No Yeast Cinnamon Rolls

I so wish I was a good food photographer.

Maybe it is because I need a new camera.

Or maybe it is because we are always in a hurry to eat.

Or MAYBE it is because I am just not good about taking food pictures.

Do you think they have classes for that?

Anyway, yesterday I wanted to make a special breakfast since it was Father's Day and all.

I had seen this recipe on Pinterest and thought it was just what I was looking for.

I love yeast and use it often.

But it requires patience. And time.  And frankly I am not all about getting up early in the morning just to make breakfast.

So when I saw "no yeast", I knew that was more my speed for morning time...

It took me just a few minutes to assemble them then about 15 minutes to bake.

I followed the recipe fairly closely. I never have buttermilk on hand so I use the Saco powdered buttermilk instead.  It does cut down on calories but gives that buttermilk taste.  Next time I would also cut the icing down a little...it makes a lot.

Otherwise, I stuck to the recipe.

By the way, delicious.  I really didn't find them much different than yeast rolls. Just much quicker to make!

Ingredients:
 Filling-
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 Tbsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
2 Tbsp butter, melted

Dough-
2 1/2 cups flour (all purpose), more for dusting
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup buttermilk (I use the Saco powder which is 4 TBSP powder, 1 cup water...you can also add lemon juice or vinegar to milk to make a "quick buttermilk")
5 Tbsp butter, melted (4 for the dough, 1 for brushing on top before baking)

Icing-
3 oz cream cheese softened
4 Tbsp buttermilk
1 cup powdered sugar (I did add a little more to thicken my icing up)

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 450.

Mix all of the filling ingredients in a bowl with a fork until well blended.  Set aside.

In a larger bowl, mix the dough dry ingredients (flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt).  In another bowl (or measuring cup), mix together the buttermilk and butter.  Pour the buttermilk mixture into the middle of the dry ingredients.  Stir together but do no overmix.  Knead to form a ball.  Then divide the ball in two.

Take one half of the dough and place on a floured surface.  Roll out (I just kind of pushed it down into a rectangle then used a mini rolling pin to flatten it).  It should be just a little bigger than a piece of paper.

Sprinkle half of the filling mixture over the dough, leaving about a half inch border.

Starting at the short end, roll it up into a log (so it will be a long log :).

Trim the ends.  Cut the "log" in half.  Then cut those halves in half.  Then cut THOSE halves in half so you have 8 "rolls".

Place in a greased baking dish (I used a 9 x 13).

Repeat with the other half of the dough/filling.

Brush the rolls with melted butter.

(I ended up combining a couple of smaller rolls into one so I ended up with 15 rolls.)

Bake for about 15-20 minutes until they are golden brown.

Meanwhile,  mash together the cream cheese and the powdered sugar for the icing.  Add the buttermilk a Tbsp at a time until creamy.  That is where I made a mistake. I just dumped all of it in there and it was WAY too runny. So I had to add more powdered sugar to thicken it.  I did have way too much though.  Next time I will cut back a little on the ingredients and add the buttermilk correctly. :)

Once the rolls are out of the oven, spread the icing over them.

Then, enjoy!

Reba

Rhodes Cinnamon Rolls

If you have been reading for a while, you know that one of my favorite brands is Rhodes.  As in Rhodes bread.  I use it for braided spaghetti bread, bread/rolls, breadsticks, pizza, and calzones.  I just discovered their products in the last couple of years and have come to love them BIG time.  I even got a Rhodes "cookbook" for Christmas that I am itching to look through and use.

In the past few months, we have changed up the diets of one of our kids. I am SOOOO thankful that Rhodes products are still in the diet plan.  Or I would be really sad.

By the way, I get nothing from Rhodes for saying all of this. Not even a coupon. But that would be a nice treat.

I just really like their products.

Anyway, I was trying to plan a Christmas breakfast.  And having cinnamon rolls sounded like fun.  While I want to attempt some homemade rolls at some point, I knew that it would be too hectic for that this time of year.  So my next thought was "What about Rhodes cinnamon rolls?"  A quick web search brought up a recipe that I ran with.

And I need to run.

 I mean, these babies are NOT low calorie or low fat.

But they are full of yumminess.

They were a nice way to start our Christmas day.

Ingredients:
One frozen roll of dough (I used Rhodes white bread dough)

1/2 cup butter, softened (1/4 for the dough, 1/4 later for the filling)

1 cup brown sugar

3 Tbsp cinnamon

3 oz cream cheese

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla

Directions:

Thaw the frozen roll dough. (I just set mine out on a plate or in a bread pan on the counter, covered with wax paper)  This takes a few hours typically, so plan ahead.

Roll the dough out in a rectangle shape.  I just rolled it until I couldn't really roll it much more.

Spread 1/4 cup of the softened butter over the dough. 

Mix the brown sugar and the cinnamon and sprinkle over the dough.  Leave a little space around the outer edges for sealing.

Roll the dough into a "log" and "seal" it.

Cut the log into slices, about 1 inch wide.

Place the slices in a covered 9 x 13 inch greased pan.  Cover with clear plastic wrap. (I will often spray the wrap so the dough doesn't stick.)

Let the rolls rise on the counter until doubled in size.  In my case, I made the dough the night before, so I let them rise in the refrigerator overnight, then I pulled them out about an hour before cooking to let them finish rising on the counter. That would be a good time to pull out the other 1/4 cup butter to soften.

Remove the plastic wrap and bake the rolls at 400 degrees for about 15-20 minutes.

Meanwhile, using a mixer, mix the cream cheese, 1/4 cup softened butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla until creamy.

Once the rolls are out of the oven, spread the mixture over the rolls.

Enjoy!

Reba