Sour Cream Cinnamon Rolls

When the recipe said quick and easy, I was sold. I made it the day I saw the recipe - now that is some advertising! Sometimes you just need something sweet, and after a long hiatus of not baking, I needed something to ease me into the process. Even though yeast can be scary, these are anything but!

I'm not going to tell you that these are the most amazing cinnamon rolls I've ever had, because they weren't, but anything that is this easy and requires little effort can't nearly taste as good as something that you've poured your heart and soul into! But besides that, I still managed to polish them off ;)

Sour Cream Cinnamon Rolls

Yields: 12 cinnamon rolls

Original recipe here.

1/4 cup warm water (not hot)

2 tsp. dry active yeast

1 tsp. + 2 tbsn. sugar, divided

1 large egg

1/3 cup + 2 tbsn. sour cream, divided

2 1/2 tbsn. unsalted butter, melted, divided

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

2 cups flour

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/3 cup powdered sugar

1/4 tsp. vanilla

Whisk together the water, yeast and 1 tsp. sugar in a large mixing bowl; allow to sit for 5 minutes. Stir in the remaining sugar, egg, 1/3 cup sour cream, 1 tbsn. melted butter, baking powder and salt until well combined. Stir in the flour until well combined and a ball of dough forms. Lightly cover the bowl with a moist towel or saran wrap and allow the dough to rise in a warm area for 45 minutes. Roll the dough out into a thin rectangle on a floured surface, using a floured rolling pin. Brush the dough with 1 tbsn. melted butter, then sprinkle the entire surface with brown sugar and cinnamon. Roll the dough up and slice into 12 equal pieces. Place on a parchment paper lined baking sheet and lightly cover with a moist towel or saran wrap. Allow to rise in a warm place for 30 minutes.

Once risen, heat the oven to 350 F. Brush the cinnamon rolls with the remaining 1/2 tbsn. melted butter and bake for 15 - 20 minutes until golden brown. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. To make the glaze, mix together the remaining sour cream, powdered sugar and vanilla until smooth. Drizzle over the cooled cinnamon rolls.

Pioneer Woman's Cinnamon Rolls

Believe every word when I say, you absolutely have to make these at some point in your life.

Pioneer Woman. I swear, that woman is a goddess to me. Never have I ever had so many successful recipes from one site. Successful is even a bit of an understatement. What I meant to say was wondrous, spectacular, and bewitching. Wow these babies are good... mmmm.
My sister actually made these while I documented. This recipe makes oodles, so I think it's the perfect gift. Just pre-bake them, drizzle them in heavenly glaze then give them away and instruct your receivers to just pop in the oven for about 5 minutes to warm them up. My sister even made them in these little to-go foil pans that came with plastic tops and everything! So precious!
OMGGGGG please, please make these. I ate two right as they came out of the oven, and I surely could have scarfed down the whole plate... shame on me!
Pioneer Woman's Fabulous Cinnamon Rolls

Yields: about 8 pans worth (8 rolls per pan)

Original recipe can be found here.

Printable Recipe

For the rolls:

1 quart whole milk

1 cup vegetable oil

1 cup sugar

2 packages dry active yeast

8 cups, plus 1 cup extra (separated) flour

1 heaping tsp. baking powder

1 scant tsp. baking soda

1 heaping tbsn. salt

3 - 4 cups melted butter

2 cups sugar

generous sprinkling of cinnamon

For the frosting:

1 bag powdered sugar

2 tsp. maple flavoring

1/2 cup milk

1/4 cup melted butter

1/4 cup brewed coffee

1/8 tsp. salt

Mix the milk, vegetable oil and sugar in a pan. "Scald" the mixture (heat just before boiling point). Turn off heat and leave to cool for 45 minutes to 1 hour. When mixture is lukewarm to warm, but NOT hot, sprinkle in both packages of yeast. Let sit for a minute, then add 8 cups of flour, stir mixture together, cover and let rise for at least an hour.

After rising, add 1 more cup of flour, the baking powder, baking soda and salt. Stir mixture together. At this point you could cover the dough and refrigerate until you need it, overnight or even a day or two, if necessary. Just keep your eye one it and if it starts to overflow out of the pan, just punch it down. When ready to prepare the rolls, sprinkle rolling surface generously with flour. Take half the dough and form into a rectangle. Roll the dough thin, maintaining a general rectangular shape. Drizzle 1 1/2 to 2 cups of melted butter over the dough. Now sprinkle 1 cup sugar over the butter followed by a generous sprinkling of cinnamon.

Now starting at the opposite end, begin rolling the dough in a neat line toward you. Keep the roll relatively tight as you go, next pinch the seam of the roll to seal it. Spread 1 tbsn. melted butter in a seven inch round foil cake or pie pan. Then begin cutting the rolls about 3/4 to 1 inch thick and laying them in the buttered pans. Repeat with the other half of the dough, let rolls rise for 20 - 30 minutes, then bake at 375 F until light golden brown, about 15 - 18 minutes.

For the frosting, mix together all ingredients listed and stir well until smooth. It should be thick but pourable. Taste and adjust as needed. Generously drizzle over the warm rolls, don't skimp on the frosting!

Mmmmmm maple glaze...

I'm going in people!