Book: No books! Just running lights and baking cookies this week. 🙂 The kids and I are reading the Harry Potter series, so I won’t bore you with those reviews.
Photography: I have started to update my photography business cards and websites. The youngest is going to school in August, so I thought I would update my indoor studio lighting and props. This indoor studio shot is still one of my favorite photographs. I love the age and “writing” on the “chalkboard”.
Recipe: Do you love gooey delicious cinnamon rolls in the morning as much as I do? These are among my favorite breakfasts on days that we won’t have a heavy meal. I really don’t like making them on “special” days like Christmas and Thanksgiving because we’ll have so much food later. I DO love making them the day after Thanksgiving when we decorate for Christmas and grab some gooey rolls with a hot cup of coffee. Or the day after Christmas when we all lounge around in our new Christmas jammies and play with our new toys. Toys meaning possible photography or food equipment 🙂
Did you SEE how high that roll was on the first photo??? YUM-O!
This recipe is a little different than my tried and true bread machine cinnamon rolls. That recipe is quite a favorite among Whisk Together readers. The rolls need about three rises – two in the machine and one after forming the rolls. These easy cinnamon rolls just need ONE rise time. You can whip them up while going to take a shower. Or whip them up the night before! Then, all you have to do is take them out for about an hour and bake for a short 15 minutes. So easy even the kiddos can do it. So let’s get started!
A word about yeast: I really do like the Red Star Platinum Yeast. But any *instant* or *bread machine* yeast will work. Same thing — different names.
- 2 and ¾ cups (345 g) all-purpose flour
- 3 Tb. sugar
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1 package instant yeast (2 and ¼ tsp.)
- ½ cup water
- ¼ cup milk
- 2 and ½ Tb. butter
- 1 egg
- For Filling:
- 2-3 Tb. butter, soft
- 1 Tb. ground cinnamon
- ¼ cup sugar
- For icing:
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 2-3 Tb. milk, cream, half and half, or coffee
- For the dough: In a stand mixer with paddle attachment or in a mixing bowl, whisk together 2 and ¼ cups of flour, sugar, salt and yeast.
- Melt the butter in the microwave. Mix it with the milk and heat in the microwave until warm, but not too hot. Add warm water. Whisk in the egg.
- Add all the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Mix together until dough becomes less sticky. It will hold itself on the bottom of the bowl and pull away from the sides. Add the extra flour little by little as needed to get the right consistency.
- Now, change to the bread dough hook if using the stand mixer. If not, knead by hand for 3-4 minutes. Knead in the mixer for 2-3 minutes.
- Rest the dough for 10 minutes.
- On a floured surface or non stick silicone mat, roll the dough out into a 14" by 8" rectangle.
- Spread the 2-3 Tb of soft butter onto the dough. You might not need it all. *Leave the top 1" empty and do not butter it*
- Mix the 1 Tb. of cinnamon and ¼ cup sugar together. Sprinkle onto the buttered dough. Slightly pat the sugar mixture into the dough with your hands. Slowly, roll of the dough on the long side into a log. Pinch the top where the unbuttered part of the dough meets. It will stick nicely since it has no butter on it.
- To cut the rolls: use a piece of dental floss or serrated knife to cut the rolls into 11 pieces - about 1" thick.
- Spray a 9" pie pan with baking or cooking spray. Lay the cinnamon rolls cut side down into the pan. Cover with plastic wrap sprayed with cooking spray. Let rise for 60-90 minutes. Any room temperature will work. The rolls will be puffy and double in size when they are ready to bake.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and pop the rolls into the oven on the middle rack for about 18 minutes. The rolls will be golden brown on top and the middle not raw. Place on a wire rack to cool slightly.
- While cooling, mix the powdered sugar, vanilla and milk together. Add milk as needed just a little at a time. It is much easier to add a little milk than to keep adding sugar. Drizzle all over the rolls and serve warm.
- Cover with plastic wrap and store at room temperature for 1 day or in the fridge for 2-3 days.
- For overnight rolls: Put the rolls into the pie pan and cover with plastic wrap. Store in the fridge overnight. Pull them out and let them sit out at room temperature for 45-60 minutes and bake as usual.
- For freezing rolls Put the rolls in a disposable pan. Cover with plastic wrap and foil. I try to seal mine in a freezer bag if possibly by putting the whole pan into the bag and sealing it. This will give you 1 month to thaw the rolls and bake at your leisure. It is similar to using the frozen Rhodes rolls in the grocery store.
Hi! I have been having a hankering for cinnamon rolls for quite some time, but I keep ignoring the urge due my desire it eat a proteinful breakfast of eggs. I beyond glad to come across your blog post that is recent, has well written directions, and features excellent professional photography! Since I have not made cinnamon rolls since my middle school cooking class, I was wondering if it is possible to substitute water for milk. Because as a vegetarian, any little bit of protein counts.
I was thinking about my water bread recipes vs. milk bread. Most of the very soft recipes I have have like soft cinnamon rolls and honey wheat rolls use milk. My baguettes use water. So, substituting with water may yield a crispy cinnamon roll instead that signature doughy softness. Hope that helps!
Thank you Mary! I am still waiting to pick up yeast from my local grocery store. Once I satisfy my cinnamon roll craving while experimenting with more milk instead of water, I’ll let you know if they turn out as morning buns or cinnamon rolls. 😉
Oh I’m sorry! I thought you were replacing the milk with water. Not water with milk! That should be totally fine. I have another recipe that makes a few more cinnamon rolls here on the website. I have heard nothing but rave reviews on Facebook about and it can be made in the bread machine or mixer – plus it contains no water at all! Here it is: http://www.whisktogether.com/2011/06/06/bread-machine-cinnamon-rolls/
I am terribly sorry for the lack of clarity on my initial comment! As soon as I try this recipe with all milk, I promise to have you know of the results! 😉 And even though I do not own a bread machine, I might even tie some elements of the rave review bread machine cinnamon rolls
I did it!! I used all milk and the cinnamon rolls were unbelievably soft! Thank you for your guidance in this post!!
Awesome! And thanks for sharing your success! I think I will use all milk next time, too.