Sunday, May 30, 2010

Overnight Cinnamon Rolls

Holy goodness. These are to die for. I made a project for myself this year of mastering baking with yeast. I have never had much luck with it, but I've always wanted to be able to make my own bread, pizza, and yes, cinnamon rolls. I tried some pizza last week, and since it was successful I thought I could move on to cinnamon rolls. I was absolutely thrilled when they started to rise! This is what they looked like before going into the refrigerator the night before.
I got up a little bit early to take them out of the refrigerator, and then we baked them before going off to the Memorial Day parade in town. They were simply gorgeous.
And delicious. I fully intended to take pictures of individual cinnamon rolls and us eating them, but once I took a bite, I couldn't will myself to stop. They were soft, warm, and the vanilla glaze was wonderful. The only thing I might have done differently is to make a double batch of the glaze. They are slightly time consuming, but the good part is that all of the work (except the glaze) is done the night before, leaving you to a leisurely morning smelling cinnamon rolls in the oven. This book has become one of my very favorites. Enjoy!

Overnight Cinnamon Rolls
from Family Meals: Creating Traditions in the Kitchen by Maria Helm Sinskey

For the dough:
1 tablespoon active dry yeast
1/2 cup warm water (105 degrees)
4 1/2 cups flour
4 eggs
1/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
1/2 cup sugar mixed with 1 tablespoon cinnamon

For the Vanilla Glaze:
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2 tablespoons whole milk
1 teaspoon vanilla

To make the dough, in the bowl of a stand mixer, sprinkle the yeast over the water, allow to bloom for a few minutes, then whisk until smooth. Whisk in 1/2 cup of the flour. Cover with plastic wrap and let stand in a warm spot, about 30 minutes.
Add the eggs, sugar, salt and remaining 4 cups flour to the yeast mixture. Fit the mixer with the dough hook and knead on medium speed until smooth, 3-4 minutes. Add the room temperature butter and continue to knead, adding a little flour to reduce stickiness if needed (I added quite a bit), until the dough is smooth, 10-12 minutes. Cover with plastic wrap, and let rise until doubled, about 2 hours.
Butter a 9x13 baking dish. Transfer the dough to a floured work surface. roll out into a 15x10-inch rectangle. Brush the rectangle with half of the melted butter, leaving a 2-inch wide strip uncovered on one long side. Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar over the butter. Starting at the long side covered with sugar, roll up the rectangle snugly and pinch the seam together. With the seam facing down, cut into 10 equal pieces. Place the pieces, cut side up, in the dish. Brush with the remaining butter. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in the refrigerator overnight.
The next morning, remove from the refrigerator and let rise until half again as high, about 1 hour. Preheat the oven to 350. Bake until golden brown, about 30 minutes. Let cool in the pan for 15 minutes. Spread the glaze over the warm rolls and serve.

To make the glaze, in a small bowl, sift together the powdered sugar and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together the butter, milk and vanilla and stir into the sugar to form a smooth paste.

Saturday, May 29, 2010

100 Things to Cook, Bake & Make

On another blog I saw that a lady had made a list of 100 things she would like to try her hand at making in the kitchen. I thought that this was a fabulous idea and went ahead and made my own list. I'll make sure to let you know when one of these posts is on this list. Of course, everything on this list I want to make from scratch. My first one was a success, so wish me luck on the rest!


1. Cinnamon Rolls - 5/29/10
2. Macarons
3. Meringues
4. Bagels
5. English Muffins
6. Baklava
7. Bread Pudding
8. Cream Puffs
9. Pasta from scratch
10. Ebelskivers
11. Pavlova
12. Butter
13. Churros
14. Monkey Bread
15. Eggrolls
16. Challah
17. Doughnuts
18. Whoopie Pies - 6/17/10
19. Tres Leches Cake
20. Turnovers
21. Angel Food Cake
22. Madeleines
23. Galette
24. Croque Madame - 6/21/10
25. Momofuku's Crack Pie
26. Eggs Benedict
27. Tyler Florence's Lasagna
28. Sushi
29. Caesar Salad
30. Apple Pie with Cheddar Crust
31. Marshmallows
32. Hot Cocoa
33. Eton Mess
34. Pappa al Pomodoro - 6/1/10
35. Lemon Meringue Pie
36. Red Velvet Cake - 6/11/10
37. Fudge
38. Homemade Hostess Cupcakes
39. Cure my own bacon
40. Millionaire's Shortbread
41. Samosas
42. Chicken Tikka Masala
43. Naan
44. Pitas - 6/13/10
45. Banana Pudding
46. Tortillas
47. Hummus
48. Potatoes au Gratin
49. Chicken Cordon Bleu
50. Falafel - 6/13/10
51. A Dessert with Bacon
52. Soft Pretzels
53. Bûche de Noël
54. Paula Deen's Heart Attack Burgers
55. Tzatziki - 6/13/10
56. Frittata - 7/16/10
57. Quiche
58. Spinach Artichoke Dip
59. Baked Beans
60. Fried Green Tomatoes
61. Pancakes from scratch
62. Peanut Butter
63. German Pancakes
64. Funeral Potatoes
65. Pioneer Woman's Texas Sheet Cake
66. Eclairs
67. Root Beer
68. Fluffernutter
69. French Onion Soup
70. Caramels
71. Muffalettas
72. Dolmades
73. Garlic Bread
74. Dinner Rolls - 6/5/10
75. King Cake
76. Pickles
77. Samoas (yes, the Girl Scout cookie)
78. Chocolate Truffles
79. Tarts
80. Chicken Fried Steak (this one is for the husband)
81. Monte Cristo Sandwiches
82. Croquettes
83. Calzones
84. Cinnamon Raisin Bread
85. Spaetzle
86. Danish Pastries
87. Buffalo Chicken Dip
88. Sticky Toffee Pudding
89. Toffee
90. Taquitos
91. Pumpkin Puree
92. Gnocchi
93. Mousse (chocolate or raspberry)
94. Croissants
95. Rollout Sugar Cookies
96. Lemon Curd
97. Granita - 6/16/10
98. New York Times Chocolate Chip Cookies
99. Pizza Buns (like cinnamon rolls, but pizza) - 6/10/10
100. Stuffed Tomatoes - 6/19/10
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