Miss Cramer’s Fabulous Cinnamon Rolls
Equipment
- Fine string or dental floss
- Candy thermometer
Ingredients
Dough
- 4 1/2-5 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 pkg. active dry yeast (or 2 1/4 tsp.)
- 1/3 cup butter
- 1 cup milk
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 3 large eggs
Cinnamon Brown Sugar Filling
- 1 1/2 cups light brown sugar
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 tbsp. cinnamomn
- 1 cup butter, softened to room temperature (2 sticks or 16 tbsp. or 8 oz.)
Powdered Sugar Icing
- 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 tsp. vanilla powder (or 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract)
- 2-3 +/- tbsp. milk
Instructions
Dough
- In a large bowl, combine 2 1/2 cups of the flour and the yeast. Set aside.
- In a small saucepan, heat the milk, 1/3 cup butter, 1/3 cup sugar and salt just until melted and warm about 120 ℉. Stirring occasionally until melted.
- Add hot milk mixture to flour and mix well. Add eggs, and beat with an electric mixer or by hand for 30 seconds, scraping the sides of the bowl as you go. Beat on high for about 3 more minutes. If stirring by hand, beat vigorously with a wooden spoon. Make sure the eggs are completely mixed in with the dough.
- With the wooden spoon, stir in as much of the remaining flour as you can. Add a little at a time because you don’t want the dough to have too much flour. Once you have a soft dough that you can gather into a ball, turn the dough onto a floured surface.
- Knead the dough until smooth and elastic, about 3-5 minutes. The dough should bounce back when you make an indentation with your finger. Shape the dough into a ball.
- Place the dough into a greased or sprayed bowl turning once. Cover with a damp towel and let rise in a warm place (warm but not in the oven). Let rise until double in size, approximately 1 hour. Punch dough down after it has risen to double. Turn onto a lightly floured surface and let rest for about 10 minutes. Roll into a 12-inch square.
Cinnamon Brown Sugar Filling
- Combine butter, cinnamon, and brown sugar and blend until it forms a smooth paste. Stir in flour until completely integrated. This step can be made several days or a week ahead of time and refrigerated until ready to make the rolls. Bring to room temp before spreading over the rolled out dough.
Assembling and Cutting the Cinnamon Rolls
- Cover the bottom of a 9x12 inch baking dish with parchment paper. Set aside.
- Spread filling evenly out over dough square. Roll up jelly roll style and pinch the edges to seal.
- Slice the roll with a strong piece of thread, dental floss, or a sharp knife into 1-inch slices. Arrange the slices, cut side up in the prepared baking pan.
- Cover and let rise at room temperature until almost double in size, or about 45 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 375℉.
- Bake for 25 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven and cool on a rack for 10 minutes. Drizzle icing over the rolls. Eat while warm!
- Note: you can make these ahead of time and refrigerate. Reheat in a low oven until warmed through and then proceed to ice them before eating.
