My father really loved cinnamon rolls. In his later years I would make bargains with him in which he would make a repair for me such as fixing my garbage disposal and in return I would bake these for him. One Sunday I brought a complete batch over to him, still warm from the oven. He took one look at them and asked if I would like “half of one.”
Over the many years I’ve been making them I discovered that the less flour I used, the better and more tender they were. So now, the night before I bake them, I make a very thick batter-like dough and allow it to rise in the refrigerator overnight.
Ingredients for for cinnamon rolls. (Photo by Patty Schied)
This process makes the dough much easier to handle the next day. I roll out the chilled dough into a large rectangle to about ¼-inch thick. After being rolled up, the thin dough results in many layers of buttery and spicy sweet filling. I use chopped pecans in mine but you can substitute raisins or leave them plain, as you prefer. These are awesome for a brunch, particularly at Easter.
Ingredients for the dough:
2 packages of dry yeast
½ cup warm water (not hot)
2 eggs
1½ cups lukewarm milk
½ cup butter at room temperature
½ cup granulated sugar
2 tsp salt
5-6 cups of all-purpose flour
Dissolve yeast in warm water. Add to milk, eggs, butter, salt and sugar. Stirring constantly (or in a stand mixer) add three cups of flour or enough to make a thick batter. Beat until it sheets off a spoon. Then, gradually add the remaining flour, one cup at a time, beating continuously until a very soft dough is formed. Place in a large greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap and chill overnight in the refrigerator.
Layering filling for cinnamon rolls. (Photo by Patty Schied)
The next day, scrape out the dough onto a floured work area. Let rest for 20 minutes. Gather together the following ingredients:
½ cup sugar mixed with 2 tsp of cinnamon
½ cup softened butter
1 cup nuts or raisins (optional)
Roll out dough as thinly as possible into a large rectangle. Think about 12 inches by 20 inches. Keep the dough thickness as uniform as possible.
Spread softened butter evenly all over dough. Sprinkle on the sugar/cinnamon mix.. Add nuts or raisins.
Starting at the top (wider part), roll up the dough tightly. Spray or grease a 9 X 11 inch baking pan. Cut into 1 ½ inch pieces and place in baking pan with about a ½ inch space between rolls. Place any extra rolls into a smaller pan.
Let rise in warm place for 1 to 1 ½ hours. Bake at 375 degrees for about 20 to 25 minutes or until rolls are a golden brown.
When they are ready, remove from the oven and place a rack over the rolls then flip them upside down onto a large cutting board. Flip them over again so that they are topside up. Frost them with the following icing:
2 cups powdered sugar
2 tablespoons softened butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 -3 tablespoons cream or half and half
Mix thoroughly and spread onto warm rolls with a spatula. The icing will immediately melt onto the rolls and form a glaze.
Try not to burn yourself when pulling apart your first roll!
• Patty Schied is a longtime Juneau resident who studied at the Cordon Bleu in London, has cooked meals for both AWARE and the Glory Hall, and has written a cookbook. Cooking For Pleasure appears every other week in Capital City Weekly.
Cinnamon roll dough sliced for baking. (Photo by Patty Schied)
Cinnamon rolls ready for baking. (Photo by Patty Schied)
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