Pioneer Woman Fan

I make no secret that that I love The Pioneer Woman. (Sorry, Ree, I don't mean you but your recipes and television show.) Last summer a dear friend asked me if I followed The Pioneer Woman's blog. Well now I do, and here is her version of Cinnamon Rolls:

Pioneer Woman's Cinnamon Rolls

ingredients:

1 quart whole milk
1 cup vegetable oil (I used canola)
1 cup sugar
2 packages active dry yeast (I used instant yeast that I store in the freezer)
9 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon (heaping) baking powder
1 teaspoon (scant) baking soda
1 tablespoon (heaping) salt
plenty of melted butter
2 cups sugar
Generous sprinkling of cinnamon

for the maple frosting:
1 bag powdered sugar
2 teaspoons maple flavoring
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup melted butter
1/4 cup brewed coffee
1/8 teaspoon salt

directions:

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. (At this point you can cover them and put them in the freezer. When you're ready to make them, just pull them out and stick them on the counter for a few hours until they thaw and rise, which happened quicker than I though.)

Repeat this process with the other half of the dough. Let the rolls rise for 20 to 30 minutes, then bake at 375 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.

Makes about 50 rolls.

Nat's Notes:
1. I don't drink coffee, so I substituted 4 oz of cream cheese for the coffee, then added a couple more tablespoons of milk to thin it out. I kid you not, this frosting taste just like the maple frosting on the doughnuts at the grocery store.

adapted slightly from The Pioneer Woman's Cookbook

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This delicious recipe brought to you by Perry's Plate

http://www.perrysplate.com/2010/08/pioneer-womans-cinnamon-rolls.html