Cinnamon Rolls

Ree Drummond aka Pioneer Woman, have I told you lately that I love you?? These cinnamon rolls changed my life. This is a half recipe because the original recipe makes about 50 cinnamon rolls. I timed myself start to finish as about 3 hours but there is an option to stop at about the halfway mark and refrigerate the dough. I think next time I will start the process on a Friday night and then finish the process Saturday morning. Enjoy!

Ingredients: 

Dough: 

2 cups milk 

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup sugar

2 1/4 tsp dry active yeast

4 cups all purpose flour plus 1/2 cup separated

1/2 teaspoon (heaping) Baking Powder

1/2 teaspoon (scant) Baking Soda

1/2 Tablespoon (heaping) Salt

2 sticks melted slightly cooled butter plus 1 stick for frosting and pan

1 cup Sugar or more 

Generous Sprinkling Of Cinnamon

Heat first three ingredients on stove at medium heat until scald (just before it boils), then pour into a separate bowl and allow to cool about 30 minutes. Check the temperature with a thermometer. Once the temp reaches 110 degrees or less (any hotter will kill the yeast) add 2 1/4 tsp dry active yeast. Stir and then allow to sit for 5 mins.  Then add 4 cups flour and stir well with wooden spoon to combine. Cover with towel and leave to rise for 1 hour. After one hour add the additional 1/2 cup of flour and the baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir well. Kneed a little until all is combined. Then cut dough on half.  Roll out into rectangle about 10x 13 inches. Pour about half the butter over the dough and spread to cover all of the dough. Sprinkle with 1/2 of the sugar and a generous sprinkling of cinnamon. Roll as tightly possible. pressing the seam. Roll log so that the seam side is down and with sharp knife cut into slices about 1 1/2 inches wide. Grease 3-4 round cake pans or 2 rectangular cake pans with butter. Place rolls in pan being careful not to over crowd since they will rise again. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cover pans with Saran Wrap and allow to rise for another thirty minutes. Then bake for about 18 minutes. Make your frosting while they are baking so that it is ready to pour on when they come out of the oven. Do not let them over brown.  

Frosting:

3-4 cups powdered sugar

1/4 cup milk

1/4 cup melted butter

1/8 cup brewed coffee

1 tsp maple flavoring

Small pinch of salt

Mix vigorously with whisk. Adjust amounts to taste. I added an extra splash of butter and about a tablespoon of maple syrup. Frosting should be thick, but pourable. Pour immediately over rolls after removed from oven. I let them sit a about twenty minutes; that was all I could stand before digging in.