Ooey, Gooey Cinnamon Roll Recipe

Who doesn’t love an ooey, gooey cinnamon roll?  Topped with icing?  Oh my, I am getting hungry just writing this.  Cinnamon rolls have to be one of my all time favorite breakfast treats.  Previous to this, I had never actually made them from scratch though.  My mom used to make sticky buns when I was growing up, but those are another post for another day…
Cinnamon Rolls are usually reserved for holiday breakfasts with my family.  But due to the time commitment, I usually rely on the frozen Rhodes version.  Don’t get me wrong, for a store bought frozen product, those are great.  But probably never again.  These are a quicker version that your traditional cinnamon roll, ready in about an hour.  They aren’t quite your traditional bread dough.  They are more like a biscuit, but not quite.  Kind of hard to explain.  They are tender, flaky, and full of cinnamon, and absolutely delicious!
I found these in Cook’s Illustrated awhile ago, I was just holding off on making them.  Then I found myself with lots of buttermilk to use, and the perfect excuse for Saturday morning cinnamon rolls.  The entire family loved these, and they have been requested again since.  The buttermilk is key to making them soft and tender.  We aren’t fans of cream cheese frosting, so I just used a vanilla icing on mine.   But feel free to switch it up, with what your family likes.

Cinnamon Rolls
Adapted from Cook’s Illustrated

Filling
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground cloves
1/8 tsp salt
1 Tbls butter, melted and cooled

Dough
2 1/2 cups (12 1/2 oz) flour
2 Tbls sugar
1 1/4 tsp baking pwoder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/4 cups buttermilk
6 Tbls butter, melted and cooled

Icing
2 Tbls butter, softened
2 Tbls milk
1 cup powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Melt 1 stick of butter in a bowl, let cool (use this bowl for each step when you need melted butter).
Brush 1 Tbls of butter into a 9 inch cake pan.  Set aside.
Prepare the filling.  In a bowl combine brown sugar, sugar, cinnamon, cloves, and salt.  Add 1 Tbls melted butter.  Using your fingers or a fork stir together until is feels like wet sand.  Set aside.
Prepare the dough.  In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  In a liquid measuring cup mix together buttermilk and 2 Tbls melted butter.  Add the milk mixture to the flour mixture and stir with a wooden spoon, until everything is combined (about 30 seconds).  The dough will be very rough.  Turn onto a floured surface and kneed until just smooth (handle as little as possible for flaky rolls).
Using your hands, press the dough into a 12×9 inch rectangle.  Brush with 2 Tbls melted butter.  Sprinkle the filling evenly over the dough, pressing gently into the dough.  Be sure to leave about 1/2 in border around the edges.  Using a scarper loosen the dough from the counter, and roll (starting from the long side), into a tight cylinder.  Pinch to seal.  Using a sharp knife, cut into 8 equal pieces.  Slightly flatten each piece of dough, to try to keep the filling in.  Place 1 roll in the center of the prepared pan, and arrange the other 7 around it.  Brush with the last 2 Tbls of butter.
Bake for 20-25 minutes until the edges are golden brown.  Allow the rolls to rest for 5 minutes before frosting.  Meanwhile, prepare the icing.  In a small bowl mix all of the icing ingredients together.  You can adjust the milk and sugar level to get the desired consistency.  Drizzle the icing over the cinnamon rolls.
Remove from pan to serve.

Erin is the resident recipe contributor for Taking Time for Mommy – Online Magazine for Moms. You can also  find her on her own blog Dinners, Dishes, and Desserts and on facebook.