I've been following blogs - food, photography, books, travel, style, and writing - for years. As both a writer of sorts and new media enthusiast, I've always wanted to blog. I've probably signed up for and started a dozen blogs over the past several years, and never followed through with them. This time, I'm more determined to stick with it.
I started this blog with the intention of using it for my photography; I linked to it on my portfolio and started putting together posts of photo adventures and shoots. But I do more than take photos, so I plan on incorporating that into this blog. I bake (and eat) too many desserts, so I want to post some recipes. I watch too much television and love theater and buy too many books, which I would like to write about on here as well. Along with living in NYC during the school year, I'm going to Europe for a study abroad semester next year, so I plan on writing posts both to update my friends and family about what I'm doing and to create a record for myself of photos, experiences, and thoughts on my first time out of the country while I live in England and travel. I also try to motivate myself to write all the time. During my first year of college, I found myself only writing essay after essay for classes, instead of anything creative or journalistic. My hope is that this blog will help me write more.
Anyways, to start that off, let's move on to the truly important thing: cinnamon rolls.
You're welcome.
I love cinnamon rolls that are made from scratch much more than I enjoy, say, Cinnabons, but the problem with making the rolls from scratch is that it involves yeast - which can be hard or scary to use for the first time - and a lot of time spent rising. I'm not patient enough for overnight rolls or ones that have to rise for two hours after both mixing and rolling.
Luckily, I found a recipe one hour cinnamon rolls, which doesn't require lots of rising, kneading, waiting, and baking. Thanks for rapid rise/instant yeast, the rolls rise quickly and don't bake for too long, so you have hot, delicious rolls before you know it. The recipe typically takes me longer than an hour, because I get distracted or move too slowly, unless I really focus on getting it done and multitasking.
I've made these probably a dozen times now, after trying about a dozen recipes for cinnamon rolls in the past six years. The other recipes either took too long, didn't rise correctly, or just didn't turn out perfectly. These are my favorite, and not just because they're easy and quick to make. The dough is light, not too sweet, and a bit chewy. They're completed by adding plenty of filling and cream cheese icing, the latter of which I drizzled on for photos and then proceeded to slather on without regard for how picture-perfect it looked.
I haven't really improved upon the recipe because it's got an A+ from me as it is, so head over to Gimme Some Oven for the original recipe - or scroll down for a few minor changes and notes from my own experience - to make these great rolls, ASAP.
INGREDIENTS
Dough:
1 cup milk (I prefer 2% over skim)
1/4 cup butter (1/2 of a stick)
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 envelope instant or rapid rise yeast
1 egg, room temperature
Filling:
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
2 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup butter (1/2 of a stick), completely softened - not melted
Icing:
1/2 cup butter (1 stick), softened
1/4 cup cream cheese, softened (I prefer using a stick of cream cheese, not a tub, and not a low-fat version)
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1-2 tablespoons milk, as needed
DIRECTIONS
Mix together 3 cups of flour (not all of the flour called for in the ingredients), sugar, and salt. Heat the milk and butter in a separate, microwave-safe bowl for a minute, remove and stir, and then continue heating in 20-30 second intervals, stirring after each time. Repeat until the butter is completely melted and the milk is warm, not hot. If it's too hot, let the mixture cool down a little first.
Add the milk mixture to the bowl of a stand mixer, and then stir in the yeast. Add the flour mixture and egg to the bowl; beat on medium-low speed until combined. Gradually add the rest of the flour if the dough sticks to the sides of the bowl until the dough pulls away and forms a ball. Beat for another 5 minutes. Then remove the mixer attachment, cover the bowl with a damp towel, and let it sit in a warm place for 10 minutes. While the dough rises, grease a 9x13 baking pan, and make the filling by mixing together sugar, brown sugar, and cinnamon in a separate bowl.
After the dough has sat for at least 10 minutes, turn it out onto a floured work surface, and use a floured rolling pin to roll the dough out into a large rectangle. (Ali at Gimme Some Oven says about 14 x 9 inches in size, though if it isn't perfect, the rolls will be fine - sometimes dough is stubborn and won't roll out to the the perfect dimensions or even shape.)
Spread the softened butter out evenly over the dough, and then sprinkle the filling mixture over the buttered dough. Roll up the dough, beginning at the long edge the dough. Once it is tightly rolled, pinch the seam so that is sealed and doesn't fall apart.
To cut the roll, use a piece of floss to cut off the ends and then the remaining dough into 10-12 pieces, by putting the middle of the floss under the roll and wrapping it around, crossing and pulling the piece until it cuts through the dough. This method cuts the rolls better than with a knife, which can squish the pieces.
Put each cinnamon roll, cut-side down, in the pan. Cover the pan with a damp towel and leave it in a warm place to rise for 25 minutes. Heat the oven to 350 degrees.
Once the rolls have risen, take off the towel and bake in the center of the oven for 15-20 minutes. The rolls should be golden, cooked through, and puffed up even more. Let them cool on a wire rack for at least 5 minutes, either in the pan or after turning them out of the pan.
Be patient, even though they smell good, and make the icing, by mixing butter and cream cheese together until combined and creamy. Mix in powdered sugar. Add 1 or 2 tablespoons of milk to thin the icing if it is too thick, based on your own preference. Once the rolls have cooled, drizzle/smear/cover with icing, serve, and enjoy with milk or coffee.
Watch them disappear too quickly, and make them again, because hey, they don't take that long.