Cinnamon Rolls!!!

Who wants cinnamon rolls?  

Cinnamon rolls that can give Cinnabon a run for their money?

 

Cinnamon rolls that you can freeze the dough and bake up only what you need?

 

Have I got a recipe for you!

 

I've had this recipe for a few decades since my freshman year in Home Economics and have only baked these a handful of times. 

 

This past weekend I made some and they turned out better than I remember.

The ingredients you will need for the dough:

 

1 package of yeast (I used rapid rise)   1 tsp. salt

¼ Cup warm water                             ½ Cup of shortening

2 ½ Cups of flour                                1 Cup of buttermilk

1/3 Cup of sugar                                ¼ Cup melted butter

1 TBSP baking powder          1 Cup brown sugar (I used dark)

½ tsp. baking soda                              1 TBSP cinnamon

 

• Dissolve the yeast in the warm water and let proof.

• Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl. Use a pastry blender and cut in shortening.

• Add buttermilk and yeast mixture to the dry ingredients, stirring with a fork until well blended.
• In a separate bowl, mix together the brown sugar and cinnamon mixture.

• Put on a floured surface/board and knead – sprinkle more flour if dough is sticky.

• Roll dough out to a 12x18 rectangle and baste top with the melted butter.

• Sprinkle with the brown sugar & cinnamon mix, covering to the edges.

• Roll the dough in a jelly roll fashion from the longest edge (18” side) and wrap in cling wrap.

• Let the dough rest/chill for a little while in the refrigerator so it will firm up a little before slicing.

• Slice into 1” and place on baking sheet or in a round pan.

• Bake at 450 degrees for 10-12 minutes  (every oven is different – so adjust accordingly)

This should yield about 1 ½ dozens.

Since I’m single and I do not want to bake up all the rolls at once, I sliced off enough to fit in a round pan with about ½ inch between rolls so they have room to expand (and they will expand). The rest of the log I wrapped back up, put in a freezer Ziploc bag and placed in the freezer.

 

The cream cheese frosting is made up from 4 ingredients and very easy to whip up: softened cream cheese, softened butter, vanilla and confectioners sugar.

 

For an 8oz. package of cream cheese, it calls for 1/2 Cup of butter, 2-3 cups of confectioners (powdered) sugar and 1 tsp. of vanilla.

 

To make a smaller batch of frosting, use 2-3 oz. of cream cheese, 2-3 TBSP of butter, 1/4 tsp vanilla and powdered sugar. I think I used about 1/2 cup.

 

• Let the butter and cream cheese come to room temperature so it is easier to cream together (with either a fork or a mixer).
• Add vanilla
• Add enough powdered sugar so that the frosting is not runny but is also not stiff. I may have added about ½ cup or so.
• You will want to frost the cinnamon rolls after they’ve had a chance to cool quite a bit but are still a touch warm. The frosting will melt a little but not much – we like this. We like this a lot.
   
  
   
   

 



When you want to bake up the frozen dough you will want to let the dough thaw a little bit. It may be easier to cut the dough frozen and then place on a baking sheet or round pan to thaw for about 15-20 minutes and then bake as directed.