Cinnamon Raisin Rolls

These cinnamon raisin rolls?  

They were meant to be knots.

Because Marta Greber said so when she made her 'Cinnamon Raisin Knots'.

But by the time I was to roll the dough into long pieces, I was stumped.  I couldn't figure out how to freaking do it!

And I was already getting hungry so...

In a cupcake pan they went!

This whole bake-a-cinnamon-roll-in-a-cupcake-pan thing?  I know you've seen and/or bookmarked a cinnamon roll recipe that's made in a cupcake pan.  Bless that person who thought of this whole bake-a-cinnamon-roll-in-a-cupcake-pan, indeed!  Because if that person had not shared then I really wouldn't know what to do with 7 slices of dough.

Ooh I had an idea!  I could have turned this into a pull-apart!  But wait.  Isn't that what I did here on my very first yeast bread?  Which also happens to be a cinnamon roll?

A few notes on these rolls!

Note 1.  I "followed" Marta's recipe (except for the rolling and turning those damn rolls into knots) but because I lack the ability to just stick with the recipe, I used warm milk instead of the warm water asked for in the recipe.

Note 2.  While I was mixing all the dough ingredients together with a wooden spoon, I noticed that something was amiss.  I don't have any visuals but there were dry, crumbly pieces that just wouldn't form into a single lump of dough!  Did I get frustrated?  Ha!!!

Note 3.  At that point, faced with a dough problem, I was seriously considering calling the entire attempt a failure.  But I still had some more warm milk on the counter.  What I did next was add a 1/4 cup of warm milk to the crumbly dough and kneaded (more like smooshed) in the mixing bowl.  The dough still looked and felt parched (lol), so I added another 1/4 cup of warm milk.  Finally!  A single lump of dough was formed!

Note 4.  For the filling, I used about 4-5 tablespoons of softened butter instead of just one.  I also used dark brown sugar and about 6 tablespoons of it and around 3-4 teaspoons of ground cinnamon.  I was about to leave out the raisins but Mother sensed of my plan and gently implied she'd like raisins in the rolls.  Who am I to refuse?  There I was sprinkling as little of the wrinkly fruit as possible!

Note 5.  Baking time for these rolls in a cupcake tin is 15-20 minutes.  Bud, listen up, don't make the same mistake as I did.  At 15 minutes, check for the rolls' doneness.  I waited until the 20th minute and boy are the outer parts of all 7 rolls the exact opposite of tender! :(

Note 6.  I made a small batch of cream cheese glaze to drown the rolls in: 

3 tablespoons cream cheese, room temperature

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature

1 cup of icing sugar

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

a splash or three of heavy cream

Whisk everything vigorously until desired consistency is reached!  Then on a single cinnamon roll, pour all the glaze in.  Am I kidding?  I could be.  But this glaze is yummy!

I don't want you diving into a recipe and go crazy thinking there's no hope to remedy crumbly dough!

If yours become sturdy like mine did and not soft and fluffy cinnamon rolls...the only remedy I can impart with you is to drizzle or drown the rolls in the cream cheese glaze.

I may have slightly overworked the dough...so there's that.  And I think I did overbake them.

Cinnamon rolls! I'll get you right one day!  One day!

The following day I microwaved these rolls and they softened ever so slightly...while still steaming hot that is.

If you give Marta's recipe a try, I'd like to hear all about it!  Oh and if you know how to roll dough and turn them into knots.  I'd appreciate it if you can teach me how!

But if you couldn't wait any longer and baked them as regular rolls and they turned out successfully (meaning you didn't have to exert Herculean effort to slice through the roll), are you some sort of magical being, but, I'd like to know every detail on how you made yours.

'kay?

Til the next post!

Share via Facebook