Cinnamon Rolls

Oh my gosh, I don't know why but I never really wanted there to be such a large cap between my posts, and I'm so sorry, that I let all of you wait so long.

As a way to say sorry, I'm gonna share a recipe with you, with which you will fall in love immediately, I promise. 
I did as well as the rest of my family.

Cinnamon Rolls are a classic, and if done right are addictive. 
What, in my opinion, is one of the most important aspects of cinnamon roll making is a good yeast dough. When the dough isn't right, the rolls will be dry or boring and you will loose your enjoyment of this wonderful baked good.
A good cinnamon roll, can go a long way to make your day a bit better. There is so much goodness and joy in just one bite. So when you're feeling down, take some time to make these and you will feel better. Or make these for someone to make them feel better. 

Making cinnamon rolls isn't really a difficult task, but it'll take time. And you need to give the rolls the time. The more time the dough gets to make it rise, the better and fluffier the finished product will be.

So here is a little trick to give the dough the time it needs, but to also get it done as fast as possible.
Mix the dough the night before you want to bake them, and put it in the fridge. So it can rise overnight.
And it works. When I made cinnamon rolls I tested it. 
I made two batches of dough, one overnight and one the normal way, and surprisingly, the overnight ones were even better.

But what would cinnamon rolls be without the yummy filling that makes them perfect???? 
Make sure you use plenty of cinnamon, I mean, you can't go wrong with cinnamon.

For the best Cinnamon Rolls ever, ever, ever you'll need:

For the dough:
3 1/2 cups(420g) Flour
1/3 cup(75g) Sugar
1 Pack dry yeast
1 Tsp Salt
1-1/4 cup(240-300ml) lukewarm milk
1/3 cup(75g) Butter, melted
1 Tsp. Vanilla extract

For the filling:
3/4 cup(170g) brown Sugar
2-3 Tbsp. Cinnamon
1 stick(112g) Butter, softened

1. In a small saucepan, heat up the milk , add the vanilla extract.Melt the butter either in a small bowl in the microwave or also in a small pan. Set both aside for a few minutes.
In a large bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, salt and dry yeast. Set up a hand mixer with the dough hook. Add all of the butter, but only 1 cup of the milk at first, and start kneading it with the hand mixer, first on low speed then higher speed.
If the dough seems to dry add a bit more milk.
Knead for about 5 minutes on a flour covered countertop, until it is smooth and pliable.
Cover and set at a warm place for 1 hour.

2. When the dough has doubled in size, punch all the air out of it and knead again for a few minutes.
Dust your rolling pin and countertop with flour( don't be miserly with it, or the dough will stick to the surface) and start rolling out your dough. I won't give you measurements for this like other recipes do, but please make it a square.

3. Spread the butter generously over the surface of the dough( so that it is nice and buttery and yummy, and sprinkle the brown sugar- cinnamon mix over it, also generously. 

Roll the dough up, by starting at the longest side. Cut the roll into 2 inch/5 cm thick pieces.

Grease a casserole dish, and also sprinkle that with the sugar-cinnamon mix. It will caramelize and gives the bottom of the rolls a really nice caramel glaze.

4. Place the cinnamon roll pieces into the casserole dish and leave 2 thumbs wide space between each.

Again cover and place somewhere warm so that they can also double in size, for about half an hour.

5. Preheat oven to 350°F/180°C.

When the oven has reached its temperature, bake the cinnamon rolls for 30-40 minutes.

If you want to, you can make them even better and more sinful, by topping them off with a yummy frosting. 

For this you'll need:

1/4 cup(55g) Cream cheese, room temperature

1/4 cup(55g) Butter, softened

1/2 cup(60g) Powdered sugar

1 Tsp. milk

1. Mix together the butter and the cream cheese until combined. Add the powdered sugar and the milk and stir until everything is blended together and slightly soupy.

Spread the frosting over the still warm Cinnamon Rolls

Great now I'm getting hungry again, thanks to myself for that. Don't they look perfect???

Somebody just couldn't resist them and took a bite, hmm... who could have done this???

Just a little warning, those Cinnamon Rolls are no friends of your bikini body, so enjoy them in moderation.

Or use the time in between for a work-out, to burn the calories you'll gonna eat, because you WILL eat them, even if you don't want to.

Enjoy them and have a lovely weekend,

XOXO Owlicious ;)