Cinnamon Rolls

Yeast dough has always been one of my kitchen fears, but I finally decided to conquer this fear (with a little help from Daddy) by making cinnamon rolls.  The whole process was not nearly as scary as I thought it was going to be.  I probably would have ruined the whole batch, though, if Daddy hadn't been there to stop me from dumping the yeast into a bowl of hot milk.  All the poor, defenseless yeasties would have been killed!  Thankfully, Daddy told me to monitor the temperature of the scalded milk.  Once it was below 100 degrees F, I added the packet of yeast, and from that point onward, the dough-making went quite smoothly.  I made the dough and stashed it in the refrigerator last night, so that I wouldn't have to wake up at 4:00 A.M. in order to have hot, fresh cinnamon rolls for breakfast.  Mommy woke me up at 7:00 this morning and I got to work rolling out the dough, spreading it with melted butter, and sprinkling on the sugar and cinnamon.  Then I began to roll the dough into a log.  This morning's efforts are where I met with some difficulties, including, but not limited to, the following:

• A not-quite-big-enough counter (I had to move the food processor out of the way, and I only just had enough space after that)
• Dough that did not want to roll tightly into a log (this caused problems when I began trying to slice the individual cinnamon rolls--they all started unraveling, and I had to unseal the log and re-roll it more securely)
• A lack of easily-accessible floss for cutting the rolls (there was plenty of mint-flavored, but I didn't think that would taste very good with the cinnamon, so I used a serrated knife)
• More cinnamon rolls than prepared pie tins (maybe I should have put more in each pan, but I didn't want to crowd them)

Despite these challenges, the cinnamon rolls all came out beautifully, and my fear of yeast has been (mostly) cast away.  Now I'm ready to bake more yeasty goodies!  I'm thinking bagels, doughnuts, English muffins... :)

FLAVOR:  These cinnamon rolls were amazing!  They were sweet, soft, cinnamon-y, and positively dripping with icing.  The icing contains maple flavoring and brewed coffee, but neither flavor is really prominent.  They just meld together and create a perfect complement to the cinnamon rolls.

APPEARANCE/TEXTURE:  The cinnamon rolls may not have been as pretty as the ones from a refrigerated Pillsbury can, but I still thought they looked mouthwatering.  I also think that they had a much better texture than canned cinnamon rolls.  The dough was pillowy soft and melt-in-the-mouth tender, and each roll had a slightly crunchy, caramelized-sugar bottom that provided beautiful contrast to the gooey butter-cinnamon-sugar interior and the sweet, melted icing.

OTHER NOTES/COMMENTS:  These are definitely not everyday breakfast material!  The rolls take a fair amount of effort and quite a lot of time to make, but I think I would make them again for a special occasion or a holiday.

FAMILY MEMBER REVIEWS
Gabriel: "They were good, I liked the icing.  I'd probably give them four stars."
Anne Marie: They were very good and I liked the icing a lot better than the stuff from a Pillsbury can.
Elizabeth: I liked the glaze a lot.  It was nice because it had more flavor than just powdered sugar and milk.  The rolls were good.  I was expecting there to be more bread to filling.  The ratio of bread to filling wasn't bad, it just wasn't what I was expecting.  They were really yummy and you can make them again.
Mommy: They were tasty.  I liked the coffee and maple in the icing.  I would prefer a taller cinnamon roll and a thicker layer of dough.  You can definitely make them again.
Daddy: This evening after dinner, Daddy tried one of the cinnamon rolls rewarmed in the microwave.  He said it was good and he said that next time I make them, he wants to try one without the glaze because he thinks they'd be really yummy without it.

Cinnamon Rolls
I used the measurements for half a batch of Pioneer Woman's cinnamon roll recipe.  The original recipe can be found here, but I used some of the measurements and instructions found here (because I was too lazy to calculate half the recipe myself).  I did refer to the original while making the cinnamon rolls.  So, this is slightly adapted from both Pioneer Woman and Mommy's Kitchen.

Ingredients for Cinnamon Rolls:
2 cups whole milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup sugar
1 package active dry yeast
4 cups (plus 1/2 cup extra, separated) all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon (heaping) baking powder
1/2 teaspoon (scant) baking soda
1/2 tablespoon (heaping) salt
1 to 2 sticks melted butter [I used 1 1/2 sticks of butter]
1 cup granulated sugar
Generous sprinkling of cinnamon [I must have used at least two tablespoons.]

Ingredients for Icing:
16 oz. powdered sugar
1 teaspoon maple flavoring
1/4 cup milk
2 tablespoons melted butter
2 tablespoons brewed coffee [Mommy made a mug of instant coffee for me.  I just used 2 tablespoons of it and gave the rest to my coffee-loving little brother.]
1/8 teaspoon salt

Instructions:
Place the milk, vegetable oil, and sugar in a pan and mix together.  Scald this mixture (which means to bring it almost to a boil and then take it off the heat), then set aside to cool for 45 minutes to 1 hour [I placed mine in a large mixing bowl to cool.  It took closer to 1 1/2 hours for the temperature to drop below 100 degrees F.].  When the mixture is still warm but not hot, sprinkle in the packet of yeast and let it sit for 1 minute.  Then add the 4 cups of flour and stir it together.  Cover the bowl with a damp kitchen towel and let it rise in a warm place for at least 1 hour [Mine ended up rising for close to 2 hours and it was fine.].  After the dough has risen, add the extra 1/2 cup of flour, the baking powder, baking soda, and salt, and stir together until mixed.  [At this point, I transferred the dough to a greased bowl, covered it with plastic wrap, and stored in the refrigerator overnight.]

Sprinkle your rolling surface [a very large counter is best] generously with flour and place the dough in the center, forming it into a long rectangular shape.  Roll out the dough into a large rectangle about 10 inches by 30 inches [I would actually suggest not rolling the dough out this much, as I think that thicker dough would be easier to work with and would yield nicer rolls.].  Pour 1 to 2 melted sticks of butter over the surface of the dough and spread it out evenly using a pastry brush.  Evenly sprinkle the sugar over the whole surface of the butter-covered dough, then generously sprinkle with cinnamon.  Starting from the long edge farthest from you, begin to tightly and neatly roll the dough into a log.  When you reach the end, firmly pinch the seam to seal the roll closed.  Prepare three round foil pie tins by spreading each with melted or softened butter.  Slice the dough log into 3/4 to 1 inch rolls and place the rolls into the prepared pie tins.  [I followed these directions, but if I made these again I would do things differently.  To begin with, I would have cut the rolls thicker (more like 1 1/2 inches).  I also would have either prepared more pans (it took 6 pans to hold all my cinnamon rolls) or placed the rolls closer together in the pan.]  Cover the pans with a kitchen towel and let the cinnamon rolls rise for 20 to 30 minutes.  [This is a good time to preheat the oven.]  Bake the cinnamon rolls at 375 degrees F for 15 to 18 minutes, until they are light golden brown.  [I baked two pans of rolls at a time and mine took about 17 minutes.  If the rolls had all fit in only three pans, I would have baked them all at once.]

While the rolls are baking, prepare the icing: in a large bowl, mix together all of the icing ingredients with a whisk until smooth, thick, and pourable.  As soon as the rolls come out of the oven, liberally drizzle them with icing, making sure to get icing around the edges of the rolls as well as all over their tops.  [Don't be afraid to lay it on thick!]

[These cinnamon rolls are delicious fresh from the oven, but if they've cooled off, you can microwave one on a plate for 10 seconds or so.  I believe they're probably also amazing at room temperature.]