My favorite spice is cinnamon. I put it on everything, from my morning oatmeal to whatever baked good I can fit it in. Not only is the flavor amazing, there are health benefits too. It can lower cholesterol, maintain sugar levels (and therefore weight loss?), and a whole bunch of other things that I won’t bore you with.
So I made cinnamon rolls. The process to make cinnamon rolls is kind of ridiculous. It is a yeast bread, so it requires kneading, proofing, rising, and a whole lot of waiting.
Who wants to wait for these? My other problem was that I didn’t want anything too heavy. A cinnamon roll can often leave one feeling like, well, a big, round, buttery cinnamon roll, so I was looking for a lighter version. I adapted a recipe to make it lighter, and while it does compromise some flavor, it is an acceptable substitute. The dough turned out to be more biscuit-like and doughy on the inside with a light crunch on the outside. I didn’t use the glaze, but I’m sure it would only make them better.
Fast Cinnamon Rolls
adapted from http://www.recipezaar.com/Quick-Cinnamon-Rolls-No-Yeast-293243
Makes 12 2-inch rolls
Dough:
2 cups flour
2 tbps sugar
4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt (optional)
2 tbps butter, softened
¾ cup + possibly more
Filling
4 tbsp butter, melted
½ cup + 1 tbsp brown sugar
3 tsp cinnamon
Glaze
½ cup powdered sugar
¼ milk
Directions
1. Mix 1 tbsp butter and 1 tbsp brown sugar and spread over bottom of 9×9 pan
(note: This made a nice light bottom coating. If you want more, just mix more butter and sugar together)
2. In a large bowl mix together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt
3. Cut in the 3 tbsp butter. Allow lumps
4. Stir in milk to form a soft dough
5. Roll out dough on lightly floured surface into a rectangle about ¼ in thick
(note: I didn’t need to flour it because the dough was pretty dry. I actually had to add more milk because it was SO dry)
6. Mix the rest of the filling and spread it over the dough, covering all of it
(note: I used less butter and ½ the sugar than the original recipe to make it healthier.)
7. Roll up the dough long-wise so it’s like a big log. With a sharp knife slice into even sized rolls
8. Bake for 20-25 min at 400 F (I usually err on the side of overdone, but they were perfect at 20)
9. Once finished, drizzle glaze and serve warm
