Cinnamon Rolls

One of the rocking rolls

I'm so glad that I've finally finished this. I've been watching laura vitale's video on how to make cinnamon rolls,  on and on, but I always ended up making another bread, considering that it seemed requiring quite some time to get done. But today I've got the whole afternoon doing nothing. Perfect time to make these rocking rolls.

Four missing holes already :D

The process indeed took quite a long time - had to wait for the dough to rise twice, before and after rolling it. But it is worth it! The cinnamon rolls is delicious. Next time I'm doing it again, one thing that I would change is the baking pan. I would just go with a wider pan, so the rolls would have wider spaces to rise.

Adapted from Laura's Vitales Recipe:

Ingredients

1 Package of Dry Yeast
¾ cup of Whole Milk
¼ cup of Granulated Sugar
¼ cup of Water, warmed up to 115 degrees
¼ tsp of Vanilla Extract
1 Egg
1 tsp of Salt
¼ cup of Unsalted Butter, melted
4 cups of All Purpose Flour
¼ cup of Melted Butter, to brush over the top before baking

For the filling,

1/3 cup of Unsalted Butter, at room temperature
¾ cup of Brown Sugar
¼ cup of Granulated Sugar
1 1/2 Tbsp of Ground Cinnamon

For the glaze,

¼ cup of Cream Cheese, at room temperature
1 Tbsp of Butter, at room temperature
1 1/4 cups of Powdered Sugar
½ tsp of Vanilla Extract
3 to 4 Tbsp of Warm Milk

I don't have the cream cheese, so I use this recipe for the glaze:

o    Icing sugar – 1 cup

o    Melted Butter – 2 tbsp

o    Vanilla essence – 1/4 tsp

o    Milk/Water – 3 tbsp 

Process,

1) In a small bowl, combine the warm water and 1 tsp of the granulated sugar, sprinkle the yeast over the top and let it sit for about 5 minutes.
2) In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with a dough hook, mix the egg, milk, salt, sugar and melted butter. Add 2 cups of the flour and the water, vanilla and yeast mixture, mix until its all incorporated and slowly add about 2 more cups of flour. Turn the speed up to medium and let it mix for about 5 to 7 minutes or until you have a smooth dough.
3) Oil a large bowl with some vegetable oil and set aside. Take the dough out of the mixer and pull it together with your hands to form a ball. Place it in the oiled bowl and oil the top of the dough with a little vegetable oil. Cover with plastic wrap and place it in a warm spot to rise for about 2 hours.
4) In a small bow, mix together the brown sugar, granulated sugar and cinnamon for the filling, set aside.
5) When doubled in size, punch the dough down and roll it out onto a floured surface into a 15x9” rectangle. Spread the soft butter over the top and sprinkle evenly over the sugar and cinnamon mixture. Cut into 14 to 16 slices (make sure they are even) and place them cut side down in a well buttered 9x13 baking pan. Cover with plastic wrap and let put them back into a warm spot to rise for another 1 ½ hours.
6) Meanwhile preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
7) Once risen, brush them with some melted butter and bake them for about 30 or until golden brown.
8) While the cinnamon rolls cool for a few minutes make the glaze. Mix all the ingredients of the glaze in a bowl except for the milk, once the cream cheese is all mixed, slowly add the milk until you get a runny glaze consistency. Immediately pour the glaze over the cinnamon rolls and enjoy!