Homemade cinnamon buns, another Christmas morning brunch treat. This is a great recipe and we finally found an icing or I should say frosting that goes well with them. This recipe will make about a dozen good size cinnamon rolls.
The Ingredients:
- 6-1/2 Tablespoons Sugar
- 1 Teaspoon Salt
- 5-1/2 Tablespoons Butter
- 1 Large Egg
- 1 Teaspoon Lemon Extract
- 3-1/2 Cups Bread Flour, King Arthur is my stand by
- 2 Teaspoons Bread Machine Yeast, Fleischmann’s
- 1-1/8 Cup Milk
- Cinnamon Sugar Mix (6-1/2 Tablespoons of Sugar & 1-1/2 Tablespoons Cinnamon)
The Process:
First, I creamed together the butter, sugar, & salt in my Kitchenaid mixer. Once well blended, I added in the egg & lemon extract and whipped the mixture well. Next, I added 2 cups of the four, the yeast, and the milk and mixed until well blended. I switched over to my dough hook and added the rest of the flour. Once the mixture formed a ball that was tacky, but not sticky, I let the mixer run for an additional 10 minutes to knead the dough. After the 10 minutes had passed I removed the dough from the mixer bowl and held it in one hand while I sprayed the mixing bowl with a shot of Pam, spray oil. Once the bowl was coated with a light mist of oil I placed the dough ball back in the mixing bowl, covered it with plastic wrap and let it sit on my stove top to rise for approximately 2-hours. The dough should be doubled in size before you move on to the next step. Before I clean up, I mix up the cinnamon sugar mix and set it aside.
With the dough doubled in size and lightly covered in spray oil from the bowl I transfer it to my counter on a flexible baking sheet that has a grid and measurements on it. I am not exact on the measurements, but I roll the dough into a rectangle that’s between a 1/2” and 3/4” in thickness and approximately 14” x 18” in size. You may need to use a little flour to keep everything from sticking.
Once you have the dough rolled out spread the entire Cinnamon Sugar mix on the dough. It seems like a lot, but it really is needed because of the increase in size of the buns on your 2nd rise. I try and leave about an inch on the top without any cinnamon sugar to help seal the end of the dough together when I roll the it up into a log.
Once the dough is rolled into a log I make sure the seam is on the bottom and I cut the log into approximately 1-1/2” sections using a dough scraper.
The buns may look scrunched after pressing down during the cutting process, but they spring back after the 2nd rise. Don’t hesitate to shape the cut ovals into circles once they make it to the pan.
After portioning the buns, I transfer them into two Pyrex casserole pans lined with parchment paper. I think the sizes are a 9″ x 9″ and a 9″ x 13″ pan. I make sure to space the buns evenly, but they will end up touching after the next rise. I cover each pan with plastic wrap, and wait as the 2nd rise will take anywhere from 1-1/2 to 2 hours. I usually put the ends pieces and any narrower buns in the smaller pan, keeping the best rolls in the large pan.
My kitchen has been cool so the rises have been going 2+ hours. It will be visually obvious when the buns are ready for the oven. Once ready I bake them in a 350F degree oven for 20-30 minutes. I usually set the timer for 20 minutes and keep a close eye on them because they can darken quick. Remove from the oven and let cool before frosting or icing.
The Frosting:
We ended up trying a cream cheese frosting this time and I think we found the perfect match. The simple frosting is 4oz of softened butter, 40z of softened cream cheese, 1 teaspoon of vanilla, and 2 cups sifted powdered sugar. Combine all of the ingredients except the sugar first, blending until smooth. Once well blended slowly add the sugar a 1/2 cup at a time. Blend the mixture until its the consistency you desire. Once mixed, Wendy transferred the frosting into one of her cake decorating bags with a medium tip and just did a simple swirl of the frosting on top. They were awesome!