Kelly the Culinarian: Stand mixer Sunday: Cinnamon rolls

Sunday, March 23, 2008

Stand mixer Sunday: Cinnamon rolls

Today is a special day in eating for us. Easter has always been a great holiday in our house -- huge early dinner, great breakfast, egg decorating, etc.

This year it's a little different. Mandy is away at school and Katie is leaving today for a trip with her school. The Easter bunny has stopped visiting our house. But, the food remains.

We make an event of breakfast on big holidays. We usually have a big, late breakfast and another big, early dinner. This year, I thought I'd give homemade cinnamon rolls a try and they turned out really tasty, much better than the stuff in the tubes. This particular recipe is great to start the night before for easy morning prep (I hate mornings).

Here's the recipe, thank-you Alton Brown!


4 large egg yolks, room temperature

1 large whole egg, room temperature

1/4 cup sugar

6 tablespoons butter, melted

6 ounces buttermilk, room temperature

4 cups flour

1 package instant dry yeast

1 1/4 teaspoons salt


Filling:

1 cup packed brown sugar

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

A little salt

1 1/2 tablespoons melted butter


Icing:

2 1/2 ounces cream cheese, room temp

3 tablespoons milk

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
For the dough: in the bowl of a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, whisk the egg yolks, whole egg, sugar, butter, and buttermilk. Add about 2 cups of the flour along with the yeast and salt; whisk until moistened and combined. Remove the whisk attachment and replace with a dough hook. Add all but 3/4 cup of the remaining flour and knead on low speed for 5 minutes. Check the consistency of the dough, add more flour if necessary; the dough should feel soft and moist but not sticky. Knead on low speed 5 minutes more or until the dough clears the sides of the bowl. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface; knead by hand about 30 seconds. Lightly oil a large bowl. Transfer the dough to the bowl, lightly oil the top of the dough, cover and let double in volume, 2 to 2 1/2 hours.
Combine the brown sugar, cinnamon and salt in a medium bowl. Mix until well incorporated. Set aside until ready to use.
Butter a 9 by 13-inch glass baking dish. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Gently shape the dough into a rectangle with the long side nearest you. Roll into an 18 by 12-inch rectangle. Brush the dough with the 3/4-ounce of melted butter, leaving 1/2-inch border along the top edge. Sprinkle the filling mixture over the dough, leaving a 3/4-inch border along the top edge; gently press the filling into the dough. Beginning with the long edge nearest you, roll the dough into a tight cylinder. Firmly pinch the seam to seal and roll the cylinder seam side down. Very gently squeeze the cylinder to create even thickness. Using a serrated knife, slice the cylinder into 1 1/2-inch rolls; yielding 12 rolls. Arrange rolls cut side down in the baking dish; cover tightly with plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator overnight or up to 16 hours.
Take it all out of the fridge and let it rise for about an hour or until puffy. Put in a preheated, 350-degree oven for about 20 minutes.
In the meantime, mix all ingredients for the icing in the stand mixer with the whisk attachment until smooth.
Let the rolls cool slightly before icing or else they'll absorb it all.

3 comments:

Mandy said...

Score, I got a shout-out! The cinnamon rolls are an added bonus.

daphne said...

that looks delightful!

Nic said...

Your rolls look so delicious, especially that last photo. Mmmmm...