Cinnamon Rolls

I have seen this recipe on The Pioneer Woman Blog for a long time. I kept thinking they looked so delicious. But my fear of baking kept me from trying them. Well Mom and I were in a baking mood and we decided we were gonna make these no matter what! We are SO glad we did! They were really easy to make, and oh wow are they good. These are the best cinnamon rolls I have EVER had in my entire life. Not the best ones I've made, or the best home made.. the best EVER. So here is the recipe for Pioneer Woman's Cinnamon Rolls. There is also an Orange Marmalade version, which we also made and are also delicious! If you would like a better step by step with photos- please go check out her website! For that matter, you should go check it out anyway if you never have. It is amazing. Trust me!

Cinnamon Rolls

By: The Pioneer Woman

1 quart whole milk

1 cup vegetable oil

1 cup sugar

2 packages active dry yeast (0.25 ounce packets)

8 cups all-purpose flour (plus 1 cup extra, separated)

1 tsp (heaping) Baking Powder

1 tsp (scant) Baking Soda

1 T (heaping) Salt

Plenty of melted butter (as in 3 or 4 sticks..)

2 cups sugar

Generous sprinkling of cinnamon

Maple Frosting:

1 bag powdered sugar

2 tsp Maple Flavoring

½ cup milk

¼ cup melted butter

¼ cup brewed coffee

1/8 tsp salt

Mix the milk, 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 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.

After rising for at least an hour, add 1 more cup of flour, 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 2, if necessary. Just keep your eye on it and if it starts to overflow out of the pan, just punch it down.)

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 ½ cup to 1 cup melted butter over the dough. Now sprinkle 1 cup of sugar over the butter followed by a generous sprinkling of cinnamon.

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.

Spread 1 T of melted butter in a seven inch round foil cake or pie pan. Then begin cutting the rolls approximately ¾ inch to 1 inch thick and laying them in the buttered pans.

Repeat this process with the other half of the dough. Let the rolls rise for 20 to 30 minutes, then bake at 375 until light golden brown, about 15 to 18 minutes.

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. Go crazy and don't skimp on the frosting.

Note: My rolls don't work at 400 degrees anymore, I now bake them at 375 degrees.  

NOTE: We could not find pans with straight sides, so we used regular pie pans. After the rolls baked we pinched the sides upward to make a lip around the pan and that made it easier to get some icing around the edges. 

This is how ours came out. We made both cinnamon rolls and orange marmalade rolls. They are both delicious!