The Quintessential Cinnamon Rolls from King Arthur Flour

For most of my childhood, I admit that I loved baking those cinnamon rolls that come in a cardboard tube.  You know...the one with pudgy dough boy on the label.  As a young and aspiring baker, I'd unroll that tube, searching for that prized frosting.  Of course, I had to dip my fingers to grab a sneak preview of that sugary goodness.  Heaven! As a skinny kid, I could eat almost eat a whole pan of these. Only, I have two brothers who are older and bigger than their one and only sister--so I never got a chance to test that theory.

Fast forward to the new Debby-- the revamped "new and improved home cook and baker", who is on a mission to make all things from scratch.  Only, I'd never made a yeast version of cinnamon rolls from scratch!   I did some recipe researched and I decided to try  King Arthur Flour's Cinnamon Rolls recipe.  I'm a huge fan of King Arthur Flour products, and my pantry has an impressive array of products I've ordered from their internet site. 

Behold-- Baker's Cinnamon Filling and Easy Roll Dough Improver, which you can order from their website. I've used the dough improver with all of my recent yeast roll recipes, and I do think it helps to make dough a lot easier to work with.  I had never used the cinnamon filling, so come along and I'll share with you some tips and tricks to make this surprisingly user-friendly recipe:

(The printable recipe is at the very bottom of this post.)  I use instant yeast so that I don't have to mix it with water and sugar and wait for 15 minutes. You can use regular yeast, and my recipe card will give you  both options. My Kitchen Aid Stand mixer does all the hard work, combining flour, sugar, dry milk, butter and mashed potato flakes, for about 7 minutes. TIP: I preheat my oven on WARM for a few minutes, then turn it off. 
Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl. Cover the bowl, and allow the dough to rise, at room temperature, till it’s nearly doubled in bulk, about 1 to 2 hours. Rising may take longer, especially if you’ve kneaded by hand. Give it enough time to become quite puffy.

My pre-warmed oven doubles the dough in one hour!  

I mixed water with the cinnamon filling, per the package instructions. I'm loving the consistency. Otherwise, mix cinnamon and sugar; brush the dough with milk and sprinkle your cinnamon/sugar mixture. The milk helps it to stick. 

I'm smiling as this lovely filling "schmears" right onto the dough, that I've rolled out to measure 16 x 12". I like it!  I then roll the dough into a log the long way; stretching it to about 20” long asI roll.. Here's a tip from King Arthur that worked great.... use unflavored dental floss (unused, of course...like I need to say that??)

The floss cuts through the dough, without smashing each piece. Brilliant! Otherwise, in order to cut down on drag, it helps to rinse the blade in hot water, and wipe it off, between slices. Floss is way easier, believe me.

I am using a cake pan, that I've lined with parchment paper. King Arthur Flour sells pre-cut parchment paper for both 8" and 9" pans. I love them and use them often, because they make my life easier. Otherwise, grease the pans well, if you don't use parchment paper.

I yielded two pans of rolls. Back into the cozy oven (heat turned off) they go for less than an hour...

Pretty!

These are ready for a 375F oven, for about 20 minutes. 

So, now, it's time to make the frosting.  I'm using confectioner's sugar, clear vanilla (regular is fine) and heavy cream. 

Mix until smooth.

I'm sure you can imagine the wonderful aroma of cinnamon that is wafting from the oven....

I'm in-love with the cinnamon filling. Regular sugar and cinnamon wouldn't be this silky smooth.... here's my technique for removing baked products from a cake pan:

First, loosen the edges with a smooth knife (I have a silicone one that won't scratch my pans).  This giant spatula is made by Wilton. I found mine at a Michael's Craft Store, but KAF also sells them.  I really like this spatula for moving cakes, with less risk of breaking them. I place the spatula on top, and safely invert the cinnamon rolls. The parchment paper is easily removed and then I gently flip the rolls back and onto a cooling rack.  Easy!  WARNING:  Food porn is about to be shown...

We add the frosting...

Oh my... it's melting...

Pure evil...pure food lust... we're going in!

Help me...

Wait... I must take a bite!

Those Cinnamon Bun mall stores have competition. Seriously, these are a-m-a-z-i-n-g.  The are tender. They are sweet. The cinnamon filling is better than any sugar/cinnamon combo I've made before.  King Arthur flour has delivered another great recipe.

NOTE:  I am not paid by King Arthur Flour to promote their products. I wish. In fact, I have paid for every one of these products, myself.  I am sharing my tips and ingredients from KAF, simply because I think they are terrific!  If you are interesting in trying those which I have mentioned, simply click on the name of the product and you will be linked to where to buy it.  

I only baked one pan of these cinnamon rolls. The second pan, I kept refrigerated. The next day, I brought them to room temperature and then baked them until golden brown. 

 

...and they were good!

I will try the Pioneer Woman's Signature Cinnamon Rolls, one of these days.  Because I've just seen her version on so many blogs,  I wanted to try different recipe source.  I'm glad that I did. I'll be making these again, and won't eat the whole pan. I'm no longer that young skinny girl. My son is young, thin and can eat. He polished off the pan, and didn't gain an ounce.  How unfair is that?!
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Baked with love,