CINNAMON ROLLS
Rich dough:
2 ¼ teaspoons dry active yeast
¼ cup warm water (about 110 degrees)
¼ cup sugar
3 tablespoons margarine, melted (micro 20 seconds)
1 ½ teaspoon salt
¾ cup milk
1 egg
3 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
Filling:
¼ cup margarine
¾ cup brown sugar
1. Soften yeast in warm water.
2. In mixing bowl, combine sugar, margarine, salt, and milk.
3. Stir in egg and yeast mixture.
4. Gradually add flour to form a stiff dough.
5. Knead on floured surface until smooth and satiny, 5-8 minutes.
6. Place in a greased bowl, turning dough to grease all sides.
7. Cover; let rise for about 10 minutes.
To shape the cinnamon rolls:
- Roll the dough into a large rectangle—about ¼ inch thick.
- Spread with softened butter or margarine. (DO NOT melt the butter)
- Sprinkle with brown sugar, cinnamon, as desired.
- Starting at one of the long sides, roll the dough into a cylinder.
- Place on a cutting board and slice into cinnamon rolls about 1 inch thick.
- Place in a buttered baking pan and allow to double. At this point we will refrigerate the rolls to rise and bake them during our next class meeting.
- Let rolls rise approximately 1 hour at room temperature.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Bake 15-20 minutes, or until nicely golden brown.
1 cup powdered sugar
1-2 tbsp soft butter or margarine
¼ teaspoon vanilla
Milk-add 1 tbsp at a time-until frosting is of the desired consistency.
For Cinnamon Star (as shown in picture):*
- On a lightly greased or floured work surface, roll one piece of dough into a 10" circle. Place the circle on a piece of parchment, brush a thin coat of beaten egg on the surface, then evenly sprinkle with 1/3 of the cinnamon-sugar, leaving 1/4" of bare dough around the perimeter.
- Roll out a second circle the same size as the first, and place it on top of the filling-covered circle. Repeat the layering process — egg, cinnamon sugar, dough circle — leaving the top circle bare.
- Place a 2 1/2" to 3" round cutter in the center of the dough circle as a guide. With a bench knife or sharp knife, cut the circle into 16 equal strips, from the cutter to the edge, through all the layers.
- Using two hands, pick up two adjacent strips and twist them away from each other twice so that the top side is facing up again. Repeat with the remaining strips of dough so that you end up with eight pairs of strips.
- Pinch the pairs of strips together to create a star-like shape with eight points. Remove the cutter.
- Transfer the star on the parchment to a baking sheet. Cover the star and let it rise until it becomes noticeably puffy, about 45 minutes.
- While the star is rising, preheat the oven to 400°F.
- Brush the star with a thin coat of the beaten egg. Bake it for 12 to 15 minutes, until it's nicely golden with dark brown cinnamon streaks; the center should register 200°F on a digital thermometer.
- Remove the loaf from the oven and allow it to cool for about 10 minutes before serving.