The weather outside is frightful…or becomingly so. As we enter into the cold months, I find ways in the kitchen to warm the body, heart and soul. The cold, crisp winter air chills you to the bone. There is no better comfort than to feel the warmth of the oven, watch buns bake and to have the smell of cinnamon and sugar fill your home.

I LOVE CINNAMON ROLLS! (And it’s probably safe to say that you do too.) These sweet, sticky, oozing buns full of cinnamon flavour are something I can’t refuse. It’s a mystery why I hadn’t tried baking these sooner! The satisfaction of creating each gorgeous little bun, and perfect cinnamon swirl, is unsurpassed.

I’ve had my share of different cinnamon buns from all over the place and some are definitely better than others. A good friend of mine baked a batch last month and brought me a couple (I have the greatest friends!). I had to make them for myself, THEY WERE DELICIOUS, and so she sent me the recipe that she used. The original recipe is from The Pioneer Woman, Ree Drummond, who has a wonderful blog, great recipes and a cookbook. I made a few slight changes and cut the recipe in half, because who could eat 50 cinnamon rolls!? I mean, I could…but I wouldn’t… 🙂

If you follow me on Facebook or Instagram, you may recall this short video. The whole cinnamon bun process in fifteen seconds. 🙂

These are perfect for any and every occasion! Bake them for dessert, a pot luck, entertaining, the holidays, for friends, for family or just eat them all yourself! If you’re looking to impress/make friends this holiday season, definitely include this in your game plan (a recipe for instant friendship). Look and feel like a pro baker and give these cinnamon rolls a try. I promise you’ll be so happy you did!

P.S. If you’re looking for a “healthy” recipe, this is NOT it. This is a recipe for wondrously delicious, rich, sweet, gooey, covered-in-icing cinnamon rolls. Take a moment to indulge, because everyone deserves indulgence, and forget calorie counting for a few hours! Eat a few and share the rest! Tis’ the season of giving! 🙂

Ooey Gooey Cinnamon Roll Recipe
Makes approx 24 rolls. Be sure to have about 3.5 hours time, you need time to make the dough and let it rise. The dough can also be made the day before, I’ve indicated in the recipe where to stop and resume again if you don’t have time to do it all at once.

Ingredients:

The Rolls

• 2 cups milk (I used 2%)
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 package active dry yeast (2 1/4 teaspoons in each packet)
• 4 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

The Filling

• 3/4 – 1 cup melted butter (as much as you need)
• 1/8 cup ground cinnamon
• 3/4 – 1 cup sugar (as much as you need)

The Frosting

• 500g (or 1lb) bag of powdered (icing) sugar
• 1 teaspoon maple flavouring (optional) (I used maple syrup)
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1/8 cup melted butter
• 1/8 cup brewed coffee
• pinch of salt (approx 1/4 teaspoon)

Making the dough:

1. In a medium pot, add 2 cups milk, 1/2 cup vegetable oil and 1/2 cup sugar. Scald the mixture, meaning heat it to just before boiling point, when the milk begins to foam up around the edges of the pot. Remove from burner and let sit and cool for 45 mins.

2. When the mixture is lukewarm (NOT HOT), mix in the yeast. Allow the yeast to sit for a minute and get moist.

3. Mix in 4 cups of flour, the dough will form. Cover with a cloth and let the dough rise for 1 hour.

4. After dough has risen, add in another 1/2 cup flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Mix together well using hands.

**At this point you can leave the dough covered and refrigerated for up to 2 days if you have to, but the dough will continue rising, so watch it.

5. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

6. On a floured surface (I used the kitchen counter) roll out your dough into a long rectangular shape. Roll the dough thinner rather than too thick (approx 1/4 inch). This will give you more surface area to sprinkle your filling.

7. Brush the whole surface of the dough rectangle with melted butter. Lay it on thick! Pour, slop, have fun! Next, sprinkle sugar and cinnamon over top. BE GENEROUS! You want your rolls to be oozing and gooey.

8. Starting with the long edge of the rectangle furthest from you, start rolling the dough towards you. Keep the roll relatively tight, you want it to stay in a good spiral. The butter mixture will ooze out…that’s ok! Seal the seam by pinching it a bit. I also pinched the ends to hold it all together.

9. Butter pans with melted butter using a brush. I found that aluminum cake pans worked best. Each cake pan holds 7 cinnamon rolls perfectly. You could also use bigger aluminum pans and fit more rolls in. I experimented with different dishes and pans and they all worked fairly well.

10. Using a knife, I like a good sharp one, cut your dough roll into 3/4-1 inch pieces. (Like making sushi rolls!) You should be able to cut your roll into about 24 pieces.

11. Lay cut rolls into the buttered pans and let them rise for 20-30 minutes.

12. Bake 15-18 minutes until golden brown.

13. While the rolls are baking, make the icing. Mix all icing ingredients together and mix until smooth and pourable. Make sure the butter is fully melted and warm so that you don’t get chunks in your icing. I mixed my icing in a small pot and put it over VERY low heat on the stove to melt all the butter chunks and get it silky smooth.

14. Remove baked cinnamon rolls from oven (take a moment to inhale and enjoy the heavenly aroma) and generously drizzle icing over top immediately. Be sure to cover the top and sides. ALL OVER. The buns will absorb the icing’s moisture and flavour as they sit.

Now, sit back, and enjoy the divine fruits of your labour…and then share with your friends!

Dedicate an evening at home or a lazy weekend afternoon to baking these yummies! Let me know how they turn out!
Happy baking! Xo