For Christmas morning, why not make a cinnamon roll recipe using some of our favorite co-op products, like King Arthur Flour, Land o’ Lakes Butter, and Pioneer Sugar. Our staff member Joy makes this recipe she adapted from a King Arthur Baking Company recipe. These soft cinnamon rolls can be made fresh or prepped ahead* and baked on Christmas morning.
Cinnamon Rolls
Ingredients
Starter
5 tablespoons water
5 tablespoons whole milk
3 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon King Arthur bread flour
Dough
All of the starter (above)
4 cups + 2 tablespoons King Arthur Bread Flour
3 tablespoons nonfat dry milk
1 ¾ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon instant yeast
¾ cup lukewarm whole milk
2 large eggs
5 tablespoons unsalted Land O’ Lakes butter, melted
Filling
½ cup Pioneer white Sugar
¾ cup brown sugar, packed
4 teaspoons cinnamon
½ cup Land O’ Lakes unsalted butter, softened
Icing
3 cups confectioner’s sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons Land O’ Lakes unsalted butter, melted (or use salted butter and omit the ¼ teaspoon of salt)
¾ teaspoon vanilla extract
3-4 tablespoons whole milk or cream, enough to make a thick but spreadable frosting
Instructions
To make the starter: Combine all of the starter ingredients in a small saucepan, and whisk until no lumps remain.
Place the saucepan over medium heat, and cook the mixture, whisking constantly, until thick and the whisk leaves lines on the bottom of the pan. This will probably take only a minute or so. Remove from the heat and set it aside for several minutes.
To make the dough: Mix the slightly cooled starter with the remaining dough ingredients until everything comes together. Let the dough rest, covered, for 20 minutes; this will give the flour a chance to absorb the liquid, making it easier to knead.
After 20 minutes, knead the dough — by hand, mixer, or bread machine — to make a smooth, elastic, somewhat sticky dough.
Shape the dough into a ball, and let it rest in a lightly greased covered bowl for 60 to 90 minutes, until puffy but not necessarily doubled in bulk.
To make the filling: Combine the white sugar, brown sugar, and cinnamon, mixing until the cinnamon is thoroughly distributed.
Gently deflate the risen dough, divide it in half, and working with one piece at a time, shape each piece into a rough 18” X 8” rectangle and spread with ¼ cup of the softened butter.
Sprinkle half the filling onto the rolled-out dough.
Starting with a long edge, roll the dough into a log. With the seam underneath, cut the log into 12 slices, 1 1/2″ each.
Repeat with the second piece of dough and the remaining filling.
Lightly grease a 9″ x 13″ pan. Space the rolls in the pan. *If prepping the cinnamon rolls to bake later, at this point, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until 90 minutes before baking to allow the dough to come to room temperature and rise.
If planning to bake immediately, cover the pan and let the rolls rise for 45 to 60 minutes, until they’re crowding one another and are quite puffy.
While the rolls are rising, preheat the oven to 350°F with a rack in the bottom third of the oven.
Uncover the rolls, and bake them for 22 to 25 minutes, until they feel set. They might be just barely browned. It’s better to under-bake these rolls than bake them too long. Their interior temperature at the center should be about 188°F.
While the rolls are baking, stir together the icing ingredients, adding enough of the milk to make a thick spreadable icing. The icing should be quite stiff, about the consistency of softened cream cheese.
Remove the rolls from the oven, and turn them out of the pan onto a rack. Spread them with the icing; it will partially melt into the rolls.
Serve the rolls warm. If you have any left over (you probably won’t) you can store completely cooled rolls for a couple of days at room temperature in a sealed container.