Do I have your attention?
Last night’s baking fail was ultimately trumped by this afternoon’s success at making The Pioneer Woman’s Cinnamon Rolls!!! Like I said… Butter! Sugar! Cinnamon! Icing! Wheee! (clearly I’ve had too much of all of the above!)
This recipe is one of The Pioneer Woman’s classics, that she swears up and down by. I’ve been dying to give baking with yeast another try and this recipe seemed like the perfect one to do just that.
I started by scalding (heating until just barely boiling) milk, vegetable oil & sugar in a large saucepan.
Notice my first failed attempt at making this recipe in the background…
Mmm yeah… I…don’t know what happened…I just…AHH! They never rose!
Anyway, after the milk mixture scalds, let it cool down to a hot but not too hot temperature (real specific, huh?) then sprinkle in some yeast.
The yeast packet says to let the liquid cool down to 110 degrees before adding it, but other sources say add it at 140 degrees. My gut says add the yeast when the liquid is just a wee bit hotter than hot tub temperature.Â
I think that was the problem with my first batch – I was la-di-da’ing around the house and let the milk mixture get too cool – therefore the yeast couldn’t do its thang. Today I stayed on top of it and added my yeast at just the right time!
Let the yeast sit for a couple minutes, then add flour and stir to combine.
The dough needs to rise in a warm place for an hour at this point, so I put the saucepan on the stovetop with the oven set to 300 degrees. Perfectly toasty.
He is risen!
Next add more flour along with salt, baking soda and baking powder.
Combine, put a lid on the pan and pop it in the fridge. That’s also something I didn’t do the first time and the dough was just a hot mess. Refrigerating it made it SO much easier to roll out.
Which is what we do next! Flour a biiig board, or flat countertop if your home’s previous owners were smart enough to not install white tile countertops…
I rolled my dough to about 1/8 inch thick, but you can do go to whatever thickness you want. The recipe for these cinnamon rolls isn’t too precise, which I just love.
On goes the butter. Ohhh, the butter!!!!!
I think the PW herself said it best… “My approach is to add butter until I think there’s enough, then add more. If I roll up the long roll of dough and butter does not violently ooze out of it, I believe I have not used enough butter.” Amen! :D
Then a generous sprinkling of sugar,
and cinnamon.
Then we roll!
Tightly and towards you.
Pinch the seam to make sure none of that luscious, buttery-sweet filling escapes.
Finally, fill a glass with hot water and warm a knife in it. Cut the rolls 1 inch thick, dipping the knife in the water between each and every cut, wiping it off with a paper towel. Trust me – don’t try and skip the dunk, warm & wipe step!
Aren’t they puuuurty?!
Much better than the first time! :D
Throw the rolls back onto the stovetop with the oven turned to 300 degrees and let them rise for about another hour.
Then CLEAN! There’s going to be a lot of butter & sugar on your countertops. ;)
Success!
This time they friggin’ rose – thank Heavens!
A quick 13 minutes in a 350 degree oven, and, we’ve got cinnamon rolls!
Real, honest to goodness cinnamon rolls…in my kitchen!
Whip up some Maple Cinnamon Icing…
and you’ve got ICED Cinnamon Rolls!!!!
No words!
Flaky, indescribably (perfectly) sweet and cinnamony. GET YOUR MILK READY!!!!
Unraveled and eaten fresh out of the oven while pic messaging the good news to my husband.
He almost left work “sick”. ;)
Here’s the recipe – I quartered it and am going to freeze half the pan so I can enjoy these bad boys at a moment’s notice. MUWAHAHAHAHA!
Oh yeah – get your milk ready and also get a treadmill warmed up – I followed two of these up with a 5 mile jog. WORTH IT!
katielovespie 12.03.2010
I love PW’s cinnamon rolls.
My fave yeast recipe would have to be homemade soft pretzels, so amazing.
For your scalded milk temp, better to err on the side of cooler rather than hotter. Too hot of a temperature can kill the yeast. I once heard that the general rule was to stick your finger in it and the liquid should barely feel warm; the same temp as your finger. This is what I usually go by. Too cold doesn’t usually kill yeast, just makes it harder to “activate though I have made yeast doughs with water straight from the tap, I just turn the oven on to 200 degrees while making the dough, shut it off, then put the covered dough in there. Never had any issues.
Anyway, keep on trying with yeast and you will come to love it. Fresh baked bread is delicious!
LB 12.03.2010
A piece of thread works great for cutting the dough into rolls!
Vikki 12.03.2010
Those cinnamon rolls look delicious. Your mom’s neighbor is correct. We are getting dumped on here in MN! Tomorrow’s 5K Reindeer Run should be interesting!
Christina 12.03.2010
I love, love, love homemade cinnamon rolls. Here is a super easy way to cut the dough after you have rolled it, take a long piece of string put it under the dough roll, then cross the ends of the string and pull.It slices through like butter. A perfect cut every time.
dmcgirl 12.03.2010
One of these days I am going to head east and come to the mall of America~ What a destination!
The rolls look lovely!
BroccoliHut 12.03.2010
I am much more of a cook than a baker–I don’t like to measure ingredients, which is kind of crucial for baking.
Kristin 12.03.2010
Those cinnamon rolls look fabulous. That sucks that you had to cancel your trip but at least it is staying north of us :) We had more than enough snow last year.
I am definately a baker. I can cook but I love to bake. My grandma taught me to bake during my years in 4-H and the judges used to love my pies, bread, and jams.
Kristin from MN 12.03.2010
Holy freakin delicious! Those rolls look TDF. My son loves caramel rolls so maybe I will need to make ’em homemade for him! CrAzY! My hubs and I plan to go to MOA tomorrow too! We have about a 2-3 hour drive so we are going to decide in the morning. I guess the storm is done late tonight so I am hoping that by mid-morning we can hit the road. That sucks you had to cancel your trip. Are you going to reschedule? What are some of your favorite places to shop/eat in the twin cities?
Gretchen 12.03.2010
I make this exact recipe all the time! I made them with my students (I teach in alternative ed and have 3 middle school boys in my social studies class) for open house. No kidding Board members and the district superintendant came looking for my classroom because they heard about the “rolls”! A few admins and board memebers asked for the recipie. Good choice! Rock on!
Claire 12.03.2010
Oh my heavens… those look to DIE for. I may just make some this weekend! Thanks for sharing!
girliefriend 12.03.2010
If I have to choose one I guess it would be cooking, but honestly, I thinking it’s eating. :) I just got Ree’s cookbook from the library and really enjoyed it. Loved how she did process pictures for all the recipes, like you do, and there’s a picture of The Marlborough Man that made me melt. One of the best cookbooks I’ve seen lately. Happy shopping with Mom tomorrow!
Dream Mom 12.03.2010
The Pioneer Woman has some good recipes. I prefer cooking over baking, mainly because the sugar doesn’t make me feel very well. As for favorite yeast recipe, I make these hamburger buns from one of Lora Brody’s Bread Making Cookbooks. They are delicious-basically you mix the dough up in the bread machine, then take it out and it rises two more times. I brush the tops with an egg wash and then add flaxseed on top instead of sesame seeds. It’s really great.
You did a beautiful job on the cinnamon rolls! Working with yeast isn’t easy!
I make my own cinnamon rolls the night before Christmas-then bake them in the morning after the dough has risen.
FYI- Sandra Lee of the Food Network has an icing recipe that tastes almost exactly like Cinnabon’s icing.
Tracy 12.03.2010
These look absolutely DELICIOUS. I probably SHOULDN’T make them, but may make them at some point, because MMM~ :D
Caylie 12.03.2010
I read two blogs daily – yours and PW’s… And I made those cinnamon rolls last year, (my first attempt with yeast), and they were delicious!! I think I made it with a different icing though… Something with orange juice in it. But still, delicious!!
Glad your second attempt was a success!!
And that massive winter storm to your north – yeah, it’ll be hitting here sometime tomorrow… I suppose… it’s time for the first ‘sticking’ snow fall.
Jessica @ How Sweet It Is 12.03.2010
I can’t decide! I love both baking and cooking equally.
Amanda (Eating Up) 12.03.2010
I like baking better. I’ve been meaning to make a go at cinnamon rolls too. I need to study these yeast tips!
Liz @ Blog is the New Black 12.03.2010
I enjoy baking better than cooking! This recipe was my first attempt with yeast and although time consuming, so easy to make! And soooooo tasty. It made a boatload, so I froze half of the dough, plus one of the uneaten pans! But, I made them differently and I followed the instructed… I thought? I didn’t have to wait an hour for them to rise BEFORE putting the final product in the oven…? The two rises were before I even rolled them… no?
Sarah 12.03.2010
I’ve been wanting to try her recipe for awhile. I really should do it when I’m at home for Christmas break. Have fun shopping even if its just in town!
Paige 12.03.2010
I can’t remember whose blog I read it on (Joe and Betsy I think…) but apparently dental floss is a good way to cut the cinnamon rolls as well!
Estela @ Weekly Bite 12.03.2010
These look incredible! I’ve been dying to her recipe… but i know we’d eat the whole pan ;)