Cinnabon Imitation Cinnamon Rolls

Ingredients:

1/2 cup boiling water

1 cup milk

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, melted

1 tablespoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 egg, beaten

4 cups bread flour or all-purpose flour

1 box (3.4 ounces) instant (no-cook) vanilla pudding mix

2 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast or instant active dry yeast

Filling:

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened

1 cup brown sugar

4 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/4 cup chopped walnuts, optional

1/4 cup raisins, optional

Frosting:

 4 ounces cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, softened

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 tablespoons pure maple syrup

~1-2 teaspoons milk

Instructions:

1. In a large mixing bowl, combine the hot water with the cup of (cold) milk to make a warm milk-water mixture. Add the butter, sugar, salt, egg, and a cup of the flour. Stir to mix.

2. Without stirring between, add 2 more cups of flour, the vanilla pudding mix, and the dry yeast. Then stir to make a sticky dough.

Add more flour as needed (about a cup more, or as much as it takes to make a smooth dough) and stir until too thick to stir.

3. Use clean hands to knead dough for 10-15 minutes, until smooth and elastic. I switch to a dough hook (speed 2 or 3) on my

mixer for this step – while I keep my eye on it, the dough takes about 5-8 minutes to become smooth.

4. With buttery hands, grease the top of the dough and cover the bowl of dough with a clean towel. Place in a warm location* and let

rise until double, about an hour. (to speed this process, place covered dough in oven that is turned off then pour 3 cups of boiling

water in a broiling pan. Shut down quickly to trap steam)

5. Gently punch down dough and knead for a minute or two, to remove excess air bubbles. On a lightly floured surface, roll dough

into a rectangle about 12 inches by 17 inches.

6. Combine the first three filling ingredients and mix well. Heat in microwave 10 seconds to make spreadable. (It's okay if it's fairly

thick.) Spread over rolled dough, covering as much of the surface as possible. Sprinkle nuts and raisins over dough if using.

7. Starting with the widest end, roll dough into a tight log. Pinch edges to seal. With a thin sharp knife (I use thread so it doesn’t

squish the dough), cut log into 12 equal slices. Place rolls in a lightly greased 9x13-inch glass baking dish. Cover with a clean

towel and place in a warm location to rise until nearly double in size, about 30-45 minutes.

8. Bake rolls in a preheated 350°F oven for 25-35 minutes. After about 20 minutes of baking, check on rolls and cover loosely with

foil if they are getting too dark. Rolls can stay in the dish after baking; set the dish on a wire rack and cover with a clean towel to

let it cool.

9. To make the frosting, cream the butter and cream cheese. Add powdered sugar, vanilla, and maple syrup and beat. Add enough

milk to make a spreadable consistency, about 1-2 teaspoons.

10. Frost rolls while they are still warm for a drizzly melty look!

Analysis: For this recipe, I used the yeast bread (straight dough) method. This essentially involved dumping all the ingredients for the pastry itself into one bowl and mixing them together. I used bread flour in this recipe since it was what I had the most of on hand and was in the recipe, and the high protein content in this type of flour led to a denser, tougher pastry as the great amount of gluten developed. This gluten development was also aided by my over mixing and adding a bit too much flour to the dough as I didn’t realize the dough was supposed to be sticky.

The final product looked lightly browned, with the icing creating small pools in the recesses and the filling brown and melted. The aroma was of pudding, cream cheese and brown sugar, a warm scent that was very insidious. The aroma was sweet and relaxing. The texture was dense and thick, but chewy and very soft and yielding. The taste was sweet and sweeter. The sugar and icing fought to be the sweetest, which the dough and pudding mix were more undertone.

Overall, this recipe was very tasty once made, and provided something to do on a lazy Saturday, and produced enough, just barely, to share with a few friends. I would make this recipe again.

Phillip Hoffarth

Hour 4