Weekends around our house usually consist of some sort of cooking project whether it’s smoking meat, making home made sausage, canning jam and jelly and spicy pickles, or just meal prepping for the week – we like an adventure in the kitchen! In wanting to do something sweet for a friend who recently diagnosed with breast cancer, aside from prayers, we wanted to show her our love and support through something tasty. And what better tasty treat than homemade cinnamon rolls? Always a favorite of mine, and now with especially fond memories from Camp Ozark (Cinnamon Rolls & Chocolate Milk!) I was excited to finally make these from scratch. When searching for new recipes we tend to make our way to the Pioneer Woman, and were excited to adapt her recipe to make our own and use our already mastered icing to truly make these our own, and goodness were they delicious!
Ingredients:
For rolls:
1 quart whole milk
1 cup vegetable oil
3 cup sugar (real sugar is best, not splenda)
2 packages active dry yeast (0.25 ounce packet)
9 cups all-purpose flour (and extra for surface)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 Tablespoon salt
Plenty of melted butter
Lots of ground cinnamon
For icing:
4 cups confectioners’ sugar
6 tablespoons milk
2 tablespoon melted butter
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
(I just doubled the cookie icing recipe we love for this)
Directions:
For the dough:
- Heat the milk, vegetable oil, and 1 cup sugar in a medium saucepan over medium heat to just below a boil.
- Set aside and cool to warm.
- Sprinkle the yeast on top and let it sit on the milk for 1 minute.
- Add 8 cups of the flour and stir until just combined.
- Cover with a clean kitchen towel, and set aside in a relatively warm place for 1 hour.
- After 1 hour, remove the towel and add the baking powder, baking soda, salt, and the remaining 1 cup flour.
- Stir thoroughly to combine.
- Use the dough right away, or place in a mixing bowl and refrigerate for up to 3 days.
For the rolls:
- Preheat the oven to 375°F.
- Remove half the dough from the bowl.
- On a floured baking surface, roll the dough into a large rectangle, about 30 x 10 inches.
- The dough should be rolled very thin.
- Pour 3/4 cup to 1 cup of the melted butter over the surface of the dough.
- Use a brush (or your fingers) to spread the butter evenly.
- Generously sprinkle ground cinnamon (to cover) and 1 cup of the sugar over the butter.
- Beginning at the end farthest from you, roll the rectangle tightly towards you.
- Use both hands and work slowly, being careful to keep the roll tight.
- When you reach the end, pinch the seam together and flip the roll so that the seam is face down.
- Make 1/2-inch slices. (One “log” will yield 20 to 25 rolls)
- Pour a couple of teaspoons of melted butter into baking pans or disposable foil cake pans (perfect for freezing the excess!) and swirl to coat.
- Place the sliced rolls in the pans, being careful not to overcrowd. (Each pan will hold 7 to 9 rolls.)
- Repeat the rolling/sugar/butter process with the other half of the dough and more pans.
- Cover all the pans with a kitchen towel and set aside to rise on the countertop for at least 20 minutes before baking.
- Remove the towels and bake for 15 to 18 minutes, until golden brown.
- Make the icing while the rolls cook.
For the icing:
- Combine confectioners’ sugar, milk, melted butter, and vanilla.
- Add milk as needed, to achieve drizzling consistency you want (I added a tad more milk after it sat for a min)
Remove pans from the oven and immediately drizzle icing over the top. Be sure to get it all around the edges and over the top. Eat straight from the pan or reheat later for a divine treat! We ended up with about 4 pans leftover and froze them to break out later – it makes a lot of cinnamon rolls but they are perfect for sharing!
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What’s your favorite thing to bake? I would love to try your recipe!
