A few weeks ago, the temperature here in the Twin Cities Metro area dropped all the way down to -20 degrees (-35 with the windchill factor). If you follow me on Instagram, you were probably sick of seeing me post pictures of how cold it was.
(note the -61 degree F wind chill factor)
Needless to say, I was not at all thrilled.
All I craved were something sweet and decadent for breakfast, hot steaming coffees throughout the day, and hearty soups and warm comforting casseroles for dinner. That’s when I decided cinnamon rolls sounded like the perfect breakfast idea for a cold snowy morning.
These cinnamon rolls can easily be make the night before. You let it sit on the counter to rise overnight, place it in the oven for 30 minutes the next morning, and voila! Warm steamy gooey cinnamon rolls drenched in a sweet sticky glaze, ready to be devoured. You can also make these the morning of, but let’s face it – why get up early to make breakfast when you can get it ready the night before and spend an extra hour or two curled up in warm blankets the next morning?!
I know a lot of people are afraid of working with yeast – I’ll admit it, I was too… until now. I’ve always felt like yeast is a tricky little thing to bake with. It just seemed like a very sensitive ingredient… if you don’t pay enough attention to it, your whole plan might fail. However, these cinnamon rolls are suuuuuper easy! Even I, a making-anything-with-yeast-rookie was able to successfully execute this recipe – which means that there’s not excuse you won’t be able to!
I think my favorite part of my first-ever-cinnamon-roll-making-experience was the smell of these rolls before and during the baking process. I absolutely loved waking up to the sweet smell of rising yeasty dough, and the fact that it made my house smell like a Cinnabon factory while they cooked in the oven.
Hot, gooey, pillowy, soft, melt-in-your-mouth goodness, complete with a sweet vanilla glaze that will have you licking every single one of your fingers afterwards!
- 2 and 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 package of active dry yeast
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/4 cup milk
- 2 and 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 egg, at room temperature
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1 and 1/2 heaping tablespoons ground cinnamon
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1-2 tablespoons milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Set aside 1/2 cup flour. In the bowl for an electric mixer, combine the remaining flour, sugar, salt, and yeast together. Stir until combined. Attach the dough hook attachment onto your mixer.
- In a medium microwave-safe bowl, heat the water, milk, and butter together in the microwave until the mixture is hot to touch and the butter is melted. Pour the butter mixture into the flour mixture and stir on medium speed. Then add the egg and only enough of the reserved flour to make the dough. I used the entire 1/2 cup, but you may not use it all. You'll know you've added enough when the dough is soft, pulls away from the sides of the bowl, and is no longer sticky.
- On a lightly floured surface, knead the dough for 5 minutes. Place the dough ball in a lightly greased bowl, making sure all surfaces of the dough ball is lightly greased. Let sit for 10 minutes.
- While your dough rises, make the filling by tossing the ground cinnamon and sugar together in a small bowl.
- After the 10 minutes, roll out your dough into roughly a 14"x8" rectangle. Spread the softened butter all over. Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar mixture on top - be generous! Add more if needed.
- Roll up the dough tightly and cut into 10 even pieces, about 1.5" each. Place into a lightly greased 9" pie pan, making sure you leave enough room between each roll for it to rise.
- Loosely cover the pan with aluminum foil and let it sit overnight, up to 12 hours, at room temperature. The rolls should have doubled in size when you check on them the next morning.
- When you're ready to bake them the next morning, preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Bake for 25-27 minutes, covering the top with aluminum foil 15 minutes into baking to prevent excessive browning on top.
- While the rolls are baking, make the glaze by mixing the powdered sugar, 1 tablespoon of milk, and vanilla extract in a small bowl. Add more milk if the glaze is too thick.
- When the rolls are done baking, remove from oven and drizzle them generously with the glaze. Rolls are best served warm and on the same day, even though they can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
- Makes 10 rolls
Now that I have conquered my fear of baking with yeast, don’t be surprised if you see more bread, pizza dough, and sweet rolls recipes on here in the future :)
Recipe adapted from Sally’s Baking Addiction
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I think my love for cinnamon rolls is gonna have to trump my fear of yeast!
Shikha – Yes! You totally should try it! I wasn’t so sure about baking with yeast before either, but this is soooooo easy that it’s becoming a weekend tradition already!