Cinnamon Roll
Remember that recipe for Farm House Rolls from last week? Take a quick look back, because here’s a recipe for Cinnamon Rolls that will be starting with that same dough.
To make my favorite cinnamon rolls, or probably better referred to as “sticky buns,” I start by following the recipe for my Farm House Rolls, and divide the dough in half after the first rising. With the first half of the dough, I usually make dinner rolls or a loaf of bread. With the second half, I make a batch of these Cinnamon Rolls. It works best for me to make theme night before, then just get them out of the fridge to warm up for an hour or two before baking the next morning. Makes for an easy breakfast treat that morning, and always a special indulgence. This recipe makes about eight large rolls. I cover any leftovers and leave them on the counter to be consumed throughout the day for snacks – they are too messy to freeze well. You can also re-heat them in their pan the following day.
So, here’s the recipe for our favorite Cinnamon Rolls:
- With your half section of yeast dough (see Farm House Rolls recipe) roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface to about 9 inches by 15 inches.
- Spread 3 tablespoons melted butter over the dough. Fingers work best for this job.
- In a small bowl, combine 1/3 cup white sugar, ¼ cup brown sugar, 1 tablespoon cinnamon, a pinch of salt, a pinch of nutmeg, a pinch of clove, and 1/3 cup chopped nuts if you have them. Spread this mixture evenly over the buttered dough.
- Roll the rectangle of dough towards you. You’ll roll it so that it remains long, so roll along the shorter width side. Pinch the bottom edges to seal and re-shape the log into a nice even roll if necessary.
- With a good sharp knife, cut the dough into 8 even sections. Carefully lift and place each of these in a well buttered 8×12” baking pan, leaving space in between for the dough to rise (they will double in bulk by the time they are done cooking)
- Then in a small sauce pan, melt ½ stick butter, ½ cup white sugar, ¼ cup brown sugar, 1 cup light corn syrup and ¼ teaspoon salt. When melted, add a teaspoon vanilla flavoring, and if you have it, throw in ¼ cup whiskey. Believe it or not, this adds a great zip to the flavor of the breakfast rolls, and the alcohol dissipates out. It’s our “secret ingredient.”
- Pour this syrup mixture evenly over the rolls in the pan. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate over night.
- The following morning, take out of the fridge 1-2 hours before baking to warm up and rise a little more, then bake in a moderate oven – I usually use my wood cook stove, but I’d say in a conventional oven, you’d want to set the temperature to 350 degrees. As always, in a conventional oven I double pan so I don’t burn the bottoms. Bake for 25-35 minutes. Keep an eye on them – you want the tops a rich medium brown, and all puffed up in the middle so that you’re sure the insides are completely cooked through and not still doughy on the inside, but you don’t want to burn them. Burnt sugar stinks.
- Serve warm with extra syrup from the bottom on the pan scooped on top.