The Accidental Cook

This weekend had its ups and downs. Obviously, living in St. Louis, the biggest “up” was the Cardinals making it into the World Series. Sorry Brewers! I always hate to see the opposing team after they lose a game. They look so sad, but we have been on that side of the fence before, and I have to keep reminding myself that someone has to lose. It would be pretty boring if all professional sports ended in ties.

We had been planning for weeks to go apple-picking on Sunday. It was a beautiful day here in Missouri, and I had already decided what I would be making with my bounty of apples. We set out on our annual journey, winding our way through Calhoun County in Illinois. This is a beautiful area that seems like it was frozen in time. I even saw an actual clothesline in someone’s yard….EEK! I bet my kids have no idea what those are. Heck, I barely know what they are. While we were waiting in line to catch the car ferry, we decided to call the apple orchard to make sure they would be open. To our suprise, the message on their voicemail indicated that they were “out of apples.” WHAT??? How could an apple orchard be out of apples? I was, and still am, very disappointed! I can see all of those families that went over there to pick apples, letting their kids fill their bags just for the heck of it, and then the apples are rotting somewhere because they have no intention of eating that many apples. Sigh….oh well. I guess I can purchase my apples from the grocery store this year. If anyone has any apples that they would like to donate to the “Cheri Needs Apples” fund, I would happily take them and make them into apple pie for you.

Friday night was actually a pretty good evening. We didn’t have much going on, so I had time to think about a few special treats I wanted to make. I had previously made homemade cinnamon rolls, but they were a disaster and they took forever. I wanted to give them another try. I have been baking quite a bit, so I feel like I have a better handle on how to deal with making homemade bread. This time my cinnamon rolls were a success. They were really good and smelled amazing. I should have let them bake longer because my rolls in the middle were not quite done. Other than that….perfection! You could top these with a glaze, cream cheese icing or a pecan/brown sugar mixture. Actually, they may even be good plain.

Come join the fun at the My Baking Addiction and GoodLife Eats Holiday Recipe Swap sponsored by Red Star Yeast.”



Cinnamon Rolls
Adapted from: Mangio Da Sola
Printable Recipe

Ingredients

Dough:
2 1/2 teaspoons rapid rising yeast (1 package)
1 cup warm milk
1/2 cup white sugar
1/3 cup butter, melted (cool slightly before using)
1 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs, room temperature
4 1/2 cups flour (bread or AP)

Filling:
1/3 cup butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar, packed
2 1/2 tablespoons ground cinnamon

Cream Cheese Frosting:
1 (4 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup butter (1/2 stick), softened
1 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt

Directions:

In large bowl of stand mixer, dissolve yeast in warm milk. Using the paddle attachment, mix in sugar, butter, salt and eggs. Once the liquid is combined, replace the paddle attachment with the dough hook. With the mixer on low, slowly add in the flour. Once all of the flour has been added, let the mixer knead the dough for 5 minutes. Form the dough into a tight ball.

Lightly oil a large bowl (I use cooking spray). Place the dough into the bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and place in a warm place to rise for 1 hour, or until the dough has doubled in size.

Once the dough has doubled in size, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and let rest, covered, for 10 minutes.

In a medium bowl, mix together the brown sugar and cinnamon until it is completely combined.

Once the dough has rested, begin rolling it out into a large rectangle, about 16×21. Using a spatula, cover the dough with the softened butter. Leave space around the perimeter of the dough to ensure a good seal once it is rolled.

Take the cinnamon sugar mixture and sprinkle it over the buttered dough. Use your rolling pin to go over the cinnamon sugar mixture to push it down into the dough.

Begin rolling the dough up from the shorter side ensuring that it is rolled tightly. Using unflavored dental floss (or a sharp knife), cut the long roll into individual rolls. Place rolls into greased 9×13 baking pan. You can cover and refrigerate overnight, removing approximately 1 hour before baking. You can also cook immediately, baking for 15-20 at 400 degrees.

Prepare icing by mixing together softened cream cheese, butter, sugar, vanilla and salt. Spread over the top of baked, slightly cooled cinnamon rolls.