Cinnamon Rolls

Cinnamon Rolls

Warning: Cinnamon rolls take time – lots of time. The following recipe is 4-5 hours or overnight. This recipe is supposed to make 12, but I always end up with 16-20 rolls.

5 cups cheap all purpose flour (or 4.5 cups of King Arthur AP flour)
1/2 cup chopped pecans (optional)
1/2 cup seedless raisins (optional)
3 eggs, beaten
7 T shortening
7 T white granulated sugar, plus 2 tsp sugar
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 T warm water (105-115F)
1 T ground cinnamon
1 T active dry yeast
1 tsp salt

4 T – 8 T melted butter, or as much or less as you want

Scald 1 cup of milk (I like to put it in the microwave on high for 30 seconds, stir, on high for a minute, stir, then on high again for 30 seconds). Add shortening, stir well. Set aside to cool to room temperature (about 30 minutes).

In a small bowl, combine yeast, water, and 2 tsp sugar. Let sit for 3-5 minutes or until frothy.

In a large mixing bowl, combine white sugar, eggs, and salt. Add cooled milk mixture, mix well. Add yeast mixture, mix well. Add flour, mix well for 3-5 minutes, until all the flour is completely incorporated.

Transfer to a lightly greased bowl, cover, and let rise until doubled (3-4 hours).

Lightly flour the surface of the dough and your hands. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured board. You might want to lightly flour your rolling pin, as well. Roll dough to a thickness of 1/4 inch, rectangle optional.

In a small bowl, mix brown sugar and cinnamon until the color becomes a uniform brown.

Spread the surface of the rolled dough generously with melted butter. Sprinkle cinnamon mixture as evenly as possible across the surface. Follow suit with pecans and/or raisins.

Starting at one side of your dough, fold dough in tightly and roll as snugly as you can to the opposite side. Cut into 1 inch slices and place directly into lightly greased baking tin. Place rolls 1/4 inch to 1 inch apart. Cover and let rise 30 minutes, or cover and store in the refrigerator up to 48 hours. (Remove from refrigerator and let rise 30 minutes before baking.)

Bake 15-30 minutes in a 375F oven, until tops are golden brown (eggwash optional). Just keep an eye on them after the 15 minute mark. I use the middle rack.

When I bake 4 in my 8 inch brownie pan, I only bake them for 15 minutes. Same thing if I squeeze them into a circle on my cookie sheet. When I put 8 in my lasagna pan, I have to bake them quite a bit longer, hence the “15-30” minute range on baking times.

Check out Joy the Baker’s photos here for step by step instructions on how to roll, sprinkle, and prepare cinnamon rolls (not to mention a much sweeter recipe).