Lazy Man's Cinnamon Rolls

Before you ask, no, there IS no ‘lazy man’. Just me and O2, a lazy Sunday morning and little motivation for spending 3 hours waiting for yeast cinnamon rolls to be completed. Not that they’re not totally worth the effort. If you have some time to spare, here’s a great recipe.

We did have another fabulous dinner Saturday night with G & C. More to come on that.

Meanwhile… On those days when O2 and I are in the mood for something sweet for breakfast (or breakfast at all, for that matter), this is my quick version of a cinnamon roll. It’s about a 20 minute project, start to finish, and bake time gives me just long enough to dash over and pick up my morning joe and Sunday paper.

See? Not all good things require an entire morning to prepare.

Quick Cinnamon Rolls

1 ¾ cup flour
2 Tbs baking powder
2 Tbs sugar
½ tsp salt
1 stick (8 Tbs) cold butter
¾ cup buttermilk

2 Tbs softened butter
2 Tbs brown sugar
1 Tbs sugar
½ tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp nutmeg

4 oz cream cheese, softened
2 Tbs powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 Tbs milk

Heat oven to 400º. In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt. Cut butter into small chunks and add to the bowl. Cut butter into flour with a pastry cutter until butter chunks are about the size of small peas. Add buttermilk and stir just until combined.

Turn mixture out onto a floured surface. Knead lightly 2 or 3 times until it comes together, then roll out into a rectangle, about 12” x 6” (roughly). Dough should be about 1/4” thick.

Spread the softened butter over entire surface of the dough, then sprinkle evenly with the sugars and spices. Beginning with one of the long sides, tightly roll up the dough and crimp to seal edges.

Cut log into 1 1/2” pieces and place on a cookie sheet, cut side up. Bake in preheated oven for 12 - 15 minutes, or just until browned.

While the rolls cool, combine the cream cheese and powdered sugar in a small bowl. Slowly incorporate vanilla and milk, adding more milk if necessary until mixture is of the desired consistency. Spread on warm cinnamon rolls.

Yep... More Bread

So, I tend to get on these kicks. I think it has a lot to do with an overblown sense of doing something until I get it right. And while my previous bread baking binge yielded some tasty loaves, I wasn’t particularly happy with how any of them LOOKED. Even the potato bread had this strange little hump to it.

Yeah, I know. I’m weird that way.

Anyway, Offspring 2 and I are off on another C & C Cooking Extravaganza. This one is even going to involve actual SCENERY. McKenzie River, here we come! Hopefully one of us will remember to snap photos!  :-))

And since we are also celebrating dual birthdays (mine and G’s), there will be cake. Several of them, I gather.

In preparation for the weekend ahead, I wanted to bring something that would stand in for breakfast, which neither O2 or I really eat. For me, an Eggo and my morning joe are about the norm. But I ran across this recipe and decided to give it a go. I will have to say that so far it gets the highest points for esthetically pleasing to look at. And it was tasty, too.

Well, you didn’t think I’d take it all the way down there to share with other people without TRYING it first, did you???

Cinnamon Swirl Bread
adapted from Closet Cooking

1 cup milk
1/3 cup butter
2 1/2 tsp active dry yeast
2 eggs
1/3 cup sugar
3-3 1/2 cups bread flour
1 tsp salt
2 Tbs butter, softened
1/3 cups sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
1 egg mixed with 1 Tbs milk

Heat milk and butter in a small saucepan over medium-low heat just until butter melts.  Remove from heat and allow to cool until it is lukewarm.  Mix in the yeast and let sit for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, mix the eggs and sugar in bowl of stand mixer.  Slowly add in milk.  Combine the flour and salt and beat half into the milk mixture on low speed until combined.  Using a dough hook, stir in the remaining flour until combined.

Turn dough out onto a floured surface.  Knead until smooth, adding more flour if it is too sticky.  Place the dough in a large greased bowl, cover and let it rise until it has doubled in size, about 2 hours.
Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and roll it out so that it is as wide as your baking pan and about 18 to 24 inches long.  Spread the butter over the dough.  Mix the sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle it evenly over dough.

Roll the dough up into a log (If you end up with dough that is wider than your pan, just tuck it under when you're ready to bake it.  It will work just fine; you just won't end up with a perfect spiral.  If that's important to you, pay more attention than I did!)

Place the dough into a greased loaf pan, cover and let it rise until it has doubled in size, about 2 hours.  Mix the egg and milk and brush it over the top of the loaf.  Bake in a preheated 350º oven until golden brown on top, about 30-40 minutes.