Bread Machine Cinnamon Rolls

My love of cinnamon rolls began on a camping and rock climbing retreat as young teenager.  The camp counselor/cook made homemade cinnamon rolls right at camp from kneading, raising, filling cutting and baking in a clever camp stove oven. As the smell permeated the camp, I couldn't wait to sink my sugar addicted teeth into something that smelled so good.  Yeasted sweet dough treats were not part of my childhood so this was a new and wonderful taste experience. But then for more than a decade, I did not think of cinnamon rolls, outside of the grocery store tube can variety, until the mall chain store pumped out giant, thickly frosted cinnamon rolls to the mall crowds.  Neither the tube can nor mall store rolls ever stood up to those camping rolls.  Then bread machines came on to the market in the early 1990s and cinnamon rolls became a mainstay in my home. My first bread maker was the Panasonic machine from 1994. That machine was extraordinary and didn’t break down until 2012 after making many loaves of bread and many more doughs for rolls of all kinds.  Though the bread machine does have its limitations as the breads produced are not artisanal and the bread quality tends to be the same across recipes, the bread machine fills a place in the home for fast and easy homemade bread for even the most unskilled or skilled and overworked person.

Bread Machine Cinnamon Rolls

1 ½ pound loaf	1 pound loaf
3/8 cup milk or non-dairy milk	¼ cup milk or non-dairy milk
3/8 cup water	¼ cup water
1 egg	1 egg
3 cups all-purpose flour	2 cups all-purpose flour
4 tablespoons butter or  nondairy butter substitute	3 tablespoons butter or  nondairy butter substitute
1/3 cup sugar	¼ cup sugar
1 ½ teaspoons instant yeast or active yeast	1 ½ teaspoons instant yeast or active yeast
*Roll dough into 9X18 inch rectangle	*Roll dough into 8X14 inch rectangle
Filling	Filling
3 tablespoons of softened butter	2 tablespoons of softened butter
4 tablespoons sugar	3 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon	1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon
2 teaspoons cocoa powder if desired	1 ½ teaspoons cocoa powder if desired
Icing	Icing
3 tablespoons softened dairy free butter	2 ½ tablespoons softened dairy free butter
1 cup powdered sugar	3/4 cup powdered sugar
3 tablespoons non-dairy milk of choice	2 ½ tablespoons non-dairy milk of choice
½ to 1 tsp vanilla, lemon juice, or lemon extract – adjust to personal taste preferences	½ to 1 tsp vanilla, lemon juice, or lemon extract – adjust to personal taste preferences

Line a sheet pan with a Silpat or parchment paper.

Place all ingredients in bread machine pan.

Select dough setting and press start.

When dough has risen long enough, the machine will beep.

Turn off bread machine, remove bread pan and turn out dough on floured countertop or cutting board.

Turn on proofing setting in oven, if have, or warm oven at lowest temperature for a few minutes then turn off.

Roll dough into the loaf size rectangle - *see above*

Filling

Spread the softened butter edge to edge across the rectangle.

Mix the sugar, cinnamon, and cocoa powder in small bowl.

Sprinkle the sugar mixture edge to edge across the dough rectangle.

Roll rectangle tightly into a log starting from the long end.

Pinch seam.

Put seam side to cutting board or counter and cut with a sharp thin bladed knife into the desired number of rolls and place rolls 1 inch apart on prepared pan

**see below if making ahead.

Thicker rolls 8-12 pieces 13/4 inches thick

Smaller rolls 12-16 pieces 1/1/4 inches thick

Cover with a lint free towel and let rise for 30 minutes until doubled in size in proofing oven, warmed oven, or warm place.

Once nearly doubled, remove from oven.

Preheat oven to 350F.

Bake rolls for 15 to 20 minutes, until golden brown.

Icing

Mix in a large bowl with whisk, hand mixer, or bowl mixer the powdered sugar and softened butter until combined.

Whisk in milk until smooth and at the consistency of a soft slow flowing icing or preferred desired consistency

Adjust consistency by alternately adding more liquid or powdered sugar.

Frost by stringing, pooling, spreading etc. – any coverage level and pattern desired.

**At this point, if desired, cover tightly with aluminum foil, and refrigerate overnight. 

Remove from refrigerator and let rise in proofing oven, warmed oven, or warm place until doubled in size - plan for extra time for the proofing step.

Almond Coffee Cake Ring

Entenmann's was a staple during my teenage years.  My father worked shift work and he liked coffee cake on his break at work - somehow the coffee cake made the long night hours more bearable, more civilized, when most people were snug in their beds, the coffee break with coffee and cake made it more bearable.  My father has never verbalized this sentiment but he did have habits that indicated comfort - the mental and physical comfort that food can bring.  He is not of the school of meditation or mantras, he is connected to the deep root of his childhood and the comforts food brought.  Before a long stretch of a night shift work like he would make his homemade chicken soup and pack his lunch box with his Entemann's coffee cake, often this style almond cake or the New York style crumb cake.

This is a delicious cake especially if you enjoy the intense creamy flavor of almonds.

Almond Ring Coffee Cake

Makes 2 rings, each serving 8-10 

Filling

1 tube almond paste (7 ounces)

6 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar

4 ounces cream cheese, softened

Dough

1 1/3 cups warm milk (110ºF)

1/3 cup sugar

1 stick (½ cup) butter, melted and cooled

3 egg yolks (reserve whites for topping)

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

4½ cups flour, plus extra for work surface

1 package rapid-rise or instant yeast

2 teaspoons salt

Topping

3 large egg whites

½ cup sliced almonds

1½ cups confectioners’ sugar

2 ounces cream cheese, softened

2 tablespoons milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Filling

In a stand mixer with paddle attachment, mix almond paste, confectioners’ sugar, and cream cheese until smooth. 

Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to use.

This can be done the day before but not necessary.

Dough

Adjust oven rack to upper-middle and lower-middle positions and heat oven to 200ºF, turn off oven when it reaches temperature.

Or set your oven to bread proofing if your oven is equipped with that feature.

Grease a large bowl with flavorless oil. 

Line two baking sheets with Silpats or parchment paper.

Mix milk, sugar, melted butter, yolks, and vanilla in medium bowl.

Mix flour, yeast, and salt in bowl of standing mixer fitted with dough hook.

Turn mixer to low and slowly add milk mixture.

After dough comes together, increase speed to medium and mix until shiny and smooth, 4 to 6 minutes - dough will be sticky.

Turn dough onto heavily floured work surface, shape into ball, and transfer to greased bowl.

Cover bowl with plastic wrap and place in turned-off oven until dough is almost doubled, about 20 minutes.

Divide dough into 2 equal pieces on lightly floured work surface.

Working with one piece at a time, roll dough into 18-by-9-inch rectangle with long side facing you.

Spread with half of filling and roll up dough.

Brush top edge with water, then press to seal and transfer, seam side down, to parchment lined baking sheet and shape into a ring or circle.

With a sharp knife, make cuts around outside of dough, about 1½ inches apart, leaving about an inch of intact dough at the top of your cut (inner ring). 

The dough remains attached by the inner ring.

Turn each piece of dough so that the filling is showing face up on the baking sheet.

You are twisting an attached cinnamon roll to face up on the baking sheet.

Repeat with remaining dough and filling

Cover with plastic wrap coated with oil

Return to oven until rings have puffed slightly, 30 to 40 minutes.

Remove from oven.

Preheat oven to 375ºF.

Topping

Whisk reserved egg whites in a small bowl

Brush rings with egg whites and sprinkle with almonds.

Bake until deep brown, about 25 minutes, rotating pans halfway through baking. 

Icing

Whisk confectioners’ sugar, cream cheese, milk, and vanilla in small bowl until smooth.  Drizzle icing over baked coffee cakes and serve warm. 

Adapted from Cook’s Country

Pumpkin Shortbread Cookies

I love baking with pumpkin puree especially during the Fall and Winter season.  Pumpkin Spice Drops are one my favorite cookies but I was in ready for a crunchy cookie packed with the spicy pumpkin cookie flavors.  These shortbread cookies do the trick with their spicy snap. They are especially delicious topped with Penuche Icing.

Pumpkin Shortbread Cookies

Makes about 2 dozen

½ cup butter, 113g

⅓ cup powdered sugar, 34g

1⅛ cup flour, 135g

⅛ teaspoon salt

½ cup decadent pumpkin butter, 135g (see recipe below)

½ teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon ground ginger

⅛ teaspoon ground cloves

⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Mix the pumpkin butter and powdered sugar.

Add cool brown butter and vanilla and mix to fully incorporated. 
Whisk together flour, salt and spices in a small bowl.

Add dry ingredients to the wet and mix well.

Roll into log and wrap in plastic wrap, parchment, or waxed paper.
Freeze for 10-15 minutes or refrigerate until ready to bake.

Roll dough out to 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick between parchment.
Use a cutter of your choice to cut out cookies. 
Roll scraps and repeat process.

Place cookies on baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes.

Remove cookies and let cool on rack.

Glaze cookies, if desired.

Recipe Adapted from ibakesheshoots.com 

Pumpkin Butter Stove Top Method

Makes about 2 cups

1 large can pumpkin puree, 29 ounces

1 3/4 cups brown sugar

Mix pumpkin puree and brown sugar in a large pan set to medium high heat.

Stir every 2 minutes or as needed.

After 20 minutes, turn heat to medium low and stir more frequently.

The pumpkin butter is ready when it has turned a deep orange-brown color and been reduced by about 40%.

Let cool and store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.

Recipe Adapted from ibakesheshoots.com

Pumpkin Butter Crock Pot Method

Makes about 2 cups

2 15 ounce cans or 1 large can of pumpkin puree

1 ¾ cup packed brown sugar

Mix sugar and puree together in crock pot.

Cook on low for 6 hours until thickened.

Penuche Icing

Makes about 1 1/2 cups

4 tablespoons, 1/2 stick of butter

1/2 cup packed light or dark brown sugar

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup light cream or evaporated milk

2 cups powdered sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla or 1 teaspoon rum

In a double boiler over simmering water stir until smooth butter, brown sugar, salt and cream.

Remove from heat and beat in powdered sugar and vanilla or rum until icing is smooth and spreadable.

Ice cookies cooled cookies by spooning a tablespoon of icing in the middle of each cookie and spread slightly. 

The icing will run over the edges if spread too close to the edges.