Cinnamon Rolls

 cinnamon rolls ready for the oven

Finished rolls (pictures of different batches shown)

These mouthwatering cinnamon rolls have been a family staple for years.  My wife received a KitchenAid mixer for the holidays (Thanks Mikayla) and I thought it would be fun to try it out on my old Sunset recipe.  I was very pleasantly surprised by how much physical labor was eliminated by using the mixer.  The three or four minutes of cleanup was a great trade for the manual kneading.  The rolls turned out very fluffy and it only took about 6 minutes on the dough hook instead of about 10-20 minutes of intensive kneading.  This recipe is adapted from my worn and very tattered Sunset Cook Book of Breads, 1980, sadly now out of print, however many used copies are available at booksellers.

Cinnamon Rolls

2/3 cup of milk

1 3/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup water (around 110 degrees)

5-6 cups of flour

2 eggs yolks (reserve 1 egg white)

1/4 cup butter melted

1 Tablespoon cinnamon

1 cup currants (or raisins)

Powdered sugar glaze recipe follows

In the KitchenAid bowl with mixing paddle attached add 4 1/2 teaspoons of instant Red Star Yeast (or two yeast packets) to 1/2 cup of water heated to 110 degrees.  Mix well. ( I turned on the mixer and left it running on low speed while heating the milk and sugar. In a small saucepan combine milk, 3/4 cup of sugar, salt and the 1/2 cup of sliced butter.  Heat while stirring until it reaches 110 degrees the butter does not need to melt.  Add the warm milk/sugar/salt/butter mixture to the yeast in the mixing bowl.  Gradually add 2 1/2 cups of flour while beating for 3-4 minutes on medium low speed.   Add egg yolks mix well, then attach dough hook and gradually add 2 -3 cups of flour.  Knead for about 5-6 minutes until dough is smooth and elastic. Place dough in a lightly buttered bowl, cover with a towel and let rise for 2 hours.  

Push down dough to release air.  On a lightly floured surface knead dough briefly then allow to rest for 10 minutes.  Roll and stretch dough into an 18x24 rectangle then brush with the 1/4 cup melted butter.  Mix cinnamon and sugar then evenly spread the mixture over the entire rectangle, sprinkle with the currants or raisins.  Starting on the short side, roll the dough into a tight log.  Brush the long edge with water and pinch to seal.   My sister-in-law uses dental floss to cut the log into individual rolls.  I've always used a sharp knife with a gentle sawing motion to slice through the long pastry log.  Cut the log into 8 or 10 pieces, place on a cookie sheet cover with a towel and let rise for 90 minutes or until the rolls have almost doubled.  Brush the rolls with reserved egg white beaten with 1 teaspoon of water.  Bake at 350 degrees for 20-35 minutes or until rolls are a deep golden brown.    Transfer to cooling rack and mix up glaze.

Powdered Sugar Glaze

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1 Tablespoon room temperature butter

1/8 teaspoon vanilla

2-3 tablespoons of butter

Drizzle the warm rolls with the powdered sugar glaze and serve at once.  The rolls reputedly stay fresh a couple of days if wrapped in plastic.  Ours never last that long. 

Cinnamon rolls after glazing