First, no other cinnamon roll can compare to these…
Secondly, why not make them into a bouquet of flowers?
The fluffy, buttery cinnamon roll recipe from Pastry Chef Deborah Racicot.
My husband doesn’t just love cinnamon rolls, but he LOVES cinnamon rolls. He came across the Food and Wine Instagram cinnamon roll post with a link to their webpage a couple weeks ago and was bugging me to make them for him since. I decided to make them with a twist and make a bouquet of flowers.
I always hesitate with recipes that require yeast… it’s always tough to please yeast with their demanding needs for specific temperature requirements. So far I’ve had a 75% success rate with yeast. This time around, not quite. The other reason I hesitate with these recipes is the commitment to the dough- every time, without fail… this ball of dough is my dough baby for the most part of the day, requiring tender, love and care..
This recipe says to put the yeast in warm milk… so, I follow the usual steps and heat up the liquid, then place a thermometer to make sure that it is within the 105-100F degree range. Yet… my yeast still fails. So I’m praying with yeast packets three and four that it succeeds, and thankfully, it did.
To make the floral cinnamon rolls, during step 6 in the recipe. Instead of making one rectangular sheet covered with cinnamon and butter mix. First, I cut up strips of uneven width and length dough. Then I re-attached the pieces together by pushing the edges into each other, making one collage of strips with cinnamon, butter goodness all over it.
I made the cinnamon rolls two ways – one as per the recipe with a spring foam pan and second as flowers.
In step 7, after I cut the individual cinnamon rolls, they get placed in a well-buttered mini muffin tin pan. The size of the cinnamon rolls are perfect for the mini muffin tin. Bake for about 25-30 minutes in the mini muffin pan and glaze and enjoy your bouquet of cinnamon rolls.
This is definitely a special recipe and I have to thank Chef Deborah Racicot for sharing this one.
Below ingredients listing is a slightly modified version of the original (in which the quantity required for the cinnamon butter is increased – more buttery deliciousness), but the directions are taken from the Food and Wine webpage.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup whole milk, to be warmed in microwave
- 2 envelopes active dry yeast
- 1/2 cup plus 1 pinch granulated sugar
- 2 sticks plus 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus extra to generously butter pans
- 1 teaspoon salt, plus more for seasoning
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 4 1/4 cups sifted all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
- 2 tablespoon plus 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 cup confectioners’ sugar
- 2 tablespoons half-and-half
Directions:
- In a small microwave-safe bowl, microwave the whole milk at high power in 30-second bursts until it’s warm but not hot. Stir in the yeast and a pinch of granulated sugar and let the milk stand until foamy, about 5 minutes.
- In the bowl of a standing electric mixer fitted with the paddle, beat 1 stick of the butter with the 1/2 cup of granulated sugar and the teaspoon of salt at medium speed until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, 1 at a time, until blended. Add 2 cups of the flour and beat at low speed until incorporated. Beat in the warm milk mixture, scraping in any yeast that has settled in the bottom of the bowl.
- Switch to a dough hook. Gradually add the remaining 2 1/4 cups of flour and beat at medium speed until a soft, sticky dough forms, about 5 minutes. Scrape the dough into a large, lightly oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let the dough stand in a warm place until it is doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.
- Cut four 15-inch-long sheets of wax paper. Turn the dough out onto a well-floured work surface and divide it into quarters. Working with 1 piece at a time, roll the dough to a 14-by-7-inch rectangle, about 1/4 inch thick. Roll the dough around the rolling pin and unroll it onto a sheet of wax paper. Repeat with the remaining 3 pieces of dough. Transfer 2 sheets of dough to each of 2 baking sheets and freeze for about 15 minutes, until well chilled but still pliable.
- Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, blend the remaining stick of butter with the brown sugar, 2 tablespoon of the cinnamon and a pinch of salt.
- Evenly spread 1 sheet of dough with one-fourth of the cinnamon butter. Trim the edges to form a neat 12-by-6-inch rectangle. Working from a long side, tightly roll up the dough. Return the dough to the freezer and chill until very cold, about 20 minutes. Repeat with the remaining sheets of dough and cinnamon butter.
- Butter a 10-inch springform pan. Cut the rolls 1 inch thick (you should have about 48). Arrange the cinnamon rolls, cut side up, in concentric circles in the pan, starting from the edge and working into the center. Cover the rolls with plastic wrap and let them rise in a warm place for about 1 hour, until puffy.
- Preheat the oven to 350°. In a small bowl, mix the confectioners’ sugar with the half-and-half and the remaining 1/8 teaspoon of cinnamon.
- Remove the plastic from the rolls and bake them for about 40 minutes, until golden and risen and an instant-read thermometer inserted in the center registers 180°. Let stand for 5 minutes, then run a knife around the inside of the pan to loosen the ring from the rolls. Remove the ring. Slide the rolls onto a plate, drizzle with the glaze and serve.
