SOFT CINNAMON ROLLS

I've baked a fair share of cinnamon rolls in my life so far. A lot of them were for others and some for our family. Our kids absolutely love them and request them every chance they get. I must admit that I don't bake them as much as they ask for even though it's very simple to bake. I've shared a recipe for these rolls a long time ago. They are really good but these ones are even better! I still remember those days when the aroma of cinnamon gave me a headache and now, it warms my heart! I must mention that even though I like the smell of cinnamon in food, I don't like candles that smell like cinnamon. I don't know why but that kind of makes me feel very dizzy.

Making bread at home is simple as long as you know how to treat the star ingredient, yeast. A lot of you often write to me saying that your bread dough never rises. The only part where you could go wrong is with the temperature of your liquid. It should be warm and not hot. If you were to use a thermometer, which I highly recommend, it should measure between 100 degrees F & 110 degrees F. Otherwise, stick your finger into it and the liquid should feel warm and cozy, like bathwater. Any hotter, your yeast will die because it is a living organism. 

Last week, Zara requested me to bake cinnamon rolls and I kept pushing it because of orders.

I made a promise to her that it will be ready when she gets back from school but it wasn't really done because my usual dough needs a slow rise in the fridge and I didn't have the time that day. So I did a quick search online and found this recipe with brilliant reviews. I love trying out new recipes even if I have a successful, tried & tested one in my back pocket at all times! It's the whole experience of experiencing new things, right?  So here you go!

SOFT CINNAMON ROLLS

Makes 12 large rolls

Ingredients:

Dough

1 cup warm milk

1 tablespoon instant dry yeast

2 tablespoons white granulated sugar

1 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons salted butter, softened

1 large egg

3 cups all-purpose flour*

Filling*

1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted

1 cup brown sugar

2 tablespoons ground cinnamon

Glaze*

4 ounces cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened

1 - 11/2 cups powdered sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1-2 tablespoons milk

Method:

 In the bowl of stand mixer, combine warm milk, yeast, sugar, salt, butter & eggs. Add in flour. Mix on low speed using a dough hook. Once the flour begins to incorporate into the dough, increase the speed to a medium and knead till the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl. The final dough should feel tacky and soft. Cover the bowl with a lid/ plate/ towel and let rise until doubled in size, about an hour.

Lightly grease a 9X13 inch baking tin and keep it aside. Dust your counter top with some flour. Punch down the risen dough and roll it out into a 12 inch by 18 inch rectangle. 

Brush the melted butter all over and sprinkle brown sugar followed by cinnamon.Roll it up tightly from the longer side. Slice them into 12 pieces and place them onto the prepared tin. Cover and let rise for 30-35 minutes.

Pre-heat oven to 325F. Bake the rolls for 25-30 minutes or until lightly brown on top.

While the rolls are baking, cream together cream cheese & butter until light and fluffy. Add the powdered sugar & vanilla and beat well to mix. Add enough milk to get a drizzle -like consistency.

Frost the rolls while warm and enjoy!

* Don't pack the flour into your measuring cup. Spoon it and level the top . This way you will get the right consistency for the dough. If the bread dough is dry, your baked cinnamon roll will be dry. Like how it mentioned in the method, the dough should feel tacky. That is, if you touch it, you will notice that it's slightly sticky but when you pull you fingers away, nothing sticks to your fingers. 

* I used half the filling and frosting recipe. You can use white sugar for the filling if you are out of brown. I had only dark brown sugar on hand, so I've used that here.

* You can bake them at 350F but for a little lesser time.

These cinnamon rolls were super soft, like pillows! Since I used only half the amount of filling and glaze, it was really like a mildly sweet bread roll that's flavoured with cinnamon. We absolutely enjoyed them with our evening cup of tea! I hope you give this a try and enjoy these rolls as much as we did. Do keep in mind the tips I've shared for the recipe.