bread

Cinnamon rolls

By
Cinnamon roll

I’d had this very intense cinnamon roll craving for a while until I decided to act on it while watching Hamilton one summer weekend. It was quite late in the afternoon and from what I knew, cinnamon rolls take a couple of hours to make. Because I was lazy and hungry, I searched for the quickest cinnamon roll recipe.

I came across this beautiful recipe by The Recipe Critic, and it turned out to be amazing! I only modified it slightly to make it more to my tasting.

I made a big batch and had to freeze the rest in order to force myself not to eat them all in one sitting. They were that good.

Ingredients

Dough

  • 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 3 tbsp sugar
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 2 1/4 tsp instant yeast (1 package)
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1/4 cup milk
  • 2 tbsp unsalted butter
  • 1 large egg
  • zest of 1 orange or lemon

Filling

  • 60 g unsalted butter at room temperature
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar
  • 1/2 tbsp cinnamon

Glaze

  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2-3 tbps milk

Directions

  1. In the bowl of a standing mixer, mix the flour, sugar, salt, zest and yeast. Set aside.
  2. In a bowl apt for microwaving (I use a measuing jar), heat the water, milk and butter for 30-45 seconds in the microwave, 1ntil the butter is melted.
  3. Pour the liquid mixture into the bowl of the standing mixer.
  4. Add the egg (I always crack the egg in a ramekin first).
  5. Knead in medium speed for 3-4 minutes until the dough is no longer sticky.
  6. Set the bowl aside and cover it with a damp towel. Let rest for at least 5 minutes.
  7. Preheat the oven to 200ºF.
  8. Mix the softened butter with the sugar and the cinnamon.
  9. After the dough has rested, roll it out to a big rectangle.
  10. Spread the butter mixture evenly on top.
  11. Roll up the dough tightly. Cut into 8-9 even pieces.
  12. Turn off the oven.
  13. Place the rolls in a lightly greased pan (I used a pie plate). Cover with plastic wrap.
  14. Place the pan in the turned off oven for about 20 minutes, so rolls can rise.
  15. After 20 minutes, or when rolls have doubled in size, remove pan from the oven and remove the plastic wrap.
  16. Turn on the oven to 375ºF. Wait until oven has reached this temperature before putting the pan back in the oven.
  17. Bake cinnamon rolls for 15-20 minutes, until golden.
  18. While rolls bake, make the glaze by mixing the powdered sugar, vanilla extract and milk until smooth.
  19. Remove the pan from the oven and top rolls with glaze. Cool before serving.