Otto Wardwell, Staff Writer
We all enjoy a sweet treat every once in a while. And while store bought (or mines market made if you’re a freshie) is convenient and somewhat adequate, it never leaves you quite satisfied. But let’s face it, between all of the calculus and the fact that I am naturally very lazy, I never get around to making anything fancy or even somewhat complicated. Well if you’re like me, then I have the perfect recipe for you. It really only requires about 40 minutes of active baking time and about half the steps are optional. Another thing about this recipe is that most of the ingredients (minus the cream cheese and butter) are shelf stable and don’t require any
annoying grocery runs. It’s the classic cinnamon roll for lazy and broke college students. If you manage to find the effort you will not be disappointed by the result.
Dough Ingredients
1 Package instant yeast (2 1⁄4 tsp)
1 Cup of Warm Water
2 Tbsp Sugar (Or honey if you’re feeling fancy)
2 Cups All purpose flour
1 Tbsp Vanilla Extract (Or imitation vanilla if you’re broke like me)
3 Tbsp (Softened) Butter (The butter packets from Mines Market are also coincidentally 1 Tbsp
each)
Filling
1 Tbsp butter (Melted or soft enough to spread)
2 Tbsp Cinnamon
1⁄4 Cup sugar
Icing Ingredients
4 Tbsp Cream cheese (Softened)
2 tsp Vanilla extract
1 1⁄4 Tbsp Confectioners sugar
1) Combine the warm water, yeast and sugar in a large bowl, stir until the yeast and sugar are evenly dispersed, cover, and let sit for 10 minutes.
2) Once the yeast is frothy, add the flour, vanilla, and butter. Stir with the back of a spoon until a dough begins to form and knead the dough for another 5 minutes. I usually use my hands at this point but a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, or the back of a
wooden spoon also works.
3) Once the dough is (somewhat) smooth (or when you get bored), transfer to a clean oiled bowl (or if you hate doing dishes, somewhat clean the current bowl and oil it well). Let the dough rise in a warm place for 45-90 minutes or until the dough has doubled in size.
4) Once the dough has risen, transfer to (again, a somewhat) clean surface and roll out into a rough rectangle (about 11 by 15 inches, but let’s be honest who’s really going to measure it). Once rolled out to about half a quarter to a half inch thickness, spread the
butter, and then sprinkle the cinnamon and sugar along the rectangle, leaving a 1 inch gap from one of the shorter ends (This will help with sealing the filling when rolled). Once evenly dispersed, start from the shorter end of the rectangle and roll towards the other shorter end (the one that isn’t coated in cinnamon). Once rolled cut the log into 9 pieces and place closely together in a well oiled baking dish (A cake pan works very well for
this).
5) Preheat the oven to 375 F. Let the rolls rise for around 30 minutes or when you grow impatient.
6) Bake for 25-30 minutes, or when golden brown.
7) Vigorously whisk the softened cream cheese, vanilla, and sugar together with a fork (or a
whisk if you’re fancy), and then generously drizzle over the rolls.
8) Serve warm and enjoy with friends (or just eat them by yourself, I’m not going to judge you).
