Its a Wintry Day in March, Time for Something Warm and Filling
I hope your new year’s resolutions for dieting and what not is going well and paying off. Here in Colorado its quite cold today and I started to think about warm and filling things that make me feel warm inside. This naturally turned to my two favorite things, soups, sandwiches and pastries. I went to cooking school for 2 years with an emphasis in pastries and I love baking and the whole pastry process. The delicacy of a dough, the rising process, and all the different fillings and toppings that can go in and on a pastry are mind boggling. My favorite pastries are the ones that are light and fluffy and yet rich with flavor. Thats why I thought this cold day would be a great time to talk about cinnamon rolls.
Cameron’s Cinnamon Rolls (very close to the cinnabon recipe, so you know they are good!)
1 (1/4 ounce) package dry yeast
1 cup warm milk
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup margarine
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
4 cups flour
FILLING
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 1/2 tablespoons cinnamon
1/3 cup margarine, softened
ICING
8 tablespoons margarine
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup cream cheese
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/8 teaspoon salt
For the rolls:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees and dissolve the yeast in the warm milk in a large bowl.
Combine sugar, margarine salt, eggs, and flour, mix well. Add to dissolved yeast mixture.
Knead the dough into a large ball and using your hands dusted lightly with flour.
Put in a bowl, cover and let rise in a warm place about 1 hour or until the dough has doubled in size.
Roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface, until it is approx 21 inches long by 16 inches wide.
It should be approx 1/4 thick.
Filling:
To make filling, combine the brown sugar and cinnamon in a bowl.
Spread the softened margarine over the surface of the dough, then sprinkle the brown sugar and cinnamon evenly over the surface.
Working carefully, from the long edge, roll the dough down to the bottom edge.
Cut the dough into 1 3/4 inch slices, and place in a lightly greased baking pan.
Bake for 10 minutes or until light golden brown.
Icing:
Combine the icing ingredients. Beat well with an electric mixer until fluffy.
Spread icing over rolls. Serve very warm!
