cinnamon rolls

CINNAMON ROLLS

adapted from Ree Drummond, the Pioneer Woman.

Ingredients:

• 1 quart Whole Milk (4 cups milk)
• 1 cup Canola or Vegetable Oil
• ½ cup Sugar
• 2 packages Active Dry Yeast (or 4-1/2 teaspoon from jar)
• 8 cups (Plus 1 Cup extra, separated) All-purpose Flour
• 1 teaspoon (heaping) Baking Powder
• 1 teaspoon (scant) Baking Soda
• 1 Tablespoon (heaping) Salt
• ½ cup Melted Butter
• 2 cups Sugar (combine 1 cup brown, 1 cup white plus the cinnamon in a separate bowl)
• Generous Sprinkling Of Cinnamon (for sugar mixture)

Cream Cheese Icing:

• 1 package 8oz Cream Cheese – room temperature
• 3 cups Powdered Sugar (add more if mixture too runny – should be pourable, but still hold ontop of rolls)
• 1 stick (1/2 cup) Butter, Softened
• 1 cup Whole Milk
• 2½ teaspoons Vanilla Extract
• ¾ teaspoons Salt

1. 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 in both packages of Active Dry Yeast. Let this sit for a minute. Then add 8 cups of all-purpose flour. Stir mixture together. Cover and let rise for at least an hour. Note: I’ve done this by heating up just enough to lukewarm, did not scald and have to wait the cooling period…which saved a ton of time – saw no difference in the outcome.
2. After rising for at least an hour, add 1 more cup of flour mixed with the 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 – overnight or even a day or two, if necessary. Just keep your eye on it and if it starts to overflow out of the pan, just punch it down).
3. When ready to prepare rolls: Sprinkle rolling surface generously with flour. Take half the dough and form a rough rectangle. Then roll the dough thin, maintaining a general rectangular shape. Drizzle 1/2 to 1 cup melted butter over the dough. Now sprinkle sugar/cinnamon mixture over top.
4. Now, starting at the opposite end, 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.
5. Spread 1 tablespoon of melted butter in a seven inch round foil cake or pie pan. Then begin cutting the rolls approximately ¾ to 1 inch thick and laying them in the buttered pans.
6. Repeat this process with the other half of the dough. Let the rolls rise for 20 to 30 minutes, then bake at 375°F until light golden brown, about 15 to 18 minutes.
7. For the frosting, mix together all ingredients listed and stir well until smooth. It should be thick but pourable. Taste and adjust as needed. Generously drizzle over the warm rolls. Don’t skimp, and it’s okay to pour on straight out of oven.

Depending on how you cut it, this will makes about 4 round pans, or two 9×12″ rectangle pans. You can freeze at any point, before or after baking. Just make sure to let it proof 30 minutes once you take it out of the fridge. I even store the icing in smaller sandwich bags to drizzle on demand. Warning: storing these with icing in the freezer will result in tight fitting pants!