Cinnamon Rolls or Sticky Buns

Zoe and I made a quadruple batch of these for Zoe's classmates last week.  They were a big hit.  We had the sticky bun version for Christmas morning (just shape the night before and refrigerate overnight then bake in the morning), but Zoe thought they would be too messy for school, so we served them plain with frosting on the side.

This recipe is adapted slightly from The Joy of Cooking

Cinnamon Rolls


If you have a breadmaker, just combine all the dough ingredients (up through the 6 Tbs. butter) in the breadmaker and run the dough cycle. When the dough is ready, follow the instructions for shaping, rising and baking.

If you don't have a breadmaker, combine in a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a heavy-duty stand mixer and let stand until the yeast is dissolved, about 5 minutes:

1 pkg (2 1/4 tsp) active dry yeast

1/4 cup warm (105-115 degree) water

Add:

1/2 cup cake flour (all purpose is ok)

1/3 cup sugar

1 tsp. salt

2 large eggs

1/4 cup milk

1 tsp. vanilla

Mix by hand or on low speed until blended.  Gradually stir in:

2 cups bread flour (all purpose is ok)

Mix for 1 minute until the dough comes together.  Knead by hand for about 10 min. or with the dough hook on low to medium speed for 5-7 minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic and no longer sticks to your hands or the bowl.  Add:

6 Tbs. very soft butter

Vigorously knead in the butter until completely incorporated and the dough is once again smooth.  Place the dough in a large buttered bowl.  Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 1 1/2 hours. (Refrigerate if you need more time before you shape it).  

Punch the dough down and roll it out on a floured surface into a 16x12 inch rectangle.  Brush the dough with 

1 Tbs. melted butter

Sprinkle with 

1/3 cup sugar mixed with 2 tsp. ground cinnamon

Starting from the long side, roll up the dough as you would a jelly roll.  Cut crosswise into 12 slices.  Arrange the slices cut-side down in a greased 9x13 pan, spacing them equally in the pan.  Cover the pan with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 350.  Bake until golden brown, about 30 minutes.  Top with cream cheese frosting if desired.

Cream Cheese Frosting

Have the cream cheese cold and the butter at room temperature.

In a medium bowl, beat until just blended:

8 oz. cream cheese

5 Tbs.unsalted butter

2 tsp. vanilla

Add one third at a time and beat until just smooth and the desired consistency:

2 to 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar, sifted

If the frosting is too stiff, beat for a few seconds longer.  Do not overbeat.  This keeps, refrigerated, about 1 week or freeze up to 3 months.  This is going to be a lot more than you need.  So you can freeze the rest to use later, or just make a half recipe.

Sticky Bun Variation:

(Instead of topping with frosting) 

Bring to boil in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar: 

1 cup packed dark brown sugar

8 Tbs. butter

1/4 c. honey

Remove from heat and stir in:

3/4 c. chopped pecans

Pour the hot syrup into the baking pan and spread it evenly.  Let cool while you shape the dough.  Use brown sugar instead of white inside the cinnamon rolls, and proceed as in the other recipe.  When done baking, let cool 5 minutes, then invert the pan onto a rimmed baking sheet lined with foil to catch the hot syrup.