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 I call these Harvest Cinnamon Rolls because I serve them
during coffee break at our Grape Harvest Party in October (we have a vineyard with pinot
noir and pinot gris grapes in Oregon). Family and friends are invited to help us pick the
grapes and party.
These are absolutely
wonderful cinnamon rolls - very rich and delicious! Be prepared - everyone you serve these
rolls will want this recipe. The best part about making this recipe is that the dough can
be mixed and the rolls filled, shaped, and frozen long before our Harvest
Festival, as I make eight dozen cinnamon rolls for the event. The night before
I need to bake them, I take them out of the freezer to thaw and rise.
When I awake in the morning, I just bake. So
easy to make and so rewarding!
Check out Linda's Bread Making Hints:
Secrets to using the bread
machine, About
yeast
in bread making,
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Breads.
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Recipes
for your bread making.
Harvest
Cinnamon Rolls
1 cup milk (heated approximately 1 minute in microwave)
1/4 cup warm water (110 degrees F.)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
2
eggs, room temperature and beaten
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup sugar
5 cups bread
flour
1 tablespoon vital wheat gluten (optional)*
3 teaspoons instant active dry
yeast
Cinnamon Filling (see recipe below)
Butter Frosting (see recipe below)
* The Vital Wheat Gluten helps the sweet bread dough rise better, be more elastic, and
easier to roll out
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Bread Machine:
Add all the ingredients, except the Cinnamon Filling and the Butter Frosting, in the bread
pan of bread machine. Process according to manufacturer's instructions for a dough
setting.
When the bread machine has
completed the dough cycle, remove dough from pan and turn out onto a lightly oiled
surface. (I use a nonstick cooking spray). Form dough into an oval, cover with a plastic
wrap and let rest for 10 minutes.
NOTE: Check the dough (don't be afraid to open the lid). It should form a nice
elastic ball. If you think the dough is too moist, add additional flour (a tablespoon at a
time). The same is true if the dough is looking dry and gnarly. Add warm water (a
tablespoon at a time). If you can't judge your dough by looking, stick your finger in and
feel the dough. It should be slightly tacky to the touch.
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Standup Mixer:
In
a large bowl or in the bowl of a 5 quart stand mixer, combine all the ingredients in the
order given except the Cinnamon Filling and the Butter Frosting. Using a dough hook, mix
everything together until a soft dough forms. Turn the dough out onto a lightly oiled
surface (I use a nonstick cooking spray), and knead until elastic, approximately 10
minutes. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let rest for 10
minutes.
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Food Processor Method: Put dry mixture
in processing bowl with steel blade. While motor is running, add liquid ingredients,
butter, and egg. Process until mixed. Continue processing, adding remaining flour until
dough forms a soft ball. Turn the dough out onto a lightly oiled surface (I use a nonstick
cooking spray), and knead until elastic, approximately 10 minutes.
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let rest for 10 minutes.
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Butter a 9x13x2-inch baking pan; set aside.
After dough has rested, roll and stretch the dough into approximately a 15x24-inch
rectangle.
Brush the softened butter from the Cinnamon Filling (see
below)
over the top of the dough with a rubber spatula. Sprinkle Cinnamon Filling over the butter
on the prepared dough.
Starting with long edge, roll up dough; pinch seams to seal.
NOTE: Rolling the log too tightly will result in
cinnamon rolls whose centers pop up above the rest of them as they bake.
With a knife, lightly mark
roll into 1 1/2-inch section. Use a sharp knife (I like to use a serrated
knife and saw very gently) or slide a 12-inch piece of dental floss or heavy thread
underneath. By bringing the ends of the floss up and criss-crossing them at the top of
each mark, you can cut through the roll by pulling the strings in opposite directions.
Place cut side up in prepared pan, flattening them only slightly. The
unbaked cinnamon rolls should not touch each other before rising and
baking. Do not pack the unbaked cinnamon rolls together.
TWO OPTIONS:
Refrigerating or Freezing Unbaked Cinnamon
Rolls:
- At this
point, the cinnamon rolls can be covered with plastic wrap and refrigerated overnight
(I've actually made them two days in advance) or frozen for
1 month. Before baking, allow
rolls to thaw completely and rise in a warm place if frozen. I have
found that I have to take the unbaked frozen cinnamon rolls out of the freezer 10 to 12 hours before
planning to bake. I just put the frozen cinnamon rolls (container and
rolls) on my counter (not in the refrigerator) overnight for 10 to 12
hours.
- If
refrigerated, they can be either baked upon removing from the refrigerator or let come to
a room temperature (I've done both ways). They do a
slow rise overnight and it is not
necessary to let them come to
room temperature
before baking.
Bake Immediately After Making:
Cover and let rise in a warm place for approximately 45 to 60 minutes or until doubled
in size (after rising, rolls should be touching each other and the sides of the pan).
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. for regular oven or 325 degrees F. for a convection
oven.
- Bake in a convection oven
approximately 15 to 20
minutes until they are a light golden brown.
- Baked in a regular oven approximately
20 to 25 minutes in a regular oven
until they are a light golden brown.
Remove from oven and let cool slightly. Spread Butter
Frosting over the cinnamon rolls while still warm. Serve warm.
Yields 15 cinnamon rolls.
CINNAMON FILLING:
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup firmly-packed brown sugar
4 to 5 tablespoons ground cinnamon
3/4 to 1 cup chopped nuts (optional)
In a bowl, combine brown sugar and cinnamon well; stir
in chopped nuts (optional). NOTE: I like to sift the brown sugar and cinnamon
together to remove any lumps.
BUTTER FROSTING:
2 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1/4 cup butter, room temperature
1 cup powdered (confectioners) sugar
1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon lemon extract or oil (optional)
In a medium bowl, combine cream cheese and butter until creamy. Add powdered sugar,
vanilla extract, and lemon extract or oil until well mixed and creamy. Refrigerate
frosting until ready to use and then bring to room temperature before spreading.
Comments and Questions from Readers:
Question:
I love your cinnamon
rolls recipe!! One quick question - after baking them, how long can I
leave them out for? 2-4 days? Do I need to refrigerate them right
away after cooling or can i leave them out for a few days since they
might get hard in the fridge? Please let me know! I almost finished
making them now and I have guests tomorrow and I need to know which is
best! thank you so much!! - Nana (3/19/08)
Answer:
Storage of
cinnamon rolls:
-
After baking
them and letting them cool, cover completely with plastic wrap and
store on your counter, not the refrigerator.
-
You could
also freeze them for longer storage. Just be sure and wrap securely
with more than one layer. Like a layer of plastic wrap and then put
them in a resealable plastic bag.
I made 300 of your harvest cinnamon rolls for a soup supper and everyone
loved them! I used three bread makers and timed them so that they would
go off every 20 minutes which gave me time to roll out dough and measure
ingredients for another batch. I set my ingredients in order on my
counter, with the appropriate measure by each of them, to really speed
things up. I did not have my butter soft so I would measure the milk
and water into a glass cup, and then add the stick of butter and zap
it. I also dropped the eggs into the machine and started it while I
added the rest of the ingredients so the machine could mix them for me.
On my countertop, I used
clear packing tape to mark out the rectangle size that I needed to roll
them to. This worked great, and I could quickly get the dough to the
exact size without measuring length/width. 1 1/2-inch”marks on the tape
made that part go fast also.
I did the Cinnamon
Filling a little different. I used a pastry blender to cut the butter
into the cinnamon/sugar mix. This crumbled mix was easy to spread out
on the dough in one step.
Putting the Butter
Frosting in a zip loc bag, and then snipping the corner made this step
go super fast also.
Thanks for a great recipe
and clear instructions. Approximately 300 cinnamon rolls in 7 to 8
hours using bread machines with a 1:40 dough cycle. -
Christine Sueverkruepp from Firth, Nebraska (10/27/07)
Question:
I am
wanting to try your recipe but I don't have any of the equipment you
mention for making the rolls. Since we are on a tight budget, I would
like to not waste a complete recipe of ingredients to only find that not
using the equipment will make the recipe not turn out favorable. Can I
make these the old-fashioned way? - elbow grease and hand kneading?
Thanks for your assistance. New to baking - Kelli Tate (10/06/07)
Answer:
Yes, you can make them the old-fashioned
way. Like you said – elbow grease and hand kneading. The cinnamon rolls
will turn out great!
Question:
I have baked cinnamon
rolls for years, but never freeze the dough. I always freeze after
the baking. Well this week I am going to make 300 rolls for a senior
high school fund raiser. I plan on freezing the rolls and appreciate
the information that it takes 10 to 12 hours to thaw. Do you cover
them with something when they are thawing or do they tend to stick
to covering? Also if they set in a big school kitchen with lots of
air movement if they are uncovered do they dry out? Thanks for your
help. - Linda from Michigan (5/14/07)
Answer:
You could cover the
cinnamon rolls lightly with some saran (plastic) wrap. Just
remember that the cinnamon rolls need room to rise in the pans,
so don’t seal the saran wrap tightly. Just lay the wrap over the
top. It sounds like you are going to be very busy this week!
I just have to tell you how much we enjoy your Harvest Cinnamon Rolls!
I have made them for several years for our Christmas breakfast and they
are a huge hit! It just wouldn't be Christmas without them. The recipe
is well-written and easy to make. I always make extra and share them
with friends and family. They always get rave reviews. Thank you so very
much for sharing the recipe. Happy Holidays! - Peggy from Iowa
(12/21/06)
I finally found success with cinnamon
rolls! I used the Harvest Cinnamon Roll recipe and my family was
jumping for joy. They looked and tasted amazing. I made of my husband's
siblings and their families a pan of cinnamon rolls to put in their
freezer to bring out for consumption during the Rose Parade. Thank you
so much. I am trying the roll recipe for Sunday dinner tomorrow. The
information you have shared has made me feel re-inspired to bake and
make new things. A gift I will treasure. - Peggy from Las Vegas
(1/06/07)
I tried your recipe
and it turned out great. I have always loved cinnamon rolls but was
never able to make any that would do to eat until I found your
recipe. I have made several batches and haven't had a failure yet.
Thanks so much for the great recipe. - J. Welch (1/30/07)
Question:
I made your rolls for the first time as a gift, but kept a few for
us. They are good and one of the best recipes for these. My mom used to
make cinnamon rolls and give some to one of my brothers, since he was
not fond of the houska she made. Since she passed away, I have continued
this tradition but could never find her recipe and these would be the
closest that I have come up with.
I do have a couple of questions: do you only use one 9X13-inch pan because
mine filled the pan and were touching from the very beginning and do you
actually just get 15 rolls because the web site shows two pans with 12
in each and so I was wondering do you actually cut them about 1 inch and
thus get 24. What I found was that some of the dough seemed doughy and
not flakey which would mean not cooked long enough, even though I did it
longer than the suggested time and at the right temperature, and that
could be because it was too packed in. Thanks for the recipe - Tom
(12/27/06)
Answer:
If you roll the dough per my instructions
in the recipe, one (1) batch will make 15 cinnamon rolls. I cut the dough
into 1 1/2-inch cinnamon rolls to make 15 cinnamon rolls per batch.
My pan only holds 12 cinnamon rolls, so I
have to place the extra rolls in another pan. Since I'm usually making many,
many batches of cinnamon rolls for our Harvest Festival, I just keep adding
additional pans and place the extra 3 rolls in them. Since I make mine in
advance, I freeze the unbaked cinnamon rolls. When I make the next batch, I
add the new rolls to the partially empty pan with the frozen rolls. Check
the photo out on my page and you will see that the unbaked cinnamon rolls do
not touch each other before rising and baking. Do not pack the unbaked
cinnamon rolls together, as they must not touch each other before rising and
baking.
If you are just making one (1) batch, place the three (3) extra cinnamon rolls in a cake
pan to rise and bake.
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