Cinnamon Rolls

Happy Sunday, y’all!

I made an unfortunate discovery this week – the natural lighting in my kitchen is almost nonexistent. This is not good for food photography. Alas, I have found the first flaw in my otherwise perfect kitchen. That being said, the lighting in my pictures may be all over the place. The perfectionist in me wants to scrap all the photos with weird shadows or yellow lighting, but I will just have to work with it, because I cannot keep recipes like this one from you guys. That would be cruel.

I have never really been a cinnamon roll person. As I aged, cinnamon rolls actually became less attractive (probably because I had only ever had the canned Pillsbury version – that stuff gets old after a while). Then I started making them from scratch, and the cinnamon roll lover in me was born.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

I discovered this recipe when an old classmate of mine suggested I try the recipe for the cinnamon rolls they serve at Disney World. Previously, I had been using this recipe, but they were not quite as fluffy as I would have liked. When I tried this new recipe for the first time a few months ago, it became the new favorite. The recipe featured in this post is mostly based off of the latter recipe, but I have pulled things from both of them.

These cinnamon rolls are heavenly. Gooey, chewy, and dripping in cream cheese frosting, they have quickly become a favorite in the Perine household. They are made even better by the fact that they are so much fun to make! Of course, they require a little work, but it is worth it. You will feel like a professional baker when all is said and done.

Based on personal experience, I would caution against doubling this recipe (or, at least, attempting to make two recipes at the same time). It is tempting, as the recipe calls for only half of a package of vanilla pudding mix, but I almost burned my motor out trying to knead the dough in my KitchenAid, and you do not want to knead that much dough yourself. Trust me. Plus, if you make two pans of these (which equates to 16 rolls), you WILL want to eat them all.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Cinnamon Rolls
Makes 8 rolls

For the dough:

• 1/4 c. warm water (110˚F)
• 1 packet (2-1/4 tsp.) active dry yeast
• 1 tbsp. sugar
• 1 c. milk
• 1/2 package vanilla pudding mix (1.7 oz. of mix)
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 1/4 c. (1/2 stick) butter, melted
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 4 c. (590 g) flour

For the filling:

• 1/2 c. (1 stick) butter
• 1/3 c. sugar
• 1/3 c. brown sugar
• 3 tbsp. cinnamon

For the frosting:

• 1/4 c. (1/2 stick) butter, softened
• 4 oz. cream cheese, softened
• 1/4 c. heavy cream or milk
• 1-1/2 c. powdered sugar
• 2 tsp. vanilla

1. Pour yeast and 1 tablespoon sugar in warm water and stir. Let rest for 10 minutes. The mixture will begin to foam.
2. Meanwhile, in the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk pudding mix together with milk. Add melted butter, egg, and salt and combine.
3. Stir in yeast mixture.
4. Using the dough hook attachment on medium-low speed, add flour in two batches. Continue to knead until dough forms a somewhat smooth ball, about 3 minutes.
5. Place dough in a lightly oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about one hour.
6. After one hour, punch dough to deflate and let rise another hour.
7. Once the rising period is complete, turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Roll dough out into a large rectangle.
8. Place the stick of butter in the microwave for about 12 seconds, until butter is soft but not yet starting to melt. Place butter on dough and, using a spoon, spread evenly over the surface of the dough.
9. In a small bowl, stir together white sugar, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Sprinkle mixture over dough.
10. Roll dough as tightly as possible into the shape of a log, pinching the edges to seal. Slice roll into eight equal pieces.
11. Place rolls in a lightly greased 9×13 pan. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise about 30 minutes.
12. Preheat oven to 350˚.
13. After the final rise, remove plastic wrap and place rolls in preheated oven and bake about 25 – 30 minutes, until rolls are golden brown.
14. While the rolls are baking, place all of the frosting ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer and beat on medium speed until smooth, about 3 minutes.
15. While rolls are still warm, top with prepared frosting.

NOTE: If you would like to prepare the rolls the night before baking, make up to the final rise and place the pan of rolls in the fridge. In the morning, before baking, boil a small pot of water. Remove the plastic wrap and place the rolls in a turned off oven with the pot of boiling water for 30 minutes. Remove the rolls, preheat the oven, and bake as directed.

I hope you guys get to try these out. If you do, let me know how it goes!

Happy baking!