FOODIE WEEKEND -Cinnamon Rolls (First Attempt)

I have had this recipe for cinnamon roll in my recipe book forever but never made an attempt.   Recently while waiting in a queue at Cinnabon to take away some for the boys, I thought to myself why go through this trouble when I can bake my own (ya, right!)?   So when I broke the news yesterday that I am baking our own cinnamon roll and got a big “Yes!!” from the boys, I became more motivated.  I had all the ingredients at home except for the cream cheese.  Just the idea of changing and driving to the supermarket was not appealing at all so I decided no icing for now.

The rolls turned out not as good as I would like them to be.  There were some dents on some of the rolls if you look in the pictures. This is because during the second 'raising' process, the rolls got so big they bumped into each other and I had to separate them hence the dents.  Another thing, the bottom got slightly darker than the top and the seam on some came loose during the baking process.  Note for next batch, leave more space between rolls, use one of those  aluminum deep baking try not the black flat type I normally use to bake cookies ( I saw them used this type of tray at Cinnabon (yes, I went spying) and pinch more to tighten the cylinder before cutting.   Other than that, I think they tasted like cinnamon rolls should, the boys loved them and Captain thought they were a success. 

Maybe I should stick to queuing at Cinnabon instead.

Cinnamon Rolls

Ingredients (makes about 14-15 rolls)

Dough:

1 cup whole milk

 

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

 

3 1/2 cups  multi purpose flour

 

1/2 cup sugar

1 large egg

 

2 1/4 teaspoons rapid-rise yeast

1 teaspoon salt

Nonstick vegetable oil spray or butter for greesing. 

Filling:

3/4 cup packed, golden brown sugar

2 1/2 tablespoons ground cinnamon

 

1/4 cup unsalted butter, soften

Method

Mix brown sugar and cinnamon in a bowl and set aside.

Mix together melted butter, milk, 1 cup flour, sugar, egg, yeast, salt and beat on low speed (I use the food processor.  You can also use the dough mixer) , remembering to scrape down sides of bowl.

 Add another 2 cups of  flour and beat until dough is sticky.  Gradually add the other 1/2 cup of flour   until dough begins to pulls away from sides of the mixing bowl.

Transfer the dough onto lightly floured table or kitchen top. Knead until elastic and less sticky.  Add  more flour if needed.  Form into a ball.

Lightly oil large bowl with nonstick spray.  Transfer dough to a lightly oiled bowl. Cover bowl with a damp kitchen towel and let dough rise in warm place until raisen.  I use a pre-heated oven for this purpose.

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Transfer dough back to the work surface and roll out  into a rectangle, long side closer to you.

Spread butter over dough, leaving 1/2-inch border then sprinkle cinnamon sugar evenly over it.

Starting at the long side closer to you, roll dough into tight cylinder pinching gently to seal it.  Gently even out the thickness of the cylinder. 

With seam side down, cut dough into equal size.

Arrange the rolls on a pre-greesed baking dishes (cut side down) leaving enough room between them. Cover baking dishes damp kitchen towel leave it to rise in warm area until almost doubled in volume.

Bake rolls  in a pre-heated 190/375 degrees oven for about 20 minutes or until golden .

Remove from oven and immediately transfer onto a cooling rack.

Serve warm.

                                                  

                   For you who wants to try out the cream cheese icing, here is the recipe.  

Icing (Optional)

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 ounces cream cheese, softened, approximately 1/4 cup
3 tablespoons milk


5 1/2 ounces powdered sugar, approximately 1 1/2 cups




Method


Beat cream cheese in a bowl until creamy.


Add the milk and beat until combined.


Add in powdered sugar, and beat until smooth.


Spread over the rolls and serve immediately.