The Birthday Gift that Keeps on Giving

…stomachaches. But only if you eat the whole pan.

Newt has been working on learning some adult skills. I think learning how to prepare food at home, from scratch, is a big part of being an adult.
I wish I had learned sooner.
Lucky for me, Newt agrees that kitchen time is important and is happy to be there working alongside me. We are both learning a lot.
That’s why we decided to make Walt homemade cinnamon rolls for his birthday.
However, we know at least two things:
1) Walt loves cinnamon rolls
2) Practice makes perfect
For these reasons, we decided one pan would not be enough. We enrolled Walt in our family’s Cinnamon Roll of the Month Club.
cinnamon roll of the month
Want to join the club at your house?
Here’s a Cinnamon Roll of the Month Club PDF. This one has the name section blank, so you can write one in.
And to make joining the club that much easier for you, I’ve got two more things to share.
First a tip. When you are slicing your cinnamon rolls, don’t use a knife. That just squishes them! Instead, use a bit of thread or unused unflavored dental floss.
Tie one end of the thread in each hand. Slide it under the roll. Cross hands, and pull. Like this:
IMG_4151
And now for a recipe. I wrote this recipe up for Newt, so it may be more detailed than you need. Then again, if you are anything like I was a year ago, you may appreciate all the details you can get!

Cinnamon Rolls
Author: 
Recipe type: Dessert
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 1 - 12
 
Gooey, buttery, deliciousness... If you eat the whole pan, you will feel sick. Don't say I didn't warn you!
Ingredients
  • 2 eggs, room temperature is best
  • ⅓ cup sugar
  • 1 cup milk, heated in microwave until the temp of a warm bath (about 110°)
  • ⅓ cup melted butter
  • 2½ tsp yeast
  • 4 cups bread flour
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 cup packed brown sugar
  • 2½ tablespoons of cinnamon
  • ⅓ cup softened butter
  • ½ cup of nuts (optional)
Instructions
  1. Crack eggs into a large bowl. Beat with a whisk. Add sugar and mix. Slowly add milk while mixing. Do the same with the butter. Mix in yeast. Add two cups of flour, mix well. Add salt, mix. Add in another 2 cups of flour. Turn out onto a clean and floured countertop. Knead in more flour until no longer sticky (about ½ cup). Kneed for about 5 – 10 minutes.
  2. Wash bowl with hot water. (This makes it nice and warm and will help your dough rise faster.) Dry and spray with oil. Put dough in bowl and cover with a clean towel. Let set in a warm area until double in size (this may take a couple of hours depending on room temperature).
  3. After rising, turn out onto a clean and floured counter top. Cover with towel and let rest 10 minutes.
  4. In the meantime, oil a 9 x 13 pan. Then get a small bowl and mix together brown sugar and
  5. cinnamon.
  6. Roll dough into a 16x21 inch rectangle. Spread dough with softened butter.
  7. Make sure you go all the way to the edges.
  8. Sprinkle cinnamon mixture over top.
  9. If desired, sprinkle with nus.
  10. Roll up from short side. Cut into 12 pieces and put into baking pan. Cover with towel and let rise for until nearly double (about half and hour). Preheat oven to 400°F.
  11. Bake rolls until golden brown, about 15 minutes. Frost while warm.
  12. Try not to eat the whole pan by yourself.
Notes
Frosting Options Cream Cheese Frosting 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened ¼ cup butter, softened 1 cup sifted confectioners' sugar ½ teaspoon vanilla extract In a medium bowl, cream together the cream cheese and butter until creamy. Mix in the vanilla, then gradually stir in the confectioners' sugar. Store in the refrigerator after use. Powdered Sugar Glaze 1¼ cups powdered sugar 3 tablespoons milk (more if needed) Mix milk into sugar. Add more milk, 1 tablespoon at a time, if needed to achieve desired consistency. Drizzle on desired product.

PS: Those of you who know me, know that white flour and white sugar don’t get to hang out in my kitchen all that often anymore. What can I say? Walt loves white; I love Walt. And it was his birthday. However, don’t think for a second that whole wheat won’t make an appearance over the next 12 batches. If you know a good recipe, put up a link in the comments, k?

2 Comments

  1. Love the idea! Love the post! Cinnamon rolls have always been a mystery to me — I’ve sampled so many bad homemade cinnamon rolls, I never saw the point. Recently, though, I’ve had some good ones. And my Brandon loves them. So maybe … 19th birthday, anyone?

    Reply
  2. my mother in law used to make the best cinnamon rolls wish I had her talent but now that i have your recipe I will give it another try come see me at http://shopannies.blogspot.com

    Reply

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