Hope you guys had a fabulous Memorial Day weekend! Over here in Boston, the weather was A-M-A-Z-I-N-G! The sun was shinning, the sky was clear–the perfect combination for swim-suits in the park and long summer runs {and by long I mean 2-miles, unless you are the fabulous Elise and are kickin’ butt in your half marathon!!!}
What was left of our brunch feast
These rolls are definitely my new breakfast go-to food, so friends, if/when you invite me over to brunch, except these to make an appearance. But seriously. Try them and you will see what I’m talking about.
Any long weekend calls for a brunch with friends to celebrate the fact that you’re not at work on Monday morning. After doing a little blog reading, I discovered a new site with incredible recipes, including this super easy, super yummy cinnamon roll recipe! I have been wanting to make these for forever and never found one I liked/was willing to try. But these…these give Pillsbury a serious run for their money. The Baker Chick is my new kitchen role-model! Recipe was found here on her blog. And huge bonus, these legitimately take all freaking day 90 minutes, including prep-time, waiting for the dough to rise, and bake time. Oh, and browned butter is my new favorite smell. Trust me.
90 minute cinnamon rolls
Ingredients
For the dough:
- 3/4 cup milk
- 1/4 cup butter
- 3 1/4 cups all purpose flour
- 1 (.25) package instant yeast
- 1/4 cup sugar {regular white, granulated sugar}
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 egg
For the filling:
- 1 cup brown sugar {pack it in tight!}
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 cup butter
For the frosting:
- 2 tablespoons softened {not melted} butter
- 4 oz cream cheese
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 cups powdered sugar {you can use more or less depending on taste, I used less}
Directions
- Heat milk in a saucepan until it bubbles–remove from heat. Add butter and stir until melted. Set aside and let cool.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine 2 1/4 cups flour, yeast, salt and sugar–whisk together. Add water, egg and milk mixture, and beat with an electric mixer.
- Add the remaining flour slowly a mix well with a wooden spoon because dough will be too sticky for the beaters {you probably could use the dough hook on your KitchenAid, but I have yet to use mine, so I just did it manually. Plus you don’t have to mix for that long so it wasn’t too bad}. When dough has just pulled together {all the ingredients are just combined} knead on a lightly floured surface until smooth, about 5 minutes. You’ll know the dough is ready because it will spring back when you press it.
- Cover the dough with a damp cloth and let rest for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, brown your butter! {the Baker Chick does it in the microwave, but I did it stove top which isn’t too hard. I found instructions from Simply Recipes}
- To brown your butter, heat skillet over medium-high heat. Cut butter into slices and place in pan, stirring/whisking frequently {you need to keep the butter moving so it doesn’t burn}. Your butter will bubble and foam, and then brown specks will start to form. Once you see the brown color, remove skillet from heat, but keep stirring. The butter will still cook but will not burn. {Seriously, stick your nose in the pan and smell–it’s the best smell EVER!}
- While the butter cools slightly, mix brown sugar and cinnamon together in a small bowl.
- On a lightly floured surface, roll out your dough in approximately a 12×9 in rectangle {use your 9×13 baking dish as a guide}. Using a pastry brush–or a spoon–spread 90% of the brown butter over the dough. Sprinkle dough with cinnamon-sugar mixture, and press into the butter so everything stays put when you roll it all up.
My roll looks a little sad, but believe me, it still tasted delicious!
- Roll up your dough and pinch the seam to seal. Cut into 12 {more or less if you can is fine} even pieces and place in a 9×13 baking dish {I used a smaller one, trust me, use the larger one!}. Drizzle the remaining brown butter over the rolls, and cover with a damp cloth and let rise somewhere warm until doubled, about30 minutes. I like to let mine rise in a sunny spot. Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 375 degrees
- Bake rolls for 20 minutes, or until golden-brown. Let cool for about 10 minutes and serve warm, with cream cheese frosting {recipe below}
See what I mean about using a bigger pan? They were pretty squished in there
Home-made cream cheese frosting
{I have another cream cheese frosting recipe on the blog from last year’s Valentine’s Day. Both are similar, but Paula Deen’s recipe has a lot more sugar, cream cheese and butter….while neither are great for you, this one seems like it will clog your arteries a little less!}
- Whip together the softened butter and cream cheese with an electric mixer until smooth and creamy
- Add the vanilla and powdered sugar, 1/2 cup at a time, to taste. Beat until creamy and spreadable
If you have any of these rolls leftover from brunch {unlikely, but possible}, you can store them in a tupperware container in the fridge. Just zap them in the microwave and they’ll still have that just-out-of-the-oven taste. Mmmmm. Also, the frosting can be put in the freezer and saved for a rainy day. I hope you guys like this recipe because I am seriously obsessed. The feedback from my friends for this baking adventure was these were definitely in the top 5 things I’ve ever made. YAY.
Have a happy, happy week! And have fun baking, as always remember, it’s a cake walk!
It's a cake walk 