Cinnamon Rolls

Ok, these are to die for, and if you keep the whole recipe for yourself--well you may just die...
Here is the step by step with pictures if you want it.


Pioneer Woman’s Cinnamon Rolls
Added by Ree on September 3, 2009 in Breads, Sweet Rolls

Prep Time 2 Hours Cook Time 30 Minutes

Servings 8

Difficulty Easy

Ingredients

• 1 quart Whole Milk
• 1 cup Vegetable Oil
• 1 cup Sugar
• 2 packages Active Dry Yeast
• 8 cups (Plus 1 Cup Extra, Separated) All-purpose Flour
• 1 teaspoon (heaping) Baking Powder
• 1 teaspoon (scant) Baking Soda
• 1 Tablespoon (heaping) Salt
• Plenty Of Melted Butter (not gonna melt mine see 1st tip below)
• 2 cups Sugar (some people use brown sugar here)
• Generous Sprinkling Of Cinnamon
• _____
• MAPLE FROSTING:
• 1 bag Powdered Sugar (2 lbs)
• 2 teaspoons Maple Flavoring
• ½ cups Milk
• ¼ cups Melted Butter
• ¼ cups Brewed Coffee (obviously optional)
• ⅛ teaspoons Salt

Preparation Instructions

Mix the milk, vegetable oil and sugar in a pan. Scald the mixture (heat until just before the boiling point). Turn off heat and leave to cool 45 minutes to 1 hour. When the mixture is lukewarm to warm, but NOT hot, sprinkle in both packages of Active Dry Yeast. Let this sit for a minute. Then add 8 cups of all-purpose flour. Stir mixture together. Cover and let rise for at least an hour.
After rising for at least an hour, add 1 more cup of flour, the baking powder, baking soda and salt. Stir mixture together. (At this point, you could cover the dough and put it in the fridge until you need it – overnight or even a day or two, if necessary. Just keep your eye on it and if it starts to overflow out of the pan, just punch it down).
When ready to prepare rolls: Sprinkle rolling surface generously with flour. Take half the dough and form a rough rectangle. Then roll the dough thin, maintaining a general rectangular shape. Drizzle 1/2 to 1 cup melted butter over the dough. Now sprinkle 1 cup of sugar over the butter followed by a generous sprinkling of cinnamon.
Now, starting at the opposite end, begin rolling the dough in a neat line toward you. Keep the roll relatively tight as you go. Next, pinch the seam of the roll to seal it.
Spread 1 tablespoon of melted butter in a seven inch round foil cake or pie pan. Then begin cutting the rolls approximately ¾ to 1 inch thick and laying them in the buttered pans.
Repeat this process with the other half of the dough. Let the rolls rise for 20 to 30 minutes, then bake at 400 degrees (see note below) until light golden brown, about 15 to 18 minutes.
For the frosting, mix together all ingredients listed and stir well until smooth. It should be thick but pourable. Taste and adjust as needed. Generously drizzle over the warm rolls. Go crazy and don’t skimp on the frosting.
Note: My rolls don’t work for me at 400 degrees anymore. I now bake them at 375 degrees.

NOTES:
Now since she claims these are the BEST EVER, she has had about a million questions on them.  So she did another post answering some major questions. 
Then below that post there are a bunch more comments (about 400 right now), with more ideas for the rolls.  I have copied a few that I thought would be important to me later. 

Tip #1
???Is there a reason to melt the butter? I let the butter soften and then smear it on. Less mess and it melts when it bakes but I’m willing to change if it makes a difference.
Annie B On Friday, October 1 at 11:30 am

I’ve done that, too and it really does cut down on the messiness oozing out. I’ve done it both ways and haven’t noticed any difference. They taste amazing any which why they’re made.

Tip #2
Kirsten is Comfortably Domestic On Friday, October 1 at 9:19 pm

I had never made a cinnamon roll that I liked, until this one. I freeze some unbaked, and before rising (along with a portion of icing in a separate container.) The night before I want them, I take a pan of rolls & some icing out of the freezer right before going to bed. I take off the foil and leave the plastic wrap on loosely, and set them on the counter overnight. By morning, they have thawed, risen, and are ready to bake.
(I have personally frozen them after baking and just made up fresh frosting when I thawed them.  I also saw a tip to bake them mostly, then freeze, then finish cooking when you pull them out.)

Tip #3

Emily On Friday, October 1 at 11:30 am

You forgot to say that the dough makes AWESOME dinner rolls! I swear so yummy. I made just four rolls to try last time and I regret not making a double batch to freeze. Next time I will have two pots going….one for cinnamon rolls and one for dinner rolls!!! THANK YOU PW, you rock.
(OH, this tips so excites me!!  I am making some now that I will use for Thanksgiving day rolls!! :)

Tip #4

Marie On Friday, October 1 at 2:50 pm

I put mine in a pot and covered it well with plastic wrap and it easily lasted for 1 week. I have also kept half the dough in the fridge and froze the other half ( in a air tight container). Once I was ready to make the other half, I took it out of the freezer and let it thaw completely on the counter (do not microwave). Then carry on like normal (make sure to rise well before baking)
You can also make the buns (without baking) and then leave them in the fridge until you are ready to bake them. Sometimes I will place each individual bun in a large size muffin tin. This way I can easily only bake 6 and they are easier to serve neatly.
(This would be like Rhoades rolls--great idea!)

Tip #5

Heather D. On Friday, October 1 at 12:05 pm

P-dub, I’ve been making these at Christmas for a few years, and they are a colossal hit.
I have been combining the melted butter and cinnamon sugar into a paste, which I then spread all over the dough with the back of a spoon. It doesn’t make as much of a mess that way.