Full Moon Recipe for June: Giant Cinnamon Rolls

It’s time for another recipe! First, the recipe. Then, me blathering onward about my occasionally questionable culinary capabilities and the memories this particular treat holds for me.

• The Ingredients
  • The Roll Dough
    • 2 1/4 teaspoon active dry yeast (instant works, but active dry yields more consistent results)
    • 1 cup warm milk
    • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
    • 1/4 cup granulated white sugar
    • 1/4 cup light brown sugar
    • 1/3 cup unsalted butter, softened
    • 1 teaspoon salt
    • 2 large eggs
    • 4 cups all purpose flour
    • 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon (Saigon or Ceylon, I prefer Saigon but that’s for ease of finding it)
  • The Filling
    • 1 cup dark brown sugar, well packed
    • 3 tablespoons cinnamon (again, Saigon or Ceylon, but I recommend Ceylon because of the amount)
    • 1 tablespoon white sugar
    • pinch of ground cloves
    • pinch of ground nutmeg
    • 1/3 cup unsalted butter, softened
  • The Icing
    • 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
    • 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
    • 1/4 cup cream cheese, room temperature
    • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
    • 1/8 teaspoon salt
• The Way of Preparing
  • Note: This is best made with a stand mixer, as there is the availability of a dough hook.
  1. To start, warm the milk until just past skin temperature,98-105°F. Dissolve the active dry yeast with a teaspoon of white sugar in a small bowl.
  2. Let the yeast bloom for about five minutes; it should froth up like the head of a root beer float.
  3. In the largest bowl of your stand mixer, mix together the sugars, salt, eggs, butter, and flour all at once.
  4. Pour the yeasted milk over this mixture and, using the dough hook, mix well until the dough comes away cleanly from the side of the bowl, about five minutes.
  5. Oil a large bowl and turn the dough out into it. Cover and let rise in a warm spot in the kitchen for about an hour or until doubled in size.
  6. Mix together the dark brown sugar, white sugar, and cinnamon in a small bowl.
  7. Preheat the oven to 350°F, 117°C, gas mark 4. Prepare a nine by thirteen inch baking dish with cooking spray.
  8. On a clean countertop, roll out the dough to about a 1/4 inch thickness, 16 inches long by 12 inches wide.
  9. Spread the softened butter across the rolled out dough. Sprinkle the sugar/spice mixture evenly over the surface of the dough.
  10. Working along the long side, tightly roll up the dough to the far edge.
  11. Cut the tough into 2 inch slices and place on the prepared pan. Cover with a kitchen towel and allow them to rise for half an hour or until doubled in size.
  12. Bake for 20 – 25 minutes or until the rolls are golden brown.
  13. While the rolls are baking, whisk together all ingredients of the icing until fluffy and smooth. If your frosting is too stiff, add a tablespoon of heavy cream. Ice rolls a few minutes out of the oven, still warm but less likely to make the icing melt off entirely.
• Notes
  • How to make it a little different: make them orange spice rolls: add a teaspoon of orange extract to the dough and a tablespoon of orange zest to both the icing and the filling.

Memories

I used to make these back in college. They were infamous for their size, as I was always a bit lackadaisical in measuring the exact size and instead just aimed to make a half dozen rolls so they ended up about two and a half inches thick when cut.

I’d have these fresh from the oven after finals, as a reward. They’re easy to freeze, too. Not so much for cakes and ale, but they can be great for an after-sabbat treat.

Happy baking!