Sunday, February 3, 2013

The most blog-worthy post of all time...

I'm not really a bragger by nature. I like to be a little more modest and humble and in the background. But what I just did tonight deserves center stage. Seriously. If you get sick of my gloating, I apologize. Drumroll please..... 

I just made the perfect cinnamon rolls!!! They are the most incredible thing I've ever had!

Usually they are too dry on the top, they don't rise the way they should, the centers are still gooey, or something else just botches them completely. But tonight, after probably about 6 years of trying to make good cinnamon rolls, I made INCREDIBLE cinnamon rolls! Even being modest, I would say these are the best cinnamon rolls I have EVER eaten. The bottoms are crunchy with a brown sugar buttery crunch, the centers are perfectly gooey but not doughy in the slightest. And the tops are golden-brown perfection. To top it off, they are covered in delicious maple cream cheese frosting.

Are you dying for the recipe? You will never ever ever need another recipe again. Ever. No joke. Here it is! 

*A few adjustment I made are: First, I used almond milk instead of regular milk and it certainly didn't ruin them. Second, I actually ran out of brown sugar so I used a cup of white sugar and mix a tablespoon of molasses into it with a fork. I also didn't use a stand mixer because I don't have one. So feel free to knead the dough with a spoon and then your hands! It was easy! The original recipes are from here: 

http://sweetannas.com/2012/03/overnight-cinnamon-rolls-with-perfect-cream-cheese-frosting.html
http://sweetannas.com/2013/01/cinnamon-rolls-with-maple-cream-cheese-frosting.html




    for the frosting:
  • 1/2 cup butter, softened
  • 1 (8oz) package cream cheese, softened
  • 3 cups powdered sugar
  • 3 tablespoons pure maple syrup
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla (or maple!) extract

In a large bowl, beat together the butter and cream cheese until smooth. Beat in the powdered sugar and then the maple syrup and vanilla until smooth and fluffy. Add a bit more maple syrup if the frosting is too thick for your liking.
Spread generously on the warm cinnamon rolls as soon as they come out of the oven!



Cinnamon Rolls:



1 cup milk
1/3 cup butter, room temperature
2 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast
1/2 cup sugar
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 teaspoon salt
4 1/2 cups (or so*) all-purpose or bread flour
for the filling:
1 cup butter, room temperature
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
3 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg





Directions:
In a small saucepan, heat the milk and butter together until the butter is melted.  Set aside and let cool to warm (110ºF).
Pour this mixture into the bowl of your stand mixer and sprinkle the yeast over the warm milk/butter mixture with 1 teaspoon of the sugar and let sit and get bubbly and foamy for a few minutes.
Mix in the rest of the 1/2 cup of sugar, the eggs & salt until combined. Mix in most of the flour until combined and then switch to your dough hook attachment.
Knead the dough on med-low speed (2 on a KitchenAid!) until smooth, adding the remaining flour bit by bit if needed.
Lightly grease a large bowl.  Place the kneaded, now smooth, but still soft dough into the bowl and turn once to coat the top of the dough.  Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and place in a warm, draft free place to rise until doubled in size, about 1 – 1 1/2 hours.
Once the dough has doubled in size (eyeball this, but you should also be able to press down two fingers into the dough and it should leave an indent that doesn’t pop back out!), punch down the dough gently to deflate it.
Turn the dough out onto a floured surface, cover with a damp towel and let rest for 10 minutes or so.
Sprinkle a bit more flour on top of the dough and roll it out into a large rectangle (about 16×20″ or so!).
In a large bowl (or your clean mixer bowl!) beat together the filling ingredients until smooth and fluffy. Spread the filling evenly over the rolled out dough.
Roll the dough up into a long log and press the seam together (you can use a bit of water on your fingertips to do this if needed!).  Gently cut into 12 rolls with a serrated knife and place the rolls cut side up in a greased 9×13″ baking dish.
Cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge overnight.  (If you don’t want to make these overnight, then just cover loosely and let rest on the counter for 30 minutes before proceeding).
Remove the rolls from the fridge to take the chill off and preheat the oven to 375ºF for about 30 minutes.  Bake for 20-30 minutes, until the cinnamon rolls are golden on top and no longer doughy in the middle if you peek with a fork.
When the rolls come out of the oven, frost and serve! And yes! This is an actual picture of the actual amazing cinnamon rolls! Go make them! Now!


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