Don’t fear the Cinnamon Rolls

Hey. Remember me? It’s been forever and a day since I last posted. The weather has been unseasonably warm and I have been spending most of my time on the tennis court every chance I get.  Loving every minute of it. That  being said, I haven’t been blogging or reading as many blogs on a regular basis as I usually do. Hoping to get back on track!

How many of you have wanted to try Pioneer Woman’s Cinnamon Rolls but have been too scared to try? Well, I have been wanting to make them for about two years and finally, after watching her Christmas special, figured it was finally time to try. What did I have to loose? I bought several disposable pie plates, the ingredients I needed and got to work.

The dough is very easy to make and rises beautifully. When it came time to divide the dough and roll the first batch, well, that is where things got a little dicey. There was flour and butter and cinnamon everywhere! I had a hard time rolling the first batch and had to enlist the help of a bench scraper to help me lift and fold the dough. It wasn’t pretty, but I managed to make it work. I cut the dough and flopped it in the pans to rise.  At this point, I was seriously questioning what I had gotten myself into. You should have seen my kitchen. I think it was the messiest it’s ever been and that is saying a lot!

The pan on the right was the first batch and the pan on the left was the second. You can see how much better the second batch looked but they all tasted just as good. Once the frosting was on them, you couldn’t tell the difference.

I added a lot more flour to my work surface for the second batch and used less butter. These rolled up beautifully. I sliced them and put them in the pans and we were back in business. Once the rolls were ready go in the over, it was anyone’s guess as to how they would turn out. Well, they turned out AMAZING! Even the crazy first batch that were misshapen balls of of goo turned out great.

I think what really sends this recipe over the top is the icing. It’s divine! As in, sit with the bowl and a spoon and eat the whole thing by yourself, delicious. Luckily, I didn’t do that, but I wanted to! The rolls absorb the icing so they are super moist and utterly sinful.

The recipe made six pans with seven cinnamon rolls in each pan. I kept three and gave three away. My three immediately went into the freezer for Christmas brunch. It was so hard not to eat them, but I knew they would be worth the wait.

Let me tell you, after everyone took their first bite, there was complete silence followed by a collective sigh.

BEST. CINNAMON. ROLLS. EVER!!!

Don’t wait to try them. Swallow that fear and just make them. You’ll be glad you did!