Old fashioned cinnamon rolls

 I just love the smell of fresh baked in the house and the first bite of warm cinnamon roll with a cup of hot chocolate or juice on the side.

As the days are getting shorter and its already dark at 5pm we are coming up with different things to do indoors with the kids. Baking is always a guaranteed success so the other night we decided to make some cinnamon rolls and also try out the mixer. This mixer was my grandma's so it has been used a lot but still works. It does make a lot of noise but makes baking much easier. Also I find that the dough becomes easier to bake and it helps to get a better consistency than by hand.

The Finnish style cinnamon rolls aka korvapuusti are baked in a little bit different way than the American ones. The rolls are turned around and pressed down with a thumb as shown in the picture above. This time I wanted to make the American style with vanilla glaze on top. Enjoy!

Cinnamon Rolls

Dough

2 1/2 deciliters milk
25 gram yeast
1 egg
3/4 tea spoon salt
3/4 sugar
1-2 tea spoons cardemum
6-7 deciliters baking flour
75 grams butter

1 egg brushed on top

Filling

50 gram butter
2-3 tea spoon cinnamon
3-4 table spoon sugar

Warm milk to 38-39 celcius and mix yeast in it. Add the salt, cardamom, egg and sugar, and mix until combined. Gradually add two-thirds of the flour and knead until combined or use a mixer. Add the butter and knead until well combined. Continue to knead and gradually add just enough of the remaining flour so the dough comes cleanly off the sides of the bowl and doesn’t stick to your hand. (Don’t overwork the dough or you’ll end up with hard rolls, not soft as we want them to be.)

Shape the dough into a ball and cover with a clean tea towel. Let the dough rise in a warm, draft-free place for 1 hour or until doubled in size.

Meanwhile, to make the filling, combine the butter, sugar and cinnamon in a bowl and set aside.
Line baking tray with baking paper or use muffin paper cups as I did.

Lightly dust a clean work surface with flour. Punch down the dough so that the air bubbles inside the dough distribute evenly. Roll out the dough into about 20 cm x 40 cm rectangle. Spread soft butter evenly and sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar on top. Beginning with a long side, roll the dough into a tight tube and finish seam-side down. Cut into 4 cm slices and place the cinnamon rolls on the baking trays. Cover with a clean tea towel and let rise until the oven is 225 Celsius. 

Lightly whisk an egg and brush over the rolls. Bake the rolls on the middle rack for 10-15 minutes or until golden. Remove from the oven and cool slightly.

Optional vanilla glaze

• Mix 1/2-1 deciliter powder sugar, 1 table spoon butter, and 1 tea spoon of vanilla extract together.
• Add 1 tea spoon of boiled water or milk, stir in to make a thick glaze, adding just a drop of water at a time more until you get a nice thick glaze.
• Spread or pour immediately over cooled cinnamon rolls.
• Glaze will form a crust and harden as it cools, but you can spread over warmed cakes and serve that way as well.

The cinnamon rolls are best eaten while still slightly warm or on the same day. However, you can freeze them once baked and warm when ready to serve.