Homemade Cinnamon Rolls
I love, love, LOVE cinnamon rolls. They are absolutely one of my favorite things to make at home. Name one thing that smells and tastes better than a warm cinnamon roll fresh out of the oven, slathered with melty gooey cream cheese frosting. I don’t think there’s anything in existance that sounds better than that!
Of course you guys already know of my love of cinnamon rolls. After all, I have blogged about an overnight cinnamon roll recipe, cinnamon roll cupcakes, cinnamon roll monkey bread, and of course the shortcut version – cinnamon roll bread. I even made pumpkin cinnamon rolls last winter too!
But all of those can easily be forgotten by this recipe I’m posting today. I’m declaring this my go-to cinnamon roll recipe. I’m not trying any other recipes out there, because these guys come out so tender and pillow-ey with a super cinnamon-ey filling. Basically, they’re exactly what I’m looking for in a cinnamon roll.
To make things even better, you don’t need to use a mixer. I realize that could be a downfall in some people’s eyes. But sometimes it’s nice to do things with your hands and a wooden spoon.
I’m sure many of you guys have seen this recipe before. It’s from the Pioneer Woman. When she makes it, it yields something crazy like 50 cinnamon rolls. I guess when you live on a ranch, you might have a need for 50 cinnamon rolls. I live in a 750 sq-ft condo with Hubby. We definitely don’t need 50 cinnamon rolls in our house. So I cut the recipe in half. That still gave us about 24 cinnamon rolls. But I baked them on a Sunday and sent the rest of them to work with Hubby. (Although I have to admit, I regretted not sneaking one into my lunchbag a few hours later when I was sitting at my desk craving a cinnamon roll).
One Year Ago: Family Favorites Cookbook Two Years Ago: Breakfast Pizza Three Years Ago: Blueberry Lemon Basil Cupcakes and Stuffed Strawberries
Cinnamon Rolls
Yield: 24 cinnamon rolls
Ingredients:
For the Dough
2 cup whole milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup sugar
2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast
4 cup flour
1/2 cup flour
1/2 heaping tsp baking powder
1/2 scant tsp baking soda
1/2 tbsp salt
For the Filling
1 cup melted butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup cinnamon
Directions:
Mix whole milk, vegetable oil and sugar in a pan. Scald to 150 degrees. Let cool until lukewarm (~45 minutes). Sprinkle in yeast and let sit. Then add 4 C flour, stir mixture together. Cover and let sit for one hour.
Add 1/2 C flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt to the dough. Stir mixture together.
Divide the dough in half. Sprinkle surface generously with flour and form into a rectangle, roll the dough thin, maintaining a rectangular shape. Drizzle melted butter over dough. Sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon. Roll the dough toward you. Pinch the seam to seal it. Grease foil cake or pie pans. Cut rolls 3/4 to 1 inch thick and lay in greased pans. Repeat with other half of dough.
Cover the rolls and let sit for 30 minutes.
Bake at 375 for 15 to 18 minutes.
Generously drizzle cream cheese frosting over warm rolls after they come out of the oven.
Recipe from The Pioneer Woman
I am Jen the Beantown Baker. Engineer by day and baking maven by night. Hubby serves as my #1 fan and official taste tester. We got hitched back in 2006. Barefoot. In the sand. With the waves crashing behind us. It was one of the best decisions we’ve ever made. 
These pancakes look perfect! I don’t make pancakes that often, but this mix would be an easy throw together to keep in the freezer. Yum!
Great idea to freeze the mix. I have been making our pancake batter from scratch for a while now, and it’s nearly impossible to go back to the boxed stuff! They just taste flavorless and cardboard-y. I had been reluctant to make mix ahead of time because I didn’t want it to go bad. Thanks for the idea!
What a great idea to have a homemade pancake mix on hand!
A good substitute for buttermilk – since most of us don’t keep it on hand, but do have milk in the fridge:
1 TBS white vinegar with enough milk added to make 1 cup. Allowed to sit for at least ten minutes, this mixture will clot up and mimic buttermilk sufficiently for most recipes.
Those pancakes look amazing!! Oh my goodness.
i think it is a great idea about freezing milk, too. I buy whole milk for baking only so I need to do that.
Wow. Those look so good I might have to whip some up…..like…NOW.
http://www.simplysweeter.blogspot.com
You can also use lemon juice instead of vinegar in the substitute for buttermilk provided by Nancy.
One thing to note about this recipe though. Not only is the buttermilk needed for the chemical reaction, but it also provides a great flavor to the pancakes that I don’t think you get from using the substitute. Also, buttermilk will keep for a very long time in the fridge since it’s acidic.
AB mentioned in his cookbook that there are only four thinks he will not make without buttermilk: cornbread, biscuits, waffles, and pancakes. I tend to agree with him.
What a great idea to make your own pancake mix and then when you want quick pancakes, you can have a healthy mix 🙂
Mmm, these look way better than a mix! Great tip to store the mix in the freezer too!
Yum! I love blueberry ‘anything’. Alton Brown recipes are always winners. If you’re looking for an even healthier pancake recipe, check out my ‘fluffy whole wheat pancakes’ on my blog. I mix batches of the dry ingredients and keep them in the freezer. Thanks for posting – I’m off to buy some blueberries! Oh, and I’m a new follower 🙂
These pancakes look amazing!! Bookmarked!
Hey Jen I am eating these pancakes at this very moment. They are so fluffy and filling! May I borrow this recipe for my blog and link it back to you??