Fresh Baked Cinnamon Rolls

Bakerella made cinnamon rolls this week and I couldn't stop thinking about them.  They looked like HEAVEN.  I could just smell their sweet cinnamomy goodness wafting thru my house just looking at the pictures. I've never made anything like them before, so I knew it would be a challenge.  Tonight, I put my skills to the test and made some!

The recipe comes from the Pioneer Woman... and it's pretty simple, however very time consuming.  You need a good three hours to dedicate to making these bad boys.

A few notes about the recipe before I post it...

• First, it makes A LOT of dough.  I made the entire recipe this time, but if I ever make them again... I'm definitely only making half.  I got two round pans full of rolls out of ½ the dough... about 14 rolls.  PLENTY for me and Emily.
• These rolls are very sweet, they'd be great with a touch of brown sugar in the middle as well as maybe some raisins or nuts if you like them.
• Don't skimp on the cinnamon either!! I was certain I was adding too much, but in reality, I needed more.  Don't be afraid to pile it on!
• And finally, I didn't have any maple flavoring for the icing, so I used vanilla... and to be honest, I wouldn't skimp on that either.  My icing was good, but a little more vanilla would have been even BETTER!

Now on to the recipe!!

Pioneer Woman's Cinnamon Rolls

Ingredients

• 1 quart Whole Milk
• 1 cup Vegetable Oil
• 1 cup Sugar
• 2 packages Active Dry Yeast
• 8 cups (Plus 1 Cup Extra, Separated) All-purpose Flour
• 1 teaspoon (heaping) Baking Powder
• 1 teaspoon (scant) Baking Soda
• 1 Tablespoon (heaping) Salt
• Plenty Of Melted Butter
• 2 cups Sugar
• Generous Sprinkling Of Cinnamon

MAPLE FROSTING:

• 1 bag Powdered Sugar
• 2 teaspoons Maple Flavoring
• ½ cups Milk
• ¼ cups Melted Butter
• ¼ cups Brewed Coffee
• ⅛ teaspoons Salt

Preparation Instructions

Mix the milk, vegetable oil and sugar in a pan. "Scald" the mixture (heat until just before the boiling point). Turn off heat and leave to cool 45 minutes to 1 hour. When the mixture is lukewarm to warm, but NOT hot, sprinkle in both packages of Active Dry Yeast. Let this sit for a minute. Then add 8 cups of all-purpose flour. Stir mixture together. Cover and let rise for at least an hour.

After rising for at least an hour, add 1 more cup of flour, the baking powder, baking soda and salt. Stir mixture together. (At this point, you could cover the dough and put it in the fridge until you need it - overnight or even a day or two, if necessary. Just keep your eye on it and if it starts to overflow out of the pan, just punch it down).

When ready to prepare rolls: Sprinkle rolling surface generously with flour. Take half the dough and form a rough rectangle. Then roll the dough thin, maintaining a general rectangular shape. Drizzle ½ to 1 cup melted butter over the dough. Now sprinkle 1 cup of sugar over the butter followed by a generous sprinkling of cinnamon.

Now, starting at the opposite end, begin rolling the dough in a neat line toward you. Keep the roll relatively tight as you go. Next, pinch the seam of the roll to seal it.

Spread 1 tablespoon of melted butter in a seven inch round foil cake or pie pan. Then begin cutting the rolls approximately ¾ to 1 inch thick and laying them in the buttered pans.

Repeat this process with the other half of the dough. Let the rolls rise for 20 to 30 minutes, then bake at 400 degrees (see note below) until light golden brown, about 15 to 18 minutes.

For the frosting, mix together all ingredients listed and stir well until smooth. It should be thick but pourable. Taste and adjust as needed. Generously drizzle over the warm rolls. Go crazy and don't skimp on the frosting.

Note: My rolls don't work for me at 400 degrees anymore. I now bake them at 375 degrees.