Hot Mess Kitchen

Talk about an adventure in cooking! This was no easy feat for me and I think will still take some practice. I decided that I wanted to try to make some cinnamon rolls that I could prep the night before and throw in the oven in the morning because this girl like to sleep in! However, it was such a challenge make sure my yeast was activated that it took 2 tries and the help of my beer brewing husband to help me get the yeast where I needed it to be. If you decide to take on this recipe, really make sure you read my notes and directions carefully and ensure that your yeast is fully activated. Anyway… here it is! They still tasted super yummy though!

Ingredients:

Filling:

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

3 tbsp cinnamon

1/3 cup butter, melted

Glaze:

3 tbsp butter, softened

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

2-3 tbsp whipping cream

Directions:

1. Start by getting your lukewarm water and adding a pinch of sugar to it. Sprinkle in your yeast and gently stir with your finger until dissolved. Let sit until it begins to bubble. **If your water is too hot, it will kill your yeast and it will not bubble.
2. In a separate bowl, add together your sugar, butter, salt, eggs, 4 cups of flour.
3. When yeast is bubbled and activated, add that in as well.
4. Add more flour depending on whether the dough is too sticky or not. You should mix until dough can be formed into a loose ball.
5. Place dough in an oiled bowl and rotate to cover all sides of dough with the oil. Cover and put in warm place to rise for 1 hour. Dough should be nearly doubled in size after the hour.
6. While dough is rising, mix together the brown sugar and cinnamon for your filling in a bowl and break of any clumps using your fingers. Set aside.
7. When dough has risen, roll out on a floured surface to be about a 12×16 rectangle and 1/4 inch thick.
8. Brush melted butter on top of the rolled out dough and try to get it to the very edge as best you can. It will seem like a lot of butter but just spread it around as evenly as possible because your filling will soak some of it up.
9. Evenly sprinkle your brown sugar and cinnamon mixture on top of the butter.
10. Gently roll your dough in starting on the long side until it is like a log.
11. To cut it without smashing your rolls use a string or floss. Make small indents on the top to divide the log into 9-12 rolls depending on what you have space for. I ended up having to do 10.
12. Wrap the string or floss around the log at each indent and pull to slice. Repeat until you have the desired number of rolls.
13. If you have 9 rolls, you’ll need to put them in a greased 8×8 pan or dish and if you have 12 rolls use a greased 9×13 pan or dish. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator overnight.
14. In the morning, remove pan from from fridge and let rolls sit on counter for 30 minutes and then I like to put them in my oven on 170 degrees Fahrenheit (lowest temp) for the other 30 minutes just to let them rise a little. After rising, pull rolls out of the oven.
15. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and bake from 35-45 minutes depending on how big your rolls are. They will be very golden on top.
16. While rolls are baking, make your icing. Mix together softened butter, vanilla, powdered sugar, and whipping cream until it is a nice smooth consistency. If it is not smooth enough, add a little more whipping cream.
17. Check roll doneness by cutting in to your middle roll to see if it is still doughy. I really struggled with this and kept having to put mine in which is why I have the time as 35-45 minutes.
18. When rolls are done, spread icing on top and serve! Enjoy!

Like I said before, this was very challenging for me and will definitely take some practice! If you try it and find something that works for you and makes it better, please share! This is a learning process for me and I will take any advice or suggestions that work for others!