PERFECTLY GOOEY HOMEMADE CINNAMON ROLLS

Growing up, I remember my mom making cinnamon rolls every Christmas Eve night to have ready for Christmas morning. It was the best smell to wake up to, and she did all the work in advance to make life a little easier come Christmas morning.

Now, I have passed the tradition on for Thanksgiving morning and Christmas morning in my family. I only make them twice a year (three times if you count filming these bad boys for you all!), because I want them to stay special. Last year, we packed them up for the Thanksgiving Parade, and I will be dreaming of holidays past a lot this year.

Cinnamon rolls are super labor intensive, not going to lie. They aren’t hard at all, but just take a lot of work and lots of clean up. But that is why I love this recipe! You can make most of it in advance and just pop them in the oven when it is time for breakfast. Or snack. Or dessert. These work for all occasions.

You can easily double this, though I find it ends up being A LOT of dough to work with at once. The cinnamon rolls are such a great gift to drop off to friends and family, too!

This recipe is based on The Pioneer Woman’s Cinnamon Rolls recipe, just with a few tweaks and half the size.

GOOEY CINNAMON ROLLS

Makes 20 or so cinnamon rolls

INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups whole milk
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 packet (or 2 1/4 tsp) dry active yeast
• 4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 2 tsp kosher salt
• one stick very soft butter (not completely liquid
• 1 cup sugar
• lots of cinnamon
• 1 cup heavy cream

Depending on your preference, you can go with a regular icing drizzle (think what you do with canned cinnamon rolls) or a rich cream cheese frosting that is just the right amount of tangy.

Traditional Icing

• 1/2 cup of softened butter
• 3 cups powdered sugar
• 2 tsp vanilla
• pinch of salt
• 1-2 tbs whole milk

Cream Cheese Frosting

• 8 oz softened cream cheese
• 1/2 cup softened butter
• 2 tbs vanilla
• 4 cups powdered sugar
• pinch of salt

To make the dough, combine the milk, oil, and sugar over medium-low heat and stir until dissolved. Remove from heat and let cool for fifteen minutes or so before sprinkling in the yeast. Let the yeast “bloom” for five to ten minutes.

In the bowl of your electric mixer, add the flour to and milk mixture and stir with the paddle until just combined. Removed the paddle and cover with a damp dish towel or plastic wrap. Set aside for an hour to proof.

After the hour is up, add in baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Using the dough hook attachment, knead the dough for five minutes on medium speed, or ten minutes if kneading by hand.

Cover tightly with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for one hour, or up to three days. This helps the dough be more malleable and easy to roll.

To make the rolls, take the chilled dough and roll into a large rectangle onto a floured surface. Mine is usually roughly the size of a sheet pan. You want the dough to be relatively thin for maximum cinnamon gooeyness!

Once you have rolled the dough, it is time to make the cinnamon sugar butter. Combine the very soft butter and sugar. I find if the butter is too melted, it makes rolling up the dough incredibly difficult. You want it to be solid, but easily spread. Spread across the dough, using a spatula or your fingers. Next, sprinkle lots of cinnamon across the dough and the sugared butter.

Roll up the dough tightly. Go slow to keep all sides together. When you get to the end of the roll, pinch the seam to gently close the roll up. Turn the roll seam side down to be sure it doesn’t open up and unroll.

Using a sharp knife or unflavored dental floss, cut the cinnamon log into 20 ish cinnamon rolls.

Grease a baking pan with butter and add the cinnamon rolls. Cover lightly with a dishtowel or plastic wrap and let rise for 30-60 minutes. Alternatively, you can cover tightly and let rise overnight in the fridge to be baked in the morning.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Remove the towel or plastic wrap and pour heavy cream directly over the rolls. This makes the gooiest, softest, most decadent rolls. You can skip this step, but just trust me on this one.

Bake for 15-18 minutes, depending on your oven. Don’t over do it, as you want them to stay soft and gooey.

While your rolls are baking away, make the icing in the bowl of your stand mixer. Beat the butter until light and fluffy. Add in powdered sugar and vanilla and slowly stir to combine. Then beat until light, fluffy and smooth. Add in milk one tablespoon at a time to thin it out a bit. You should be able to pour it, but it shouldn’t be runny. Think thick cake batter.

Alternatively, you could just buy a can of white frosting, mix in a splash of vanilla and smear that over the top… I promise these rolls are so dang good no one will know or suspect. Making your holiday season bright one lazy step at a time!

Remove from pan. Let cool for five minutes before drizzling the icing over the top.

To freeze the rolls, place sliced cinnamon rolls onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Be sure to space them so they aren’t touching. Freeze for one to two hours, before transferring to an air tight container or zip top bag.

The day before you are ready to bake your cinnamon rolls, remove from freezer and place onto a greased baking tray. Cover with plastic wrap and let defrost in the fridge overnight. Bake following the rest of the instructions, including heavy cream.

Enjoy!