Pioneer Woman's Cinnamon Rolls (With a quick version)

Seriously, have you guys made these Pioneer Woman's Cinnamon Rolls yet?  I have always steered away from cinnamon rolls because they always seem to have something wrong with them.  Too dry on the outside, not enough frosting, too much frosting, to flat….etc.  You get the idea, I have high standards when it comes to my sweet breads.

Enter Ree Drummond.  She is quite the gal.  I want to be her BFF and offer to do her dishes if she will teach me her cooking ways.  And she has beautiful red hair and a basset hound, pretty great right?!

Don’t these look divine?  (That is Ree’s word to describe these sweet, gooey bites of heaven)  Do you see that frosting.  It has maple and coffee in it.  Now, if you don’t like coffee, don’t shy away. 

You wont even notice it.  It just does something for the flavor that nothing else can do.  My friend does not like coffee and she ate 3 of these without so much as an nod to the coffee.

This is directly from her website.  See the bottom of this post for how I made it quick, quick, quick.  The normal prep time on this is 2 hours.

Pioneer Woman's Cinnamon Rolls 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 cup Milk
• ¼ cup Melted Butter
• ¼ cup Brewed Coffee
• ⅛ teaspoon Salt

Pioneer Woman's Cinnamon Rolls 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.

The dough should be rolled very thin. To make the filling, pour ¾ cup to 1 cup of the melted butter over the surface of the dough.

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 ½-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.

*Now, there are 2 ways that I have made this quicker.  First, I used my bread machine to make the dough. I just used the recipe that came with my machine for cinnamon roll dough and that was a real time saver. 

Second, I made these after dinner the night before I wanted to serve them.  Just make the rolls as you would, put in a butter drizzled pan, and cover with saran and place in the fridge overnight. 

They will be all ready for you in the morning.  Just take out of the fridge and let set and rise on top of the stove for about 30 minutes and let your oven preheat. 

Then bake as directed and DRENCH drizzle in the maple frosting. 

ENJOY!

Liked this Pioneer Woman's Cinnamon Rolls recipe? Try my Perfect Maple Cinnamon Rolls

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