Heidi's Mock-Yoder Cinnamon Rolls

Anyone who knows me in real life knows that I am a huge fan of all things "plain". In fact, I'm a little bit obsessed with Amish culture. (Can one be a "little bit" obsessed with anything?)
 Around these parts, the best dose of plain living is found up the road in a little town called Yoder, which has a few wonderful Amish restaurants, furniture stores, fabric stores, and an amazing bulk food store. But what Yoder is world-famous for is its cinnamon rolls. Yup, a poster in a national tourism forum lamented, "Can you believe I left Kansas without trying one of their cinnamon rolls?" These things are so good, they ship them to "the big city" every morning so we can get a taste of the country, but at a cost!
 When we visit Carriage Crossing  we always come home with a box for breakfast the next day. But it's a bit of a drive just for pastry. So I purposed to try out a bunch of recipes until I found the one that was comparable. And I think I found it!

Crystal at moneysavingmom.com recently posted her bread machine cinnamon roll recipe, but I don't have one of those handy gadgets. So, here's my favorite recipe, using just my stand mixer (who I affectionately call Rosie.)

Heidi's Mock-Yoder Cinnamon  Rolls

    * 2 cups of warm water
    * 1/2 cup sugar
    * 4 1/2 teaspoons dry yeast (or two packages of dry yeast)
    * 2 eggs
    * 1 teaspoon salt
    * 1/3 cup Canola oil (you can use any kind of cooking oil, but if you use Olive oil, make sure it is light or the taste will be quite...olive-y)
    * 6 to 7 cups of flour

Dissolve the yeast in the warm water. Let sit for a minute or two. Add the sugar and salt. Mix. Add the cooking oil (or shortening), 2 eggs, 2 cups of flour and beat until smooth.

Stir in 3 more cups of flour. Begin kneading the dough, adding the final cup of flour. If the dough seems too sticky, knead in more flour, a quarter to a half cup at a time.

Let the dough "rest" for 15 to 20 minutes. (You can use this time to wash up the bowl and other utensils and to clean off the counter top.)

Roll the dough into a rectangle that's 24 to 30 inches long by about 16 inches wide. Spread with soft butter and sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar. Starting at the wide end, roll into a log. ****

Cut the cinnamon rolls into equal sized slices (approximately one inch wide each or slightly more) and place into two greased 9x13 pans. Put in a warm place to rise for 45 minutes.

Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes (or until the cinnamon rolls are golden brown).

Allow to cool for 5 minutes and then turn out of the pans, and frost them for a special treat.

This recipes makes two dozen cinnamon rolls. If you want REALLY BIG cinnamon rolls, cut into 12 equal pieces 2 inches wide.

****This is the point where you wrap and freeze them if you'd like to - read on for those instructions!

This recipe is so good, my family asks for it all the time. But it does take more morning kitchen-time than I am used to spending, and that can throw our MOTH day off-kilter.
However, The Happy Housewife recently participated in a freezer cooking challenge, and showed us how to freeze cinnamon rolls. I was skeptical, but I tried it and it worked beautifully! So now I can make this delicious breakfast without getting up any earlier.


Here's a quick tutorial:




Her instructions: Cut up your cinnamon rolls the night before and let them rise overnight in the fridge. Let them sit at room temperature for about 45 minutes in the morning before baking (for my recipe).


Re-Cap: How to make Mock Yoder Cinnamon Rolls, Bootcamp-Style

1. Put the cinnamon rolls on your Bootcamp for Lousy Housekeepers planning worksheet whenever you would like to eat them.

2. As you create your once-a-month (or 2-week, or weekly) shopping plan, put the ingredients on your shopping list, and the number of cinnamon roll meals on the Preparation Worksheet for the corresponding week.

3. On Kitchen Day (either bulk cooking and freezing once, or on the Kitchen Day for each corresponding week) prepare your rolls up to the point of rolling the log of dough. Wrap tightly and freeze.

4. Check your menu for the next day (as you do every evening ;) and remove the dough log to thaw in the fridge if you're eating them tomorrow!

5. In the morning, cut them, let them rise, bake and ENJOY!


And for your sweet-tooth's sake, here are two bonus recipes:

Caramel Frosting:
    *  1 1/2 cups brown sugar
    * 3/4 cup butter
    * 1/2 cup milk
    * 3 cups confectioners' sugar

Directions:
   1. Bring brown sugar, margarine, and milk to a boil and boil for 2 minutes.

   2. Cool for 30 minutes.

   3. Add confectioners sugar and beat until smooth.

   4. Spread on rolls.


Cream Cheese Frosting:

    * 8 ounces cream cheese
    * 1/4 cup butter (1/2 stick)
    * 1 lb powdered sugar
    * 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
    * 1 pinch salt
    * 3 tablespoons milk or cream, enough to aid in spreading consistency

Directions
   1.Blend softened cheese and butter in mixer.

   2.Blend and whip in the sugar and vanilla.

   3.Beat in enough cream to arrive at the right spreading consistency.

   4.Spread on rolls and enjoy!

Both recipes makes enough frosting for at least two pans of rolls, but they store well in the fridge for a week if cover tightly.

If you're ever close to Yoder, you've just got to stop in for a treat! But until then, give these rolls a try. You'll be bringing a little taste of plain life to your very own kitchen.

Let me know how you like them!