No Yeast Required Cinnamon Rolls

I have to forewarn you that I’m dedicating a fairly large portion of this post to one of the most fantastic things I’ve baked up in a long time, mmkay? But first…

Things are looking up today. WAY up. On Friday the 13th, no less! Got up and cleaned the house, room by room (tidy, dust, vacuum, repeat!) then crushed this monster to-do list in an hour and a half, as every place I had to visit was within a 2 mile radius of each other. Sweet!

Highlights include stocking up on summer-shade (summer!) foundation & powder at Sephora in the mall, then stumbling upon a 2-hour, 40%-off sale at Banana Republic, where I hooked Ben up with oodles of shirts for $90 less than I would have paid for them without the sale – FTW!

Then it got good. I mean, real good. I came home and spent the grey & drizzly afternoon whipping up a recipe from In Jennie’s Kitchen that’s been burning a hole in my back pocket for a few weeks now – dense, gooey, mouth-watering no yeast required cinnamon rolls!

OH.MA.GAH. I am dying over this recipe! See, I’ve baked with yeast several times in the past year, and the recipes have turned out well, more or less, but sometimes I just don’t have the time or patience to deal with it, ya’ know?

Homemade cinnamon rolls without the hassle of making sure the milk’s the right temperature? The yeast is activating? The dough has doubled in size?

They exists, my friends. They exist! And here’s how you make ’em: Start by combining the cinnamon roll filling ingredients: brown sugar, granulated sugar, cinnamon, salt & butter.

Mix it up.

In a separate, larger bowl, combine flour, more sugar & salt, plus the leavening agents that let us ditch that pesky yeast.

Baking powder and baking soda. Booyah.

Whisk together more butter with buttermilk, then pour the mixture into the dry ingredients.

Stir with a stiff spoon or spatula juuuuuust until the dough comes together. If you over-mix, you will have hard cinnamon rolls. Then, to quote Dave & Sarah, everyone will laugh at you. And we can’t have that.

Gently kneed the dough into a ball, then divide into two halves.

Turn each half onto a flat, floured surface, then press on half the filling mixture.

Roll the dough up like a log, then pinch the top seam shut. This is the part where I noticed the biggest difference between a yeast-required vs. non-yeast-required cinnamon roll dough. This dough is MUCH easier to handle. Not as sticky, and more firm.

Slice, slice, baby!

Oh yeah!

The recipe says to place the cinnamon rolls into a greased 11×8″ pan. I seemed to have misplaced mine sometime in the last month, so I spit the rolls between 8×8″ and 6×4″ pans. MAKE SURE YOU GREASE THEM FIRST! If you don’t, you’ll be sorry! Now pop those puppies in a piping hot oven.

In the quick 15 minutes they take to bake, whip up some cream cheese icing.

Mash together powdered sugar and cream cheese with a fork, then drizzle in buttermilk and whisk until smooth.

Next take those GORGEOUS, bubbly, golden-brown rolls out of the oven, (ahhh!)

and pretend you live in a world where Grandmas still place hot pies on their windowsills to cool. Place yours on a wooden stool in front of the open back-porch door instead…

Then breeeeeathe in the Heavenly, sweet aroma that’s swirling around your kitchen.

Now ice, ice,

BABY!

No Yeast Required Cinnamon Rolls

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vegetarian

5

5/5 (13 REVIEWS)

Description

No Yeast Required Cinnamon Rolls are pillowy and sweet, and require no yeast to make them! 

Ingredients

Makes 16 rolls

• For the Cinnamon Filling:
  • 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 Tablespoon cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2 Tablespoons butter, melted
• For the Cinnamon Roll Dough:
  • 2-1/2 cups all purpose flour, plus more for rolling out dough
  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup buttermilk
  • 5 Tablespoons butter, melted and divided
• For the Icing:
  • 3oz cream cheese, softened
  • 4 Tablespoons buttermilk
  • 1 cup powdered sugar

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425. Combine filling ingredients in a small bowl, then mix with a fork until well blended.
2. In a another, larger bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Whisk together buttermilk and 4 Tablespoons melted butter in a separate bowl, then pour into the middle of the dry ingredients. Stir together until dough just comes together (do not overmix.) Kneed slightly with your hands until the dough forms into a ball, then slice it in half.
3. On a lightly floured surface, roll each half into a 12x8" rectangle (think slightly longer than a sheet of paper.) Press half the filling mixture into the center, leaving 1/4" of the dough clear on all 4 sides, then roll like a sausage. Pinch together seam, trim ends and cut into 8 slices. Repeat with the other dough half, then place rolls in a non-stick sprayed 11x8" pan, or an 8x8 and 6x4" pan. Brush cinnamon rolls with remaining Tablespoon of melted butter and bake for 15 minutes, or until tops are golden brown.
4. Meanwhile, to make the icing, mash together softened cream cheese and powdered sugar with a fork until smooth. Whisk in buttermilk, 1 Tablespoon at a time, until creamy. Drizzle onto hot cinnamon rolls and spread evenly.

Notes

From In Jennie's Kitchen

This recipe is courtesy of Iowa Girl Eats, http://iowagirleats.com.

I can’t remember the last time I was this excited about a recipe! I just can’t get over how much easier these were than cinnamon rolls made with yeast-required dough. So rich and scrumptious too!

Here are the differences between yeast-required & no yeast-required cinnamon rolls, in my experience/opinion:

• No yeast dough is much more firm and cooperative than sticky, yeast-required dough – which makes it much easier to handle, roll out and cut.
• The texture of a baked no yeast roll is more dense than a yeast-required roll. Not better or worse, just different. Allllmost like a heavy pancake?!
• I saved HOURS in the kitchen by ditching the yeast!

Ok, ok – bakers – please don’t get angry with me. There is definitely something to be said about baking with yeast. It’s very rewarding, and I’m not giving it up for good (I still need to try and make homemade bread!) it’s just that – if you don’t have a machine or anything, it takes time.

So if you get a craving for warm, fresh cinnamon rolls that needs to be squashed NOW, then you need to make these!

~~~~~

Do you prefer to cook or bake (or just eat!)?

I think I get more tickled about baking – as in seeing something look one way when it goes into the oven and seeing it transformed into something completely different when it comes out – but I love the fun of being able to throw this, that and the other into a pan without having to measure, and calling it dinner!