I love, love, love cinnamon rolls. I loathe, loathe, loathe the effort and waiting it takes to make them. Since hauling the bread machine out of the basement, my cinnamon roll luck is about to change. These are easy enough to make without a bread machine (use a stand mixer instead) but there is something so decadent about putting some ingredients together, pressing a button, and knowing cinnamon rolls are happening soon. You can assemble the rolls ahead of time and refrigerate them overnight so they’re ready to pop in the oven in the morning.
Cinnamon Buns
Ingredients:
for the dough:
- 1 C. plus 2 Tbsp. warm milk
- 3 Tbsp. canola or vegetable oil
- 1 egg and 2 egg whites, lightly beaten
- 1/2 C. sugar
- 4 C. flour (possibly more)
- 1 tsp. salt
- 3 tsp. yeast
for the filling:
- 2 Tbsp. butter, melted
- 2/3 C. packed brown sugar
- 2 Tbsp. cinnamon
for the icing:
- 1 tsp. milk
- 1 1/2 C. confectioner’s sugar
- 4 Tbsp. butter, softened
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
Directions:
To make the dough using a bread machine, place the dough ingredients into the bread machine pan in the order listed. Select the dough cycle and wait for the cycle to complete. Check the dough after the first few minutes of the cycle and add a little more flour if necessary.
To make the dough without a bread machine, add 1 tsp. of the sugar to the warm milk and stir in the yeast. Allow the mixture to sit for a minute. In a large mixing bowl (or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment), combine the vegetable oil, eggs, salt and sugar. Add in 2 C. of the flour and the milk mixture and mix to combine. Mix in the remaining flour until the dough is smooth and easy to handle. Knead by hand on a lightly floured surface for 5-10 minutes or in a stand mixer using a dough hook for 5-10 minutes. Place the dough in an oiled bowl, cover and allow to rise in a warm place until doubled in size, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
When the dough cycle is finished, or the dough has completed rising if making the dough by hand, roll the dough into a large rectangle (roughly 15×9 inches) on a well-floured surface.
Heat the oven to 325 degrees.
Spread the melted butter over the dough.
Combine the brown sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl and sprinkle the mixture evenly over the buttered dough.
Roll the dough up tightly, starting from the long side, like a jelly-roll.
Cut the dough into 15 rolls (about 1″ each) and place the rolls into two greased round cake pans.
At this point, you can cover the unbaked rolls with plastic wrap and refrigerate them overnight, then bake in the morning if desired (if this is your plan, skip pre-heating the oven).
Bake for 20 minutes, until browned.
While the rolls bake, combine all ingredients for icing in a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment (or in a mixing bowl using a hand mixer) until smooth.
Spread icing over cinnamon rolls as soon as the rolls come out of the oven.
Makes 15 cinnamon rolls.
Source: adapted from Money Saving Mom
Diana Dishes 