cinnamon rolls

I know I already have a post for overnight cinnamon rolls, but sometimes you want to make them immediately, or you wake up early enough (finally a good reason for Jack to wake me up at 5 am!) to make them for breakfast.  What can I say?  I like to have options.

These cinnamon rolls are especially full of cinnamon.  Jeff wouldn't have it any other way.  You don't need to use as much as I did, but they were soo good!

Yes, this is supposed to be a rectangle of dough.  I am terrible at making perfect rectangles and I just wanted to show that even if you can't make a perfect shape your rolls will still turn out just fine.

Roll your rectangle of dough into a log, and cut it into 12 rolls.  Place 3x4 in a prepped casserole dish.

 Check out all that cinnamon goodness!

Try to pinch the edges of your rolls so they don't flap out like mine.  I swear, normally mine are much prettier, but really, it doesn't matter because they squish together enough once they bake that the shapes hold together on their own anyway.

The cinnamon rolls should still be pretty light in color when you pull them out of the oven.  They should be slightly darker around the edges, and they should have filled in just about all the available space in the casserole dish.

Yes, they were pretty before, but nothing beats iced cinnamon rolls.  The next day the icing is less noticeable on the rolls because it starts to seep into the surface.  Fantastic.  I don't have pictures of that though because these don't always last that long...

This is my favorite guilty pleasure weekend breakfast.

All the darkness?  Cinnamon.  Jeff likes to tease that I'm "getting closer" to his desired amount of cinnamon.

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cinnamon rolls

by Liesl July-17-2014

same day CINNAMON rolls

Ingredients

• 2 1/4 tsp yeast
• 1/2 cup warm water
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 11 tbsp melted unsalted butter, divided
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 egg
• 3 1/2 cups AP flour
• 3/4 cup unpacked brown sugar
• 6 tbsp cinnamon
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 2 tsps vanilla, divided

Instructions

1. In a small bowl mix the yeast into the warm water, set aside.2. In a large bowl or stand mixer mix the milk, granulated sugar, melted butter, salt, egg, and 1 tsp vanilla. Add half the flour and mix. Pour in the yeast mixture, then mix in the remaining flour. Knead the dough until smooth. Let the dough sit in a greased covered bowl until it doubles in size, about an hour.3. When the dough has doubled in size punch it down. Spread plenty of flour on your counter and roll your dough on it into a 9x15 inch rectangle. Leave one long side empty on 1" and cover the rest of the dough evenly with 1/4 cup melted butter, the brown sugar, and the cinnamon. Roll the dough ending with the empty long edge. Pinch the edges together. Cut into 12 pieces.4. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Place the 12 rolls 3x4 in a prepped casserole dish and let rise again for 45 minutes. Bake for a half hour and remove when the edges have turned lightly golden, and there is no obvious empty space left in the pan. Let cool.5. In a bowl mix the remaining butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla. Add 4 tablespoons of warm water and mix again. Spread the glaze evenly over rolls once they have cooled a bit. Eat warm or cooled. Store in an airtight container. Store in the fridge or on the counter (they will last longer in the fridge).

Details

Prep time: 2 hour 15 mins Cook time: 30 mins Total time: 2 hour 45 mins Yield: 12 rolls