Cinnamon Rolls with Maple Icing

by Pioneer Woman
(click on all pictures to get a closer look at all this yumminess!!)

DOUGH

1 qt. whole milk

1 cup vegetable oil

1 cup sugar

4 1/2 tsps. (or 2 packets) active dry yeast

9 cups all-purpose flour

1 heaping tsp. baking powder

1 scant tsp. baking soda

1 tbsp. salt

FILLING

2 cups melted butter, plus more as needed

1/4 cup ground cinnamon for sprinkling

2 cups sugar, plus more as needed

MAPLE ICING

2 lbs. powdered sugar

1/2 cup whole milk

6 tbsps. (3/4 stick) butter, melted

1/4 cup strongly brewed coffee

Dash of salt

1 tbsp. maple flavoring or maple extract

For the dough, heat the milk, vegetable oil, and sugar in a medium saucepan over medium heat, do not allow the mixture to boil.  Set aside and cool to lukewarm.  Sprinkle the yeast on top and let it sit on the milk for 1 minute.

 Add 8 cups of flour.  Stir until just combined, cover with a clean kitchen towel, and set aside in a relatively warm place for 1 hour.

Remove the towel and add the baking powder, baking soda, salt, and the remaining 1 cup flour.  Stir throughly to combine.  Use the dough right away, or place in a mixing bowl and refrigerate for up to 3 days, punching down the dough if it rises to the top of the bowl.

To assemble the rolls, remove half the dough from the pan.  On a flowered baking surface, roll the dough into a large rectangle, about 30 x 10 inches.

To make the filling, pour 1 cup of the melted butter over the surface of the dough.  If you'd like, use your fingers to spread the butter evenly.  

Generously sprinkle half of the ground cinnamon and 1 cup of the sugar over the butter.  Use more of either if needed.

Now, beginning at the end farthest from you, roll the rectangle tightly toward you.  Use both hands and work slowly, being careful to keep the roll tight.  Don't worry if the filling oozes as you work; that just means the rolls are going to be divine.

When you reach the end, pinch the seam together.  When you're finished, you'll wind up with one long buttery, cinnamony, sugary, goeey log.  With a sharp knife, make 1 1/2 inches.  One log will produce 20 to 25 rolls.

  

Pour a couple of tablespoons of melted butter into the desired pie pans or baking dishes and swirl to coat.  Place the sliced rolls in the pans, being careful not to overcrowd.  (Repeat the rolling/sugar/butter process with the other half of the dough and more pans.  

Preheat, the oven to 375 degrees F.  Cover the pans with a kitchen towel and set a side to rise on the countertop for at least 20 minutes before baking.  Remove the towel and bake for 13 to minutes, until golden brown.  Don't allow the rolls to become overly brown.

  

While the rolls are baking, make the maple icing.

In a large bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, milk, butter, coffee, and salt.  Splash in the maple flavoring.

Whisk until very smooth.  Taste and add in more maple, sugar, butter, or other ingredients as needed until the icing reaches the desired consistency.  The icing should be thick but still pourable.

When the rolls come out of the oven, notice the gooey filling inside.  Mmmmm.  At this point, your kitchen is by far the best-smelling place on earth.

While the rolls are still warm (see main picture on top), generously drizzle icing over the top.  Be sure to get it all around the edges and over the top  As they sit, the rolls will absorb some of the icing's moisture and flavor.  they only get better with time. . . not that they last for more than a few seconds! 

VARIATIONS:

• Add finely chopped pecans to the rolls after sprinkling on the cinnamon and sugar.
• Substitute 8 tablespoons of orange marmalade and 1 cup brown sugar (per half batch of dough) for the cinnamon and white sugar, then substitute orange juice for the maple and coffee in the icing.

HELPFUL HINTS:

Cinnamon rolls can be frozen in the pan, unbaked.  Just cover them tightly with foil after you place them in the pan but before they rise.  Then, when you're ready to bake, allow them to thaw and rise before baking.  Ice as directed.

My Comments:

Ever since I got the Pioneer Woman's cookbook (it was a gift from Elise) and saw this recipe, I just couldn't wait to make these cinnamon rolls.  They were screaming out to me.  The recipe looked a little on the difficult side, but like I mentioned to my mother in law, Evelyn, working at a bakery taught me a lot so I knew it wouldn't be too difficult and it really wasn't.  Once I get the hang of it, I'll be able to bang these babies out in no time.  The only thing I would change is the amount of sugar I used.  I just think it was a little too much and I just don't like my mouth full of buttery sugar with hardly any dough, it all needs to be balanced between the dough, sugar, butter and cinnamon.  Other than that, I now know how to make those "Cinnabons" you find at the mall.  ~isavortheweekend

It's been another crazy football weekend.  The Flames won their 3rd conference game in a row.  After a sluggish start in the first half against Presbyterian, my stomach nerves were tamed by a much better, dominanating  2nd half finishing with a "W"!!  The Dallas Cowboys on the other hand, lost another one.  They had such great potential but they just got worse and worse as the season went by.  Losing Tony Romo wasn't in their plans and just made things sadly worse :(  Oh well, I still love my Cowboys and always will.  On the other hand, Redskins lost to Detroit (yay!!)  Detroit has been at the bottom for too long and they need these victories not only for themselves but also for the Detroit community what with the recession and all.  Way to go Lions!!  Patriots won and Favre got hurt, a slash on his chin that needed 10 stitches, I think that's what I heard.  He's one tough hombre, especially at his age (41).  Loved the weekend, today was Halloween, my little pumpkin (grandson) dressed up as a monkey and he looked sooooo adorable.  I love him so much.   It's late, there's much more to say but I just can't type anymore. ~isavortheweekend