 cup melted butter

Icing:

• 1 package cream cheese, 8oz.
• 1/4 cup butter
• pinch salt
• 3-5 cups sifted powdered confectioners sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions

1. Warm milk and white sugar to just before boiling. Remove from heat and sprinkle in yeast and let set for 10-15 minutes until mixture somewhat foams. Whisk in melted butter and eggs.
2. In a bowl, combine 7 cups of flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
3. Gradually stir in milk mixture into flour. Dough will be sticky.
4. Add the remaining flour and mix with hands, careful not to overwork dough. Let dough rest on counter for 20-30 minutes.
5. Then split dough in half. Working with one half at a time, use a rolling pin to spread dough out into a long, wide, and thin rectangle.
6. Combine brown sugar and desired amount of cinnamon. Melt some extra butter and pour over dough while spreading to make sure it is thoroughly covered.
7. Sprinkle cinnamon sugar mixture over the melted butter and begin to roll the dough starting with the end furthest away from you. Careful to keep the rolled dough tight as it will be harder to cut into individuals rolls without them falling apart.
8. Once rolled, take a lengthy piece of string and slide under the roll. Cross the ends of the string and pull to “cut” individual pieces off. Place pieces in a baking dish that has some melted butter in the bottom of it.
9. Cover the baking dishes with a tea towel and allow to rise 20-30 minutes. Then bake in oven at 400 degrees until golden brown, about 15 minutes or so.
10. Cream softened cream cheese and butter in mixer until fluffy. Add in vanilla and salt.
11. Gradually add powdered sugar until reaches desired consistency and taste (try to keep icing a little thick because it will melt once on the hot rolls).
12. Once the rolls are done spread the icing evenly over the top and serve immedietaely (with a glass of milk!)