Cream Cheese Cinnamon Rolls

I love a good sweet roll, especially one that is cinnamony. Throw in a little cream cheese and I'm in heaven. These cinnamon rolls are just right. They're moist, but not gummy or soggy in the middle. They have a great ratio of bread to filling. And even though the long directions may sound complicated, they're really very easy. You can even do all the work the night before and bake them the next day (perfect for Christmas morning). I already made these again this morning for New Year's Day (no wonder my stomach looks like a cinnamon roll).

 CREAM CHEESE CINNAMON ROLLS

Yield: 8 large rolls

Dough:
1 (¼-oz.) package active dry yeast
½ teaspoon plus ¼ cup sugar
½ cup milk, at room temperature
2 tablespoons light brown sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg
1 egg yolk
2 ¾ cups flour, sifted, plus more for kneading
¾ teaspoon fine salt
1 stick unsalted butter (room temperature), plus more for the pan

Filling:
½ cup sugar
¼ cup dark brown sugar
¼ cup finely chopped pecans
¼ cup finely chopped walnuts
¼ cup raisins
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon fine salt
⅛ teaspoon ground cloves
2 tablespoons maple syrup
4 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature
1 stick unsalted butter, melted

Icing:
2 cups confectioners' sugar
¼ cup buttermilk

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1.      Make the dough: In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with a hook, combine yeast, ½ tsp. of the sugar, and ¼ cup water heated to 115° F. Stir to combine and let sit until foamy, about 10 minutes. Add remaining sugar, milk, light brown sugar, vanilla, egg, and egg yolk. Beat on low speed until thoroughly combined, 1 minute. Turn mixer off and add the flour and salt. Mix on medium speed until the dough just comes together. Turn mixer speed to high and knead dough for 4 minutes. Add the butter and continue kneading until dough is smooth and pulls away from the side of the bowl, about 6 minutes. Remove bowl from the mixer, cover with plastic wrap, and set aside in a warm place. Let the dough rise for 1 ½–2 hours, until it has doubled in size.

2.      Meanwhile, make the filling: Combine sugar, dark brown sugar, pecans, walnuts, raisins, cinnamon, salt, and cloves in a large bowl; stir to combine. Stir in maple syrup. Set aside.

3.      Punch the dough down and turn it out onto a heavily floured surface. Gently knead the dough until it's no longer sticky, adding more flour as necessary, about 1 minute. Using a floured rolling pin, roll the dough into a 10" x 10" square. In a small bowl, beat the cream cheese with a rubber spatula until it's smooth and spreadable. Spread the cream cheese evenly over the dough square; then fold square into thirds as you would fold a letter to fit it into an envelope. Take the open ends of the resulting rectangle and fold into thirds again, to make a smaller dough square. Invert the dough so that the seam is face down and, using the rolling pin, gently roll into a 10" x 20" rectangle.

4.      Turn the dough so that the short sides are parallel to you. Brush the top of the dough with half of the melted butter. Drizzle the reserved filling over the dough, leaving a 1" border at the edge farthest away from you. Lightly press the filling into the dough. Using your hands, lift up the bottom edge of the dough and roll it forward into a tight cylinder. Place dough cylinder, seam side down, on a cutting board and, using a thin, sharp knife, trim off the ends; cut cylinder crosswise into 8 equal-size slices. Nestle the slices, cut sides up and evenly spaced from one another, into a buttered 9" x 13" light-colored metal baking pan. Cover pan with plastic wrap and set aside in a warm place to let rise for 2 hours. (Alternatively, the rolls may be refrigerated overnight.)

5.      Heat oven to 375° F. Uncover the rolls. (If refrigerated, let them sit at room temperature for 15 minutes.) Bake until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center of the rolls comes out clean, about 30 minutes.

6.      Make the icing: While the rolls are baking, whisk together the sugar and buttermilk in a small bowl until smooth.

7.      Transfer the pan of cinnamon rolls to a cooling rack; brush with remaining melted butter. Let cool for 5 minutes. Dip the tines of a fork into the icing and drizzle all over the rolls. Serve immediately.

from saveur.com

yeast, sugar and water

yeast foamy; adding remaining sugar,
milk, brown sugar, vanilla and egg

adding flour and salt

adding butter

The dough never really pulled away from the sides
and it looked so soft to me, I was a little worried
I'd done something wrong - but as you can see,
it all worked out. Adding lots of flour as you
knead and roll helps get the right consistency.

all the filling ingredients mixed
(I used golden raisins, so they're hard to spot.)

dough risen

kneading the punched down dough (or more
accurately, trying to knead the dough with my right
hand while I take a photo with my shaky left hand)

dough rolled into a 10" x10" square (roughly);
starting to spread the cream cheese

cream cheese spread

first fold

second fold

third fold

fourth fold

dough rolled into a 10" x 20" rectangle
(again, roughly)

dough brushed with butter
and topped with filling

rolling

rolled

sliced into 8 pieces

placed in the pan

rolls after rising

I made mine the night before and put them in the fridge
right away because I was going out. And even though
the recipe says to take out and leave at room temperature
for only 15 minutes, it was chilly in the house, so I let
them sit out for about 2 hours so they would rise enough.

baked cinnamon rolls

brushing with butter

drizzling with icing

I didn't use all the icing, it seemed like a little too much.

cream cheese cinnamon rolls

cinnamon roll cross section

In case you're wondering why my kitchen looks so different...I didn't move;
I was at my in-laws' house (these were baked on Christmas morning).

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Honey Cinnamon Ice Cream

I made this ice cream to top some apple pie (which is a great combination), but it's definitely delicious enough to be served all on its own. As usual, the end product is only as good as your ingredients...so if you use a really nice honey and fresh cinnamon, you'll have great results. But don't take my word for it - dust off the ice cream maker and taste for yourself.

HONEY-CINNAMON ICE CREAM

Makes about 1 1/4 quarts

2 cups (480 g) milk

2 cups (480 g) heavy cream

1 cinnamon stick, 2 inches long

8 egg yolks

3/4 cup (255 g) honey

2 tablespoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1.      In a medium saucepan, combine the milk and cream. Break up the cinnamon stick into several pieces and toss them into the pan. Scald the milk mixture over medium-high heat (bubbles start to form around the edge of the pan, but the liquid is not boiling). Remove from the heat and let the cinnamon steep in the milk mixture for about 1 hour.

2.      In a medium bowl, whisk the egg yolks until blended, and then slowly whisk in the honey, sugar, and ground cinnamon until combined. Return the milk mixture to medium-high heat and scald again. Slowly add the hot milk mixture to the egg-honey mixture, a little at a time, whisking constantly. When all of the hot milk mixture has been incorporated, return the contents of the bowl to the saucepan, and return the saucepan to medium heat. Cook, stirring continuously with a wooden spoon, for 6 to 8 minutes, or until the mixture thickens and coats the back of the spoon. The mixture will seem watery at first, then it will start to steam, and then it will start to develop a little body and get thicker. Remove from the heat and immediately strain through a fine-mesh sieve into an airtight container. Whisk in the salt. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or until cold, or up to overnight.

3.      Churn in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's directions.

4.      When the ice cream has finished churning, freeze it for at least 2 hours to allow it to ripen. During the ripening process, the ice cream becomes harder and smoother and the flavors more fully develop. The ice cream can be stored in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 1 week.

from Flour: Spectacular Recipes from Boston's Flour Bakery + Cafe by Joanne Chang with Christie Matheson (epicurious.com)

broken cinnamon sticks

cinnamon sticks, milk & cream

adding a nice local honey to the yolks

As soon as I started pouring, I realized I was supposed
to whisk the yolks first, so I whisked them right after.

whisking in the cinnamon and sugar

hot milk/cream mixture whisked into the eggs

(I'm not talented enough to do that and take a photo at
the same time without ending up with scrambled eggs).

thickened

straining

adding salt

honey cinnamon custard

in the ice cream machine

honey cinnamon ice cream

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Cinnamon Malt Ice Cream

One of greatest things about cooking is getting to make exactly what you want. I've never seen cinnamon malt ice cream at the store. Which, if you ask me, is a big oversight. Ben...Jerry...anyone listening? Then again, who needs those guys? That's my whole point. I don't need 'em. All I need is an ice cream maker and my imagination. Well, if I'm being totally honest here - I need those and about five hundred other things to support me in the lifestyle to which I've become accustomed. Oh, like your heart doesn't palpitate when you think you've lost your iphone.

 CINNAMON MALT ICE CREAM

Makes about 1 quart

2 cups milk

4 teaspoons tapioca starch or corn starch

1 1/4 cups heavy cream

3/4 cup malted milk powder

2/3 cup coconut sugar (or light brown sugar or granulated sugar)

2 tablespoons brown rice syrup, agave or light corn syrup

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, or to taste

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

3 tablespoons cream cheese, softened

1.      In a bowl, stir together 1/4 cup of the milk and the starch; set slurry aside.

2.      In a 4-qt. saucepan, whisk together the remaining 1 3/4 cups milk, cream, malted milk powder, sugar, syrup, cinnamon and salt; bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Cook for 4 minutes; stir in the slurry.

3.      Return to a boil and cook, stirring, until thickened, about 2 minutes.

4.      Place cream cheese in a bowl and pour in about 1/4 cup hot milk mixture; whisk until smooth. Then whisk in remaining milk mixture.

5.      Pour mixture into either a bowl or plastic bag (seal), and cool in an ice bath until chilled.

6.      Pour mixture into an ice cream maker; process according to manufacturer's instructions. Transfer ice cream to a storage container and freeze until set.

heavily adapted from Jeni Britton Bauer’s ice cream base

making the slurry (I used tapioca starch)

adding malted milk powder to milk/cream

adding coconut sugar

adding cinnamon

adding brown rice syrup

whisking

slurry added

softened cream cheese

hot milk mixture added to cream cheese

everything whisked together; cooling off

pouring the chilled ice cream mixture into the ice cream machine

cinnamon malt ice cream

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