Sweet Rolls

You should begin by blooming your yeast. I was lucky enough to have a KitchenAid mixer when I was preparing my sweet rolls and so I bloomed my yeast in the mixing bowl by adding the yeast package and 1/3 cup heavy cream heated to somewhere between 100° and 115°F.

While that sits, in a separate bowl, mix together the melted butter and egg. Again, be careful when adding the butter; you do not want to scramble the egg. These are not scrambled egg sweet rolls. That just does not sound as delicious now, does it? After that is mixed, add the sugar, salt, and ricotta cheese. Take this mixture and add it to the mixing bowl and incorporate the heavy cream and bloomed yeast.

Now you can begin to incorporate the flour. This should be done in stages, making sure all the flour is incorporated before adding any more. When adding the flour, you are looking for the dough to be moist, but it should pull from the sides of the bowl or your fingers without sticking. Make sure to add the last cup of flour slowly so you don’t end up with a dry dough. The weather will also determine how much flour is needed. I’m not saying that you need to have an accurate barometric pressure reading, but when I was making my sweet rolls I was in Arizona, which is known for its dry climate. Because of that, I needed less flour than I would have if I were in Portland, as I am now.

After you have your dough, knead it by hand. This won’t take long, assuming you have incorporated all your flour. After kneading, form the dough into a ball and place it in a buttered bowl. Set this bowl aside, loosely covered, for about an hour, giving the dough time to double in size.

Once fully raised, clear off ample counter space, dust lightly with flour, and roll out the dough into a rectangle approximately a quarter inch in thickness (make sure you check to ensure your dough is not sticking to your counter top; nothing is more frustrating). Now you are ready to roll.

(For this recipe, I’m using a cinnamon filling. For peach and strawberry, check the related blog post link!)

Have the filling ingredients ready. With the dough rolled out, use your fingers to spread the butter, making sure to cover all the dough. Then sprinkle around the brown sugar, covering evenly, and then dust with cinnamon. The measurements for the filling are approximations. It is up to your tastes and preferences. I then sprinkled on the chopped pecans. I also like to finish off my cinnamon rolls with a light drizzle of heavy cream. This is a trick I picked up from my grandma and it will make your cinnamon rolls moist and rich.

Now you can roll up the dough. Try to keep the roll as tight as possible without squeezing out your filling. Once rolled, cut into rounds about 1 1/2 to 2 inches in thickness and place into your baking pans. Two 10″ pie pans will work well, or you can use a large Pyrex pan.

For our cinnamon rolls (which I must confess are more like sticky buns because they lack the cream cheese frosting), we made a simple caramel sauce by melting 1/4 cup butter, 1/4 cup heavy cream, and 1/2 cup brown sugar. Let this simmer to thicken. Then, pour the caramel into your buttered pie pans and add roughly chopped pecans prior to placing your rolls in the pan.

Once your rolls are placed in the pans, cover them loosely and let raise for another hour, or until double in size.

Preheat your oven to 375°F and bake for 25 to 30 minutes. Check the rolls after 20 minutes to make sure they are not getting too brown. You are looking for a nice browning and for the rolls to spring back when pressed gently with your finger.