Happy New Year! I hope your 2018 is off to a great start and is filled with good fortune and good health. I have a good feeling about this year. Not sure how to describe it, but great things are going to happen. My first semester of grad school is in the books and I’m ready for adventures this year.
But I can’t wait to see what foodie noms this year has for me. I’m currently working on a list of all the different restaurants I want to try and are a wide variety of recipes that I’m just itching to make.
I’m super eager to experiment more with the cast iron skillet I recently bought. I’ve seen countless recipes that you can make in this thing, like pizza or giant chocolate chip cookies. So far, I’ve made a few things with it and I love this skillet so much. It’s not as hard to clean as you would think and it’s so versatile.
To ring in the New Year, I’m going to share with you all this recipe for cast iron skillet cinnamon rolls. Cinnamon rolls are honestly one of the best breakfast pastries in existence. When you have a perfectly fluffy dough and caramelized filling a cinnamon roll is the best way to wake up. Especially on a weekend when its 10͒ outside (like it is right now).
Cinnamon rolls from Ikea are a classic--if you’ve never had cinnamon rolls from Ikea, you’re missing out! But at the same time, this breakfast pastry is so easy that you can make it at home. It just takes a bit of time to proof the dough and let it rise, but with patience comes hunger.
I love this recipe. I adapted this from the DIY Foodie and it’s perfect for winter time and fills your home with the comforting aroma of cinnamon sugar. Imagine that smell when you walk into a bakery and smell pastries fresh out of the oven and now imagine that smell without having to go outside or put on normal clothes or look like a functioning human--pjs for days.
And then when you cover it with icing? Incredible. So much sugar you’ll either be bouncing off the walls for a bit or hit a food coma so nice you’ll crawl back into bed and nap. I can’t wait to make these again for a brunch with friends--or for a brunch by myself. These rolls are so decadent I might not want to share.
The benefit of the cast iron skillet is that you can serve the rolls straight from the oven (please use an oven mitt when holding the handle, I’ve definitely burnt myself at least once or twice). Using the skillet as a serving dish lets you scrape up all that caramelized goodness that oozed from the rolls. It also looks great for photos ;).
Notes:
For the icing, you can use any type of milk (whole, reduced fat, almond, etc.). It won’t affect the flavor or the consistency.
Make sure your brown sugar is softened. If your brown sugar has hardened and clumped together, you can soften it slight by microwaving it in a bowl for 20 seconds covered with a damp paper towel. Be sure to store your brown sugar in an airtight container to prevent hardening.
The dough will be very sticky, that’s okay!
To grease the bowl, I recommend olive oil. It doesn’t impact the flavor of the dough that much. You can also use cooking spray to avoid flavoring.
You can store the finished cinnamon rolls (glazed or unglazed) in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Cinnamon rolls will keep for a week.
Now let’s get baking!
Skillet Cinnamon Rolls
Yields 6 Rolls
Ingredients
Dough
1 cup warm water
2 ¼ teaspoons active dry yeast (1 packet of active dry yeast)
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 egg yolk
2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
Filling
⅓ cup light brown sugar
⅓ cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
Icing
2 cups confectioners’ sugar
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon milk
Instructions
In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, add the yeast and water together. Let it rest for 5 minutes until frothy, do not stir.
Add the sugar and egg yolk and mix.
Gradually add in the flour one cup at a time until dough comes together. Add in the salt.
Knead the dough for 10 minutes, either by hand or in the stand mixer.
Place the dough in a greased bowl and cover with a paper towel or kitchen cloth. Let the dough rest in a warm place for an hour, until doubled in size.
In a medium bowl, beat together all of the filling ingredients until well combined. Set aside.
Preheat the oven to 350 degree.
On a well floured surface, turn out the dough. Roll out the dough with a floured rolling pin into a large rectangle about ¼ inch thick.
Spread the butter mixture on the dough.
Carefully roll the dough into a log. Cut the dough log into roughly six equal pieces. Place the pieces into a cast iron skillet.
Bake in the oven for 30 minutes until golden brown.
While cinnamon rolls are baking, prepare the icing. In a large bowl or a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, slowly beat together the confectioners’ sugar, butter, and vanilla.
Slowly add in half of the milk to make a thick glaze. Add more milk as needed if the glaze is too thick. If the glaze is too watery, add an additional tablespoon of the confectioners’ sugar.
Remove cinnamon rolls from the oven and cover with the prepared icing.
Serve and enjoy immediately.
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