Winter came to Illinois about six weeks early this year, but what’s new? As much as I dread the cold, there are things about winter that I thoroughly enjoy, like baking! I’ve been finding myself daydreaming a lot about Norway, Sweden, and Finland lately which has left me craving Scandinavian sweet rolls. There are so many types I would love to try, but I figured I would start out with cinnamon rolls because I had never made any from scratch. By no means are these healthy, but I enjoy knowing exactly what goes into my desserts rather than the cinnamon rolls at the store with twenty plus ingredients. I was so excited by how well these turned out on my first try! I used two glass pie dishes and made a double batch, but here is what you will need for one.
ingredients
r o l l s
2 3/4 cups all purpose flour
3 tbsp granulated sugar
1 tsp salt (I did not double this ingredient)
1 package of instant yeast (I used Fleischmann’s)
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup milk
2 1/2 tbsp unsalted butter (I used Kerrygold Irish Butter)
1 egg
f i l l i n g
3 tbsp unsalted butter, softened (not melted)
1 tbsp ground cinnamon
1/4 cup granulated sugar
g l a z e
1 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 tbsp milk or cream (I used milk)
directions
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1. In a large bowl combine flour, sugar, salt, and yeast.
2. In a separate bowl heat water, milk,and butter in the microwave. Make sure butter is melted, and mix ingredients together. Make sure these liquids are 115-120 degrees fahrenheit. Anything hotter could kill the yeast.
3. Stir liquid mixture into flour mixture. Mix in the egg, and a bit of extra flour if needed. Dough should begin to pull away from the sides of the bowl.
4. On a lightly floured surface, knead the dough for roughly 3 minutes. Place the dough in a greased bowl and set aside for 10 minutes.
f i l l i n g
5. While the dough is resting, make the filling mixture in a small bowl. At this point you will want to preheat your oven to 200 degrees fahrenheit.
6. Take the dough for the rolls and spread it over a floured countertop. With a rolling pin, make a large rectangular shape. Spread the filling mixture on top of the rectangle covering the entire surface. Sprinkle more sugar or cinnamon on top if desired.
7. Roll the dough up as tightly as possible. With a sharp knife, Cut into 8-11 even slices depending how thick you want them. Place cinnamon rolls into a greased dish.
8. Cover the cinnamon rolls LOOSELY with aluminum foil, allowing enough room for them to rise. Turn OFF your oven and place cinnamon rolls inside for 60 minutes to rise.
9. Once you have removed your rolls from the oven, preheat the oven to 375 degrees fahrenheit. Bake rolls for 15 minutes without aluminum foil. If the cinnamon rolls are browning, remove them and put new aluminum foil over them. Return rolls to oven for 10-15 more minutes. They will burn quickly, so be careful!
g l a z e
10. While the cinnamon rolls are baking, prepare the glaze in a small dish. Simply mix ingredients together. When your cinnamon rolls are done, drizzle the glaze over them while they are still hot. Enjoy!
*Other options for glaze include replacing some milk with brewed coffee or adding a bit of juice from a fresh squeezed orange.