A Sweet Morning (Morning CL Mtg 1/8/13)

We started our meeting with the typical delicious food and fellowship and then we went straight to the kitchen where our guest speaker, Waneta Yoder, gave us a hands-on demonstration of how to make cinnamon rolls. She had prepared three batches of dough in three different stages to show us what it should look like, just like on TV! She then gave us each a batch of dough that was ready to be rolled out and turned into cinnamon rolls. She walked us through the process and by the end, we each had several pans of cinnamon rolls ready to be baked and then take home!

While the cinnamon rolls baked, we had announcements, door prizes and our devotion, which was on raising and surviving spirited, strong-willed children. The devo was written by Lysa TerKeurst and was titled, "I Don't Want to Raise a Good Child." A couple of things Lysa wrote were, "The things that might aggravate you about your child today, might be the very things when matured that make them great for God's kingdom tomorrow." And a couple of key points she ended with were:

1. Don’t take too much credit for their good.
2. Don’t take too much credit for their bad.
3. Don’t try to raise a good child. Raise a God-following adult.

We used the Pioneer Woman's Cinnamon Roll recipe. Try it. I promise you won't be sorry!

Ingredients

• 1 quart Whole Milk
• 1 cup Vegetable Oil
• 1 cup Sugar
• 2 packages Active Dry Yeast, 0.25 Ounce Packets
• 8 cups (Plus 1 Cup Extra, Separated) 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
• _____
• MAPLE FROSTING:
• 1 bag Powdered Sugar
• 2 teaspoons Maple Flavoring
• ½ cups Milk
• ¼ cups Melted Butter
• ¼ cups Brewed Coffee
• ⅛ teaspoons Salt

Preparation Instructions

For the dough, heat the milk, vegetable oil, and sugar in a medium saucepan over medium heat to just below a boil. Set aside and cool to warm. Sprinkle the yeast on top and let it sit on the milk for 1 minute.

Add 8 cups of the flour. Stir until just combined, then cover with a clean kitchen towel, and set aside in a relatively warm place for 1 hour. After 1 hour, remove the towel and add the baking powder, baking soda, salt, and the remaining 1 cup flour. Stir thoroughly to combine. Use the dough right away, or place in a mixing bowl and refrigerate for up to 3 days, punching down the dough if it rises to the top of the bowl. (Note: dough is easier to work with if it’s been chilled for at least an hour or so beforehand.)

Preheat the oven to 375°F.

To assemble the rolls, remove half the dough from the pan/bowl. On a floured baking surface, roll the dough into a large rectangle, about 30 x 10 inches. (Waneta recommended spraying the counter with cooking spray instead of using flour.) The dough should be rolled very thin.

To make the filling, pour 3/4 cup to 1 cup of the melted butter over the surface of the dough. (Waneta recommended using softened butter and spreading a generous amount on the dough. Less mess!) Use your fingers to spread the butter evenly. Generously sprinkle half of the ground cinnamon and 1 cup of the sugar over the butter. Don’t be afraid to drizzle on more butter or more sugar! Gooey is the goal.

Now, beginning at the end farthest from you, roll the rectangle tightly towards you. Use both hands and work slowly, being careful to keep the roll tight. Don’t worry if the filling oozes as you work; that just means the rolls are going to be divine. When you reach the end, pinch the seam together and flip the roll so that the seam is face down. When you’re finished, you’ll wind up with one long buttery, cinnamony, sugary, gooey log.

Slip a cutting board underneath the roll and with a sharp knife, make 1/2-inch slices. One “log “will produce 20 to 25 rolls. Pour a couple of teaspoons of melted butter into disposable foil cake pans and swirl to coat. Place the sliced rolls in the pans, being careful not to overcrowd. (Each pan will hold 7 to 9 rolls.)

Repeat the rolling/sugar/butter process with the other half of the dough and more pans. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Cover all the pans with a kitchen towel and set aside to rise on the countertop for at least 20 minutes before baking. Remove the towel and bake for 15 to 18 minutes, until golden brown. Don’t allow the rolls to become overly brown.

While the rolls are baking, make the maple icing: In a large bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, milk, butter, coffee, and salt. Splash in the maple flavoring. Whisk until very smooth. Taste and add in more maple, sugar, butter, or other ingredients as needed until the icing reaches the desired consistency. The icing should be somewhat thick but still very pourable.

Remove pans from the oven. Immediately drizzle icing over the top. Be sure to get it all around the edges and over the top. As they sit, the rolls will absorb some of the icing’s moisture and flavor. They only get better with time… not that they last for more than a few seconds. Make them for a friend today! It’ll seal the relationship for life. I promise.

If you want step-by-step instructions with photos to make these at home, visit the Pioneer Woman's blog: http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2007/06/cinammon_rolls_/

The Pioneer Woman also posted some helpful tips about making the dough the night before then refrigerating it and also when and how to freeze extra cinnamon rolls: http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2010/10/notes-on-cinnamon-rolls/