Homemade Cinnamon Rolls

I recently purchased the Betty Crocker's Picture Cookbook facsimile edition. It's basically a reprint of the 1950 edition of the book. No updates, no changes, no contemporary recipes. The cookbook as it was back in 1950. I love reading all of the recipes and the section openers. Oh how cooking and eating has changed over the years. One of the sections features Breads and has various sweet breads including Cinnamon Rolls. I decided to make homemade cinnamon rolls with yeast and everything because I've never made them from scratch before. I was inspired by the picture cook book but ended up using the more contemporary version I found on the Betty Crocker website instead.

They came out pretty well. I love to improvise with recipes and for this one I really tried to stick to the recipe. The Betty Crocker recipe included tips for making this a day in advanced. I followed those instructions to a T. The one part I kind of skipped was the kneading. It said to knead the dough in flour for 5 minutes. I ended up kneading it for less than 30 seconds. Oops! They came out a bit flat and I'm sure it was because I didn't knead it enough. Oh well. I did everything else correctly and they tasted just fine. I included raisins and the original picture cook book suggested chopped nuts which I might do next time. Carlos and I had hot cinnamon rolls for Sunday Brunch with some scrambled eggs and iced tea. It was glorious. It's worth taking the time to make these from scratch. All the hard work is very rewarding when you get to eat the result.

Ingredients:

2 cups of all-purpose flour plus more for kneading and dusting

1/3 cup of sugar

2 packets of active dry yeast

a sprinkle of salt

1 cup of milk (I used almond milk)

1/2 stick of butter, partially melted

1 egg

baking spray

1/2 stick of butter, melted

1/2 cup of sugar

2 tsps of cinnamon

1/2 cup of raisins

1 cup of powdered sugar

2 tbsps of milk (I used almond milk)

1 tsp vanilla

1 tbsps of partially melted butter

Mix the flour, sugar, yeast and salt in a bowl. Heat the milk until just before it becomes scalding. It should be very warm to the touch. Add the milk, butter and egg and mix in the dry ingredients. Beat with a handheld mixer for a minute, scrape the sides and beat for another minute. 

Place the dough on a floured surface and knead by hand for 5 minutes. Grease a large bowl with baking spray, add the dough, spray a bit more on the dough and cover the bowl loosely with plastic wrap. Let rise for 1-1/2 hours.

In a small bowl, mix the 1/2 cup sugar and the cinnamon. Melt the butter separately.

Take the dough and add it to a floured surface. I use sheets of waxpaper to protect my countertop.  Roll out the dough into a 15" x 10" rectangle. Measure it and make sure the dough is evenly distributed. Take the melted butter and brush it all over the surface. Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar over the top evenly. Then sprinkle the raisins over the top. Roll tightly and carefully from the long side up. Cut into 12 slices about 1-inch each. Use a serrated knife. 

Take a large baking dish and add the 12 cinnamon rolls making sure there is space in between each.

If you make this ahead, put the baking dish in the fridge overnight. Just make sure it's covered with plastic wrap. Let sit out for a couple hours before baking in the morning.

If you make this right away, let it rise for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350. Bake cinnamon rolls for 30-35 minutes. While the rolls are baking, add the powdered sugar, butter, milk and vanilla to a small bowl and mix. Remove the baked cinnamon rolls from the pan and let cool for a few minutes. Drizzle the glaze over the top. Eat while warm and enjoy!