Cinnamon rolls

Last week I attempted to make an awesome muffin recipe but like a lot of experiments I failed the first time around.  Right now I am in the process of improving the recipe but I'm just not up to trying it just yet.  I still had buttermilk left over in my refrigerator and I really didn't want to have to toss it so I decided to make cinnamon rolls with it instead.  This recipe is perfect if you have some time the evening before and you want nice warm cinnamon rolls fresh for with your morning coffee the next morning.

I got this recipe from Alton Brown who is a celebrity cook on Food Network.  I mostly followed the recipe but added a couple more ingredients.

For the dough:
4 egg yolks
1 whole egg
1/4 cup sugar
6 tbsp melted butter
6 ounces buttermilk
3 1/2 cups flour
2 1/4 tsp yeast or 1 package
1 1/4 tsp salt

Filling:
1 cup dark brown sugar
1 pinch of salt
1 tbsp cinnamon
1 cup chopped walnuts

Glaze:
2 1/4 ounces of cream cheese
3 tbsp milk
1 1/4 cups powdered sugar
1/2 tsp pure vanilla

First....the dough.  Before you make your dough get all of your ingredients out of the refrigerator and let it sit out for a bit.  It is important that your ingredients are at room temperature so that the yeast is awakened and does its job.

I got a little impatient with my butter milk so I put it in a bowl filled with hot water from the tap.  Do not heat up the water on the stove or in the microwave, if the water is too hot and heats up your buttermilk it will curdle.  Same goes for heating up the buttermilk alone in the microwave...not a good idea.  The buttermilk will separate leaving you with oil and some gross curdy looking white stuff on top.  I still had to wait for the buttermilk to get to room temperature using this process but it did speed up the process.

When everything has warmed up a bit put your egg, egg yolk, buttermilk, and sugar in the blender with a whisk attachment and turn on low until all of the ingredients are mixed

-side note.....instead of throwing away the egg whites you separated your egg yolks from keep it in some Tupperware in your refrigerator, you can make a nice egg white omelet the next morning!

After your liquid ingredients are mixed add 2 cups of the flour with the yeast and salt.  Whisk until the moistened and then switch to a dough hook, and add 1 1/4 cups of flour.  Mix with the dough hook on a low speed for about 5 minutes.  After five minutes If your dough is still sticking to the sides of your bowl add another 1/4 cup of flour and mix for another five minutes or until dough completely leaves the side of the mixer and is soft not sticky when you touch it. 

When the dough is ready it should easily come off the dough hook and not stick at all.  Gently knead your dough on a floured surface for about 1 minute.

Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, and turn it over until the dough has a thin layer of oil on it as well.  Cover the bowl and set it in a warm draft free area of your home for about 2 1/2 hours or until it has doubled in size.  In the winter it can be hard to find a place to put your dough.  I put mine in the oven (turned off of course).

After your dough has grown, mix all of the ingredients together for the filling.  Dump your dough out on a lightly floured surface and gently start to shape it into a rectangle.                 

The rectangle should be about 1/2" thick or be the length of a normal cookie sheet.  Pour the brown sugar mixture onto your rectangle and evenly spread it out.  After spreading it out press it lightly into the dough.

Slowly roll the dough up keeping it tight, and ignore the brown sugar mix that is coming out the sides.  After you have rolled your dough up wrap it in parchment paper or plastic wrap and store it, seam side down in your refrigerator overnight.  Pick up the brown sugar mixture that came out of the sides on to your counter and store that in a cup for the next morning.

In the morning pull your cinnamon rolls out and trim the very edges off.  Cut the cinnamon rolls into 1 inch slices and arrange them on a sheet pan on parchment paper...or spray the pan with non-stick spray.  Place the cinnamon rolls in the oven leaving the oven off.  Get a big roasting pan and fill that with boiling hot water.  Place the pan in the oven underneath your cinnamon rolls and close the oven.  The hot steam from the water will re-awaken the yeast.  After about 30 minutes pull the water and the cinnamon rolls out of the oven and heat up the oven to 350 degrees F.  Once the oven is warmed up sprinkle the left over brown sugar mixture over the top of the cinnamon rolls and, put the cinnamon rolls onto the middle rack and cook for about 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown on top.

Pull the cinnamon rolls out and let them rest while you make the glaze.  Using a small mixer and bowl, whip your cream cheese and then add the milk and vanilla.  Beat on low until everything is mixed.  Slowly add in your powdered sugar 1/2 cup at a time, each time making sure that the powdered sugar has been incorporated.

Drizzle your glaze over your cinnamon rolls and the dust with some cinnamon.

-Side note-If you want your glaze more see through put less powdered sugar in, if you want it thicker....add more powdered sugar.

Caution...extremely messy, sticky, gooey, and.....addicting, I ate three!