Cinnamon Rolls

My Dad would make cinnamon rolls once a year. He would make so many rolls we would be eating them for weeks (at least it seemed that way). He would also give a lot of the cinnamon rolls away to friends.

Since my children love cinnamon rolls, I figured it would be a nice treat to make for the holidays. I have made this recipe before. The recipe makes a lot of rolls so I recommend following in my Dad's example and sharing. The recipe does freeze well just in case you do not want to share. I made 7 pie pan of these cinnamon rolls so be prepared to make new friends. I used skim milk in the recipe since that is what we had in the house.

Cinnamon Rolls
Rolls:
4 cups of milk 
1 cup vegetable oil
1 cup sugar
2 packages (4 1/2 tsp) active dry yeast
9 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp salt

Filling:
2 cups butter, melted plus more to coat the pans
1/2 cup ground cinnamon
2 cups sugar
7 disposable foal cake/pie pans

Icing:
2 lbs. powder sugar, sifted
1/2 cups milk
6 Tbsp butter, melted
1/4 cup brewed coffee, decaffinated
1/4 tsp salt
1 Tbsp maple syrup

Directions:

1. Heat the milk, vegetable oil, and sugar in a large saucepan just to below a boil over medium heat.
2. Let the milk mixture cool to warm (around 110 degrees).
3. Sprinkle the yeast on top of the milk mixture and let it sit for 1 minute.
4. Add 8 cups of flour and stir to combine. 
5. Cover the mixture with a clean kitchen towel and set aside in a warm place for 1 hour.
6. After the hour, add the baking powder, baking soda, salt, and the remaining 1 cup of flour to the mixture. Stir to combine. (Store in the refrigerator up to 3 days or prepare rolls immediately after chilling for one hour first.)
7. Punch down the dough after chilling. 
8. Remove half the dough from the pan.
9. Flour a clean baking surface and roll out the dough thinly to 30x10 inches. 
10. Pour 3/4 cups of melted butter over the surface of the dough. Spread the butter evenly over the dough. 
11. Generously sprinkle 1/4 cup ground cinnamon and 1 cup of sugar evenly over the butter.
12. Working slowly, roll the dough tightly towards the other end of the dough forming a log. 
13. After rolling to the other end, pinch the dough seams together. Flip the roll so the seam is facing the surface.
14. Cut the dough into 1/2 inch slices.
15. Coat the disposal pans with melted butter.
16. Place about 7 to 9 cinnamon rolls into the pan without overcrowding.
17. Repeat the process with the other half of the dough. Let the dough rest on the counter for at least 20 minutes before baking.
18. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. 
19. Bake the cinnamon rolls for 15 to 18 minutes.
20. While the rolls are baking, prepare the icing.
21. In a large bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, milk, butter, coffee, and salt.
22. Add the maple syrup and whisk until very smooth. Taste and adjust the icing to taste. 
23. Drizzle the icing over the cinnamon rolls immediately after the cinnamon rolls are removed from the oven. 
24. Allow the cinnamon rolls to cool and enjoy/share. 

Recipe adapted from The Pioneer Woman Cooks cookbook.

Did you already know............
-Cinnamon Rolls are called "kanelbulle' in Sweden.
-On Oct. 4th, it is known as National Kanelbulle Bun day in Sweden.
-In Europe, cinnamon rolls are commonly topped with nib/pearl sugar.
-In America, the cinnamon roll is commonly topped with a glaze/icing.