Friday, March 25, 2011

Amish Cinnamon Rolls with Caramel Frosting ( using left-over mashed potatoes!)

What comes to your mind when you think of cinnamon rolls? Is the sweet frosting your favorite, or maybe the filling? My favorite is the cinnamon infused bread. I Love cinnamon rolls still warm from the oven, with soft ribbons of dough infused with plenty of sweet, cinnamony filling, and topped with a luscious glaze. That describes these rolls perfectly! And that's why I don't make them very often, because I find them irresistible, even addictive. I've had this recipe bookmarked for months and they kept calling to me and I finally gave in to the craving. These Amish Cinnamon Rolls are pure bliss; you need to make them soon! These rolls contain leftover mashed potatoes, which gives the rolls a tender, pillowy, texture. My potatoes were mashed with milk, butter, and salt and pepper and they worked perfectly in this recipe. After the dough is mixed all together, I took it out of the bowl and kneaded it a few times just until it came together into a ball. Then the dough is placed in a large bowl, covered with a clean kitchen towel and left to rise until doubled. It more than doubled and was so poofy.

Punch the dough down to deflate the air out of it, and roll into a large rectangle.

Spread the cinnamon and sugar mixture evenly over the dough, except for the edges.
Starting at the end nearest you, roil up the dough tightly and pinch the seem together at the end. Work it to keep the roll as even as possible while rolling.
Cut the roll into even slices with a sharp knife. Carefully lift them and arrange in baking pans. I used four round 9 inch pans, and I wanted to share these treats with my sons and their families.
Cover the pans with a kitchen towel and let them rise until doubled, about 1 1/2 hours. Then bake in the oven. Try to be patient.
I frosted these rolls while they were still warm, but not right out of the oven. Let them cool off just a bit.
I ate one immediately; I'm weak when it comes to warm cinnamon rolls-very, very weak! These were fantastic and made my husband so happy. I hope you'll give them a try when the craving hits you.

In this recipe, I changed the margarine to butter, made more filling and gave more directions for making these delicious rolls. There just wasn't enough directions for someone who might want to make cinnamon rolls for the first time. This may look like a long recipe, but it's easy and comes together quickly. Amish Cinnamon Rolls with Caramel Frosting
adapted from a recipe at Tasty Kitchen

Ingredients:

For the rolls:

2 teaspoons plus 2/3 cup of sugar-divided

1 cup warm water

2 packages yeast, 0.25 (1/4) ounce packets

4 whole eggs, beaten

2/3 cup melted salt-free butter

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup homemade mashed potatoes-room temperature

about 6 cups bread flour- you may not use all of it

For the filling:

1 1/2 cups light brown sugar

2 tablespoons ground cinnamon 6 tablespoons softened butter

For the Caramel Frosting:

1 stick butter

1 cup light brown sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup milk - I used around 2 more tablespoons to thin down the frosting some

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Directions:

1. For the rolls, mix the 2 teaspoons of sugar, warm water and yeast together in a bowl. Let stand 5 minutes. It will get bubbly.

2. In a large bowl, combine the beaten eggs, the remaining 2/3 cup sugar, melted butter and the mashed potatoes and combine well.

3. Stir the yeast mixture into the egg mixture. Now add 2 cups of bread flour and combine well.

4. Add more flour, 1 cup at a time, combining well after each addition. When you add the fifth cup, dough will be less sticky so add only as much flour as needed to form dough into a ball. I used about 5 1/2 cups flour, but used the rest while kneading the dough and rolling it out.

5. Lightly flour a work surface and knead the dough just until it all comes together in a smooth ball. Add extra flour if needed to keep the dough from sticking to your work area. Place dough in a large bowl and let rise until doubled. Directions say 2 hours, but mine was ready in 1 hour 30 minutes.

6. When dough has risen, punch it down in the bowl, deflating the air. Knead a few times on a lightly floured surface. Now you can roll out all the dough to about 1/4 inch thickness, but I cut the dough in half and worked with half of it at a time. In my small kitchen, that was easier for me. Try to roll the dough into a rectangular shape. I rolled each half of my dough into approximately a 20 in. by 16 inch rectangle.

7. In a small bow, mix together the filling ingredients-the brown sugar, cinnamon and melted butter.

8. Spread the softened butter gently over the rolled out dough; sprinkle the filling ingredients over the rolled out dough and lightly press into the dough.

9. Starting at the edge closest to you, begin rolling up the dough. Continue until it's all rolled and then try pinching the edge to seal it. Cut this roll into sections. I made 28 rolls; that fit 7 rolls into each of my four, 9 inch round pans. So, I cut the long roll in half, then each half in half again, and kept going until I had 28 fairly even sections of rolls. Place each roll in a greased pan (I used 4 round pans). Cover with clean towels and let rise until doubled, about 1 1/2 hours.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place pans of rolls in the oven and bake until golden, 20-25 minutes.

10. While the rolls are baking make the frosting. Melt the butter in a sauce pan over low heat. Stir in the brown sugar and salt. Cook for about 2 minutes; mixture will be grainy. Add the milk and cook for about 30 seconds until no longer grainy.. Remove pan from heat and add the vanilla. Stir in the powdered sugar and let cool. (If the powdered sugar is lumpy, you may need to sift it, or use an electric mixer to beat it until smooth).

11. Remove the rolls from the oven. Let cool slightly.

12. Frost the rolls. If the frosting is too thick, add a bit of milk to thin it to the desired consistency.

Enjoy the fruit of your labor!

NOTE: These rolls could be baked in a large baking sheet also. I also think that 3 round pans could be used; it would just make larger rolls.

20 comments:

  1. You had me at caramel and then I paused at mashed potatoes! But they sure look light and fluffy!

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  2. There's a big wow factor here - never would have thought - mashed potatoes - but then that must be why they're so soft and pillowy.

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  3. I would totally give in to these too!!! The thought of caramel cinnamon fluffiness sounds soooo delicious! Making a note... (Enjoyed ur blog very much!)

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  4. Hi Linda, This looks absolutely mouth-watering. They look so fluffy and delicate.
    Thanks for sharing :)

    Cheers,

    Aldy.

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  5. What a fantastic recipe, Lynda. The buns look absolutely delicious. They'd be perfect for Easter Sunday. I hope you have a great day. Blessings...Mary

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  6. These look SOOO delicious...definitely got some drooling going on here :)

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  7. I love using potatoes in bread recipes - it makes such a difference in the texture. These rolls look amazing! I wouldn't dare make them LOL

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  8. Wow, leftover mashed potatoes, I happen to have some in my FRIDGE! Love it!

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  9. There is nothing better than cinnamon rolls. My favorite part is the very center!!!

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  10. These cinnamon rolls look fantastic, love the scrumptious caramel frosting! And a great use of leftover mashed potatoes too!

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  11. You can't imagine how badly I want one of thse right now! They look AMAZING.

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  12. i've seen some awesome salvaging of leftovers in my day, but this takes the cake! what decadence, and the caramel frosting is an amazing topper. excellent work, lynda :)

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  13. I saved these to my allrecipes.com folder!! I will definitely have to try these out one weekend! Mmmm.....!!

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  14. Oh, these look so good... guess what I'll be making after the French Bread comes out of the oven!

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  15. Mine are in the oven

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  16. I just made these, perfection! I'm so excited to show them off :) just like cinnabun...

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