FIVE STAR (NO KNEAD) CINNAMON ROLLS

I thought I had the best cinnamon roll recipe, but oh my goodness..."Katy bar the door".....

Drop everything and try this recipe!!! 

Here's why:
.
1. The dough is light and fluffy, not "bready"
2. There is NO KNEADING, but it sure tastes like there is
3. The flavor is outstanding!!
4. They have the texture of a good donut
5. Covered, they stay fresh and delicious for 2-3 days
6. They freeze beautifully

Do I have your attention yet? Click on this photo so you can see the light and airy texture of the baked rolls.

2 cups buttermilk 
1/2  cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup sugar
1 packet Quick Rising yeast 
4  1/2 cup all purpose flour *DIVIDED*
1/2  teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

FILLING
3/4  brown sugar
1 teaspoons cinnamon
pinch of salt
1 cup chopped pecans (optional)
2 tablespoons butter (soft)

Mix the buttermilk, vegetable oil and sugar in a bowl and put it in the microwave just long enough to get it a little warm (I call it baby bottle warm) Let it cool down if necessary.

Stir in the yeast and let it sit for about 10 minutes.

Stir in 4 (of the 4½ cups) of flour to the buttermilk mixture and stir well (no need to knead, just mix well). Dough at this stage will be extremely sticky and more like a thick batter. Cover dough with plastic wrap and let it sit in a warm place for an hour.

In a small, separate bowl, mix the final ½ cup of flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. After the sticky dough has raised for an hour, stir it down and add this final half cup flour mixture. Mix until well incorporated (by hand or electric mixer)...just takes a minute.
 
Turn batter (which will still be quite soft and sticky) out onto WELL-floured counter and roll the dough around a few times, coating the surface with flour so it is not super sticky. 

Roll (or pat) dough out into a rectangle that is about ½” thick. Spread dough surface with 2 tablespoons room temperature butter then evenly spread on the filling ingredients and top with nuts if you are going to use them (pat the nuts into the sugar a little). 

Roll up, jellyroll style, keeping it as tight as you can. Pinch the seam shut tightly. Cut 1½” slices and lay them, cut side down, in a greased 9x13 baking pan. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for 60 minutes (or until double in size). 

Bake in pre-heated 375F oven for about 20-25 minutes or until golden and they sound hollow when you tap on them. Frost while still hot.

FROSTING

3 cups powdered sugar
1/4 tablespoons melted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
4 tablespoons* milk (less if you want thicker frosting)

*Mix the powdered sugar + butter + extracts and just a couple tablespoons of the milk. If frosting seems to thick, add just a little more milk. If it seems too thin, add just a little more powdered sugar.

ENJOY !!!

MAPLE TWISTS

I highly recommend that you visit Mennonite Girls Can Cook. They posted a sweet roll recipe that looked delicious; it was called Charlotte Rose's Maple Twists. Three hours later, this beauty was cooling on my kitchen counter. It may sound complicated, but it really isn't and the final product is a show stopper.

CLICK ON THIS PHOTO TO GET A BETTER LOOK.

It is a LOT easier than it looks!!

DOUGH
2 and 3/4 to 3 CUPS ALL PURPOSE FLOUR
3/4 CUP MILK
1/4 CUP BUTTER
3 TABLESPOONS SUGAR
1/2 TEASPOON SALT
1 TABLESPOON DRY ACTIVE YEAST
1 TEASPOON MAPLE EXTRACT
1 EGG

Heat the milk and butter until very warm. Blend it (in stand mixer) with 1 cup of flour, 3 tablespoons sugar, 1/2 teaspoon salt, yeast, egg and maple extract. Beat this on low for 2 minutes. Add the rest of the flour 1/2 cup at a time (you may not need all 3 cups). Knead into a soft dough. It will become smooth an elastic in about five minutes. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let it rise for 45 minutes (or till at least double in size).

While the dough is rising, make the streusel:
1/4 cup melted butter
1/2 cup white sugar
1/3 cup chopped nuts (I used pecans)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon maple extract
Mix everything together and set aside.

ASSEMBLY
After the dough rises, divide it into three pieces. Roll each piece into a 12" circle. Place the first circle on a buttered 14" pizza pan (I used parchment paper and sprayed it a little). Top the first circle with 1/3 of the streusel mixture and spread it around as thin as you can get it (repeat with 2nd and 3rd circles).

Find something that is 2" across (like a dixie cup) and center it on the circles (press down a little to make a mark). Using scissors, cut from the outer edge into the cup mark, making 16 wedges.

Gently lift and twist each section 5 times. Tuck the end in just a little so that it stays twisted. You should have 16 twisted sections.

 Lightly cover this with plastic wrap and let it rise for about 45 minutes to an hour. Bake in a 375° oven for 18-22 minutes (mine took the full 22 minutes). Remove from oven and let rest for 5 minutes before you top with glaze.

GLAZE

1 cup powdered sugar

2 tablespoons melted butter

1 to 2 tablespoons milk

1/2 teaspoon maple extract

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract (my tweak)

Whisk until smooth and drizzle over warm rolls.

NOTE: I didn't have any maple extract, so I used a Crescent flavoring called Mapeline (worked great).
 

NOTE: Sorry about the photo quality, the maple twists were too big to fit into my light box, so I had to take the photo on the kitchen counter...like the old days, lol.