Cinnamon-Maple Rolls

I have made cinnamon rolls for years and have never committed to a recipe as each recipe seemed to be lacking something or simply not quite right. So I began to tinker with my own recipe until the day I took a bite of these—my search was over! 

Depending on my mood I will add chopped pecans and raisins into the filling, sprinkled on top, or leave them out entirely. Either way these rolls are the greatest excuse to eat dessert for breakfast. If you don't have maple extract in the house you could leave it out which if you have a craving for this fluffy sweet delight and cannot make it out to the shops this is completely understandable. However, the addition of the maple extract takes a cinnamon rolls to the next level of indulgence! 

Ingredients: 

2 cups full cream milk 

1/2 cup butter (for dough

1/2 cup sugar

2 1/2 tsp instant yeast

1 tsp salt

4-5 cups flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 cup butter (melted)

1 tsp maple extract

2 Tbsp Cinnamon 

1 cup sugar

2 cup of fine chopped pecan nuts (option)

2 cups of raisins (optional) 

Icing Ingredients:

1/2 pound powdered sugar

2 Tbsp full cream milk

1 tsp maple extract

1 Tbsp maple syrup

1 Tbsp butter

Method: 

For the dough…

Melt 1/2 cup of butter and 1/2 cup sugar in small sauce pan over medium low heat. Then add milk warm milk (not too hot or you will kill your yeast!). Put 3 cups of flour into a bowl making a well in the center where you will put your yeast and milk/butter mix. On the ridge of the flour place 1 tsp salt. Mix in a circler motion starting in the center of the well and working all the flour together. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for 1 hour (or two or three if you like) in a warm location. In the winter I put it in my oven with the light on summer the counter will do. 

After dough has risen sprinkle 1 tsp baking powder over the mix and 1 cup of flour then mix together. Kneed in the remaining 1 cup of flour as needed until you have a dough that is slightly sticky but easily workable. Divide into 2 balls then roll each ball out into a rectangle shape about the size of a sheet pan (no stress here) on a lightly floured surface. 

For the filling…

Melt 1 cup of butter in sauce pan (I use the already dirty sauce pan from the milk and butter mixture to save washing up!) once melted add 1 tsp of maple extract. In small bowl mix together sugar and cinnamon. 

Use this maple butter mix to grease a baking pan. 

With a pastry brush, brush butter mix over both sheets of dough, then sprinkle with cinnamon/sugar mix onto of butter. Sprinkle nuts and raisins over both sheets of dough if using. 

Roll up dough up snuggly starting on the long edge so you end up with a long snake shape. Cut the roll in half and half again and again…so on until you have 2-3 inch long pieces. 

Place slices with their cinnamon swirls facing up and leaving space between each. Let rise for 1 hour in warm place. (If you are making these rolls for tomorrows breakfast, then cover them with plastic wrap, after the hour rising, and put into the refrigerator. Then pop them into a pr-heated oven cook, ice, indulge…)

Bake rolls in a preheated oven at 375F for 20-30 minutes. Do not over bake them as they will dry out!! Your baking time will depend on how deep your rolls are. If they are 1-2 inches high they will need only 15-20 minutes. If you make big rolls like I do that are at least 3 inches high they will need 30 minutes. You want the rolls to be light, fluffy, and golden. If your oven tends to brown breads quickly then after the rolls are golden (10-15 minutes) loosely cover with tin foil for reminder of baking. 

  

For the icing…

Mix the sugar, milk, 1 Tbsp butter, maple extract and maple syrup and heat gently in sauce pan over medium low heat until smooth. Then drizzle on top of cooked cinnamon rolls. If you want to plate them on a serving tray/plate then invert the plate onto the top of the cinnamon rolls then flip. After they are on the serving plate drizzle with icing. 

Enjoy…