Cinnamon Rolls

Forget the chocolates and flowers. The best expressions of love are the shameless ones. John Cusack set the bar high in “Say Anything.” He went all the way to the end of the limb to prove his point, and the image of him standing in front of his car, boombox raised, is a profession of love like no other. It reminds us of what love is: a selfless, “I can’t live without you, I’ll do anything for you, I’ll die without you” sort of feeling. It’s the kind of love all of us want.

I will never hit this target more perfectly than I did many years ago. Wanting to profess my love in a somewhat similar way, I also turned to music. My husband left for work very early, and I wanted to start his day with an arrow straight through the heart. After he went to bed, I snuck back downstairs and into his car. I removed whatever compact disc was in his CD player and replaced it with my choice: Barry White’s Greatest Hits. I cued up track 3, turned the volume up, and went to bed with a sheepish grin.

The next day, he left for work as usual. Starting his car in the dark, the radio came on a little too loud, and the music sure wasn’t what he expected. As Barry sang soulfully on, “I can’t get enough of your love, babe…” he said he knew this had my name all over it. There will never be an expression of love more shameless.

This year, I’m starting things on a sweet note and making homemade Cinnamon Rolls. Fragrantly spiced and hot from the oven, they’re a delicious way to say, “I’m sweet on you.” The recipe below makes 40-50 rolls, so you can serve some to your sweetie and have some to freeze for later.

Since this was my first try at making cinnamon rolls, I picked a recipe that had great reviews and claimed to be very easy. I divided the recipe in half, feeling fearful that I might waste a lot of ingredients if they didn’t turn out. Don’t do what I did. Go ahead and make the big batch below. You can freeze some so they’re ready to go, or give some to friends. You’re already in the making and baking mode, why not make plenty? This really was an easy recipe, so grab your spoon and give it a try!

Use your big Dutch oven to make the dough. You can warm the milk mixture, add the other ingredients, mix, and refrigerate all in the same container. I made my dough a day ahead and this worked perfectly. Make sure your yeast is fresh and be mindful about the temperature of your milk mixture when you add it. For active dry yeast it should ideally be between 100º-110º F to activate the yeast and avoid killing it. If you don’t have a thermometer, use a clean pinky finger. It should feel pleasantly warm, not hot, but definitely hotter than your body temperature.

For my half recipe, I melted and used an entire stick of butter, so I’m guessing for this larger batch you would need at least 1 1/2 or even 2 sticks. Also, I mixed the cinnamon and sugar together in a small bowl rather than sprinkling them separately to ensure a nice even distribution. Really pour it on and be generous with the butter, sugar and cinnamon. (This is what makes cinnamon rolls so delicious.)

You can freeze your rolls in several ways. First, in the pan, before you let them rise. Cover them tightly with both plastic wrap and foil before freezing. Remove from freezer, let them thaw and rise, then bake and frost as usual. Second, you can freeze baked but unfrosted. Thaw them, warm them a few minutes in the oven, then frost them while they’re warm. Finally, freeze them fully baked and iced. Allow them to cool completely, then cover with plastic wrap and foil and store them in the freezer.

Be shameless and make sure they know how you really feel. Make homemade cinnamon rolls and do something sweet for your sweetheart. Happy Valentine’s Day.

Cinnamon Rolls

for rolls:

1 quart whole milk
1 cup vegetable oil
1 cup sugar
2 (0.25-ounce) packets active dry yeast
8 cups all-purpose flour (plus 1 cup extra, reserved)
1 teaspoon (heaping) baking powder
1 teaspoon (scant) baking soda
1 Tablespoon (heaping) salt
plenty of melted butter (up to 2 sticks)
2 cups sugar
generous sprinkling of cinnamon

for maple frosting:

1 (2-pound) bag powdered sugar, sifted
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup melted butter
1/4 cup brewed coffee
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons maple flavoring

For dough: Heat milk, vegetable oil, and sugar in a medium saucepan over medium heat to just below a boil. Set aside and cool to warm. Sprinkle yeast on top and let sit for 1 minute.

Add 8 cups of flour. Stir until just combined, then cover with a clean kitchen towel and set aside in a warm place for 1 hour. After 1 hour, remove towel and add baking powder, baking soda, salt and remaining 1 cup of flour. Stir thoroughly to combine. Use right away, or refrigerate for up to 3 days, punching dough down if it rises to the top of the bowl. (Note: Dough will be easier to work with if it has been chilled for at least an hour.)

To assemble rolls, remove half of dough from bowl and transfer to a large floured baking surface. Roll dough into a large rectangle, about 30 by 10 inches. Dough should be rolled fairly thin.

To make filling, pour melted butter over the surface of the dough, using your fingers to spread butter evenly. Generously sprinkle sugar and cinnamon over butter. Beginning at end farthest from you, roll rectangle tightly towards you. Use both hands and work slowly, being careful to keep the roll tight. When you reach the end, pinch the seam together and flip the roll so that the seam is face down.

Slip a cutting board underneath if necessary, then with a sharp knife, make 1- to 2-inch slices. One log will make about 20 to 25 rolls. Pour a few teaspoonfuls of melted butter into a 9-inch round cake pan and swirl to coat. Place the sliced rolls into the pan, being careful not to overcrowd. (Each pan will hold 7 to 9 rolls.) Repeat rolling/sugar/butter process with the other half of dough and more pans.

Preheat oven to 375º F. Cover any pans you are planning to bake with a kitchen towel and set aside to rise on the countertop for at least 20 minutes before baking. Remove towel and bake for 15 to 18 minutes, until golden brown, being careful not to let rolls overly brown.

While rolls are baking, make maple icing: In a large bowl, whisk together powdered sugar, milk, butter, coffee and salt. Splash in maple flavoring. Whisk until very smooth. Taste and add in more of any ingredient as needed, until icing reaches the desired consistency, The icing should be somewhat thick (like a thin batter), but very pourable.

Remove pans from oven; immediately drizzle icing over the top, being sure it spreads all around the edges and completely over the top.

-thepioneerwoman.com