I love everything about Thanksgiving – the extra-long weekend, the comforting food, the post-Thanksgiving shopping rush, and the Saturday football game. I even love the entire preparation process from brining the turkey the night before to making the sides, desserts, and drinks on the day of. Once all of the food comes together, I feel a sense of accomplishment. I get to enjoy delicious, homemade food right before rushing to the mall to buy holiday gifts for family and friends. Then right after Thanksgiving is Christmas. It’s the best holiday before the next holiday rush. There is no better way to celebrate the start of Thanksgiving weekend than with cinnamon rolls. These fluffy and soft rolls interlaced with cinnamon sugar are left to rise and then baked to perfection. I usually make cinnamon rolls a couple times a year right before the start of the holiday season. I don’t make them a lot throughout the year because they tend to be on the sweeter side. Overtime, I’ve refined my version of cinnamon rolls and reduced the amount of sugar I incorporate into the dough. I find resting the dough twice – for at least an hour the first time and for another 30 minutes the second time yields the softest, bread-like cinnamon rolls. To reduce the sweetness of the cinnamon rolls, I like to drizzle on just a bit of cream cheese glaze right when I remove the cinnamon rolls from the oven. Drizzling on the glaze while the rolls are still warm allows the heat from the cinnamon rolls to melt the glaze and infuse the glaze into the rolls. For me, cinnamon rolls are the perfect celebration treats for Thanksgiving. When preparing cinnamon rolls, plan to set aside 2-3 hours to complete the entire process. Whenever I make cinnamon rolls, I like to squeeze in other activities so I’m not tempted to mess with the rolls before they have had some time to rest. The first resting period is a good time to go for a short run at the gym. The second resting period is a good time to hit the shower or relax a bit. When all is done, you will have the most amazing cinnamon rolls waiting to be devoured.
Cinnamon Rolls:
For the dough:
· 3½ cups all-purpose flour, plus additional for rolling out dough
· ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
· 1 cup milk, lukewarm
· 1 package (0.25 ounce) active dry yeast
· ¼ cup fine sugar
· ¼ cup (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted
· 1 large egg, room temperature
For the filling:
· 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
· 2 tablespoons fine sugar
· ¼ cup (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted
For the glaze:
· 1½ - 2 cups confectioners’ sugar
· ¼ cup (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted
· 2 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
Directions:
1) In a large bowl, combine the flour and kosher salt. Set aside.
2) In another bowl, combine the milk, active dry yeast, and fine sugar. Stir to combine. Let the mixture sit for five minutes to allow the yeast to activate.
3) Combine the milk, yeast, and sugar mixture into the large bowl with the dry ingredients. Stir to combine. Add the melted butter, and large egg. Knead the dough in the bowl for 5 minutes. Place a sheet of plastic wrap over the bowl. Let the dough rest in the bowl for at least one hour.
4) While the dough is resting, butter a round pan. Make the filling for the cinnamon rolls by combining the cinnamon and sugar in a small bowl.
5) After an hour has passed, the dough should have doubled in size. Roll out the dough into a rectangle onto a lightly floured surface. Brush the melted butter onto the rolled-out dough. Generously top the dough with the cinnamon and sugar mixture. Starting on one side of the longer end of the rectangle, roll the dough into a cylinder. Use a knife to cut the rolled dough into eight equal pieces. Arrange the rolls loosely in the buttered round pan. Reuse the sheet of plastic wrap from earlier to loosely cover the top of the pan. Let the dough rest for at least another 30 minutes before baking. The dough should double in size again during this second resting period.
6) When the dough is halfway through the second resting period, preheat the oven to 350°F. Once the dough is done resting, place the rolls into the oven and let the rolls bake for 30 minutes, until golden brown.
7) When the rolls are halfway through the baking process, make the glaze by combining the confectioners’ sugar, melted butter, and cream cheese in a bowl. Place the glaze in the microwave. Microwave on high heat in 15 second intervals for 30-60 seconds until the glaze achieves a silky and smooth spreading consistency. Drizzle the glaze onto the cinnamon rolls once the rolls are removed from the oven. Let the cinnamon rolls rest for 15 minutes before serving.
Takeaways: Resting the rolls twice for at least an hour the first time and for another 30 minutes the second time helped the rolls achieve a fluffy, soft, bread-like consistency. The glaze for the cinnamon rolls can also be dressed up further with lemon juice and zest, ground cinnamon, or pumpkin spice for a different spin on the classic cinnamon roll glaze.