Homemade Cinnamon Rolls

My Holiday baking this year has been different from previous years. I usually make an assortment of baked goods, but this year we had family in town for the past few weeks, which has cut down my time in the kitchen quite a bit, but no complaints here. This year I decided to make cinnamon rolls as gifts for the folks in the office. I liked this idea because everyone likes a cinnamon roll and they can be frozen and saved for later in case anyone wants to stay away from the overdose of sugar for a while! This recipe makes anywhere from 40 to 50 cinnamon rolls, perfect for gift giving and it does not skip on anything. There is a lot more than just dough and a few sprinkles of cinnamon and sugar. They were quite good and hard to eat just one!

Homemade Cinnamon Rolls

Printer Friendly Version

For the dough:

1 quart (4 cups) whole milk

1 cup vegetable oil

1 cup sugar

2 packages active dry yeast

9 cups all-purpose flour, divided

1 heaping teaspoon baking powder

1 scant teaspoon baking soda

1 tablespoons salt

For the Filling:

2 cups melted butter

2 cups sugar

1/4 cup cinnamon

For the Icing:

1 bag powdered sugar

1 tablespoon maple flavoring (or vanilla extract)

1/2 cup milk

6 tablespoons melted butter

1/4 cup strong brewed coffee

a dash of salt

To make the dough:

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 both packages of active dry yeast. Let this sit for one minute. Add 8 cups of all-purpose flour. Stir mixture together. Cover and let rise at least 1 hour.

After rising for at least an hour, add additional cup of flour, 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, punching down as needed.)

When ready to make rolls:

Sprinkle rolling surface generously with flour. Take half the dough and form a rough rectangle. Roll the dough into a thin rectangle measuring approximately 30 x 10 inches. Drizzle 1/2 cup to 1 cup of melted butter over the dough. Sprinkle 1 cup of sugar over the butter followed by 1/8 cup of cinnamon.

Starting at the opposite end from you, 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.

At this point, you can place melted butter in a seven inch round foil or pie pan. Cut the rolls approximately 1 1/2 inch thick and lay them in the butter pans, being careful not to overcrowd. Repeat the process with the other half of the dough.

Let the rolls rise for 20 to 30 minutes, then bake at 375 degrees for 15 to 18 minutes, or until light golden brown.

To make the frosting:

While the rolls are baking, mix together powdered sugar, maple flavoring, milk, butter, coffee, and salt. Stir until smooth.

Generously drizzle over the warm rolls.

Source: The Pioneer Woman