Cinnamon Swirl Rolls

It's summer. I know. We're all supposed to be lying face down on our couches with the AC set to precisely 63 degrees while imagining cold things like Frosty, sno-cones, and the Alps. We are not - under any circumstances - supposed to turn on the oven. But then I thought of puffed, delicious dough, swirls of sugary cinnamon, and sweet! thick! icing! and promptly forgot all of that oven nonsense. 

It was totally worth turning the oven on. These rolls are exquisite. They're light, fluffy, and full of cinnamon sugar. They are the ultimate form of comfort food, which if you ask me, is the perfect remedy for the weather-related blues the entire southeast is currently experiencing. (SO. MUCH. HEAT.)

The only thing I might do next time is increase the amount of milk used to adhere the cinnamon to the dough . . . and make the cinnamon rolls smaller. I never thought I'd say that, but I have a chronic problem with forgetting that yeasted dough does, in fact, rise. And become much larger than before. I had some massive cinnamon rolls on my hands, is what I'm trying to say. Not that anyone complained, but next time I'll cut them into twelths instead of eights.

As with many things from Cook's Illustrated, this recipe takes a bit of time. That's not necessarily a bad thing, you just have to be prepared for it. All the steps are easy - particularly if you own a mixer - but it just takes a while to be completed. This is the kind of recipe you pull out when you absolutely must have perfection. And for me, it was totally worth it. Especially because I didn't have to worry about what I was going to have for breakfast for three days straight.

I take my frosting with a bit of cinnamon roll, thanks.

Cinnamon Swirl Rolls
From Cook's Illustrated Cookbook

Enriched Bread Dough
1/2 cup milk, heated to 110 degrees
1/2 cup water, heated to 110 degrees
2 large eggs
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
3 1/4 - 3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
2 1/4 teaspoons instant or rapid-rise yeast
1 1/2 teaspoons salt

Grease a large bowl and set aside.

Combine the milk, water, eggs, and melted butter together in a small bowl. Mix together 3 1/4 cups flour, sugar, yeast, and salt on low speed in a stand mixer using the dough hook attachment. Add the liquid mixture in a trickle on low speed and mix until combined for just a few minutes. Knead dough on medium speed until it's warm and elastic, about 10 minutes.

Put dough in the large bowl, cover and let rise in a warm spot until doubled in size, 2 to 2 1/2 hours.

Rolls

1/3 cup sugar
2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
1 recipe Enriched Bread Dough (589)
1 tablespoon milk
1/2 cup raisins (optional)
1/2 cup walnuts or pecans, chopped (optional)

Icing
1 1/4 cups confectioners' sugar
2 tablespoons milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

//// Grease 13 by 9-inch baking pan. Mix sugar and cinnamon together in bowl.

2. Transfer dough to lightly floured counter and roll into 12 by 16-inch rectangle, with long side facing you. Brush dough liberally with milk, leaving 1/2-inch border along top edge. Sprinkle sugar mixture over dough, leaving 3/4-inch border along top edge. Sprinkle raisins, if using, and/or walnuts, if using, over cinnamon mixture.

Starting at long side, roll dough, pressing lightly to form tight clinder. Pinch seam to seal. Very gently stretch to form cylinder of even diameter, pushing ends in to create even thickness. Using serrated knife and gentle sawing motion, slice cylinder in half, then slice each half in half again to create evenly sized quarters. Slice each quarter evenly into thirds, yielding 12 buns (end pieces may be slightly smaller.)

3. Arrange rolls cut side down in prepared baking pan, cover loosely with greased plastic wrap, and let rise in warm, draft-free spot until rolls are puffy and pressed against one another about 1 1/2 hours. One hour before baking, adjust oven rack to lowest position, place baking stone on rack, and heat oven to 350°.

4. Bake rolls until golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes. Let rolls cool in pan on wire rack for 10 minutes, then invert onto rack and let cool to room temperature, about 30 minutes.

5. For the icing: Whisk sugar, milk, and vanilla together in bowl until smooth. Re-invert rolls and place rack over pieces of parchment paper. Drizzle icing over rolls with spoon. Pull apart or use serrated knife to cut apart buns and serve.