Cinnamon Rolls in Paradise

On Saturday, Cortado was serving up these tasty, house-made cinnamon rolls at the Poipu Craft Fair at Poipu Beach. They were such a hit that we thought we would share the recipe. Cinnamon rolls can be a little on the intimidating side with their perfect spirals of cinnamon filling and glossy glazed exterior but this recipe is super simple. The rolls can be be made quickly, require no special equipment and they are made without yeast. They may be simple to make but they certainly deliver when in comes to flavor and texture.

Cortado Cinnamon Rolls

Made from Scratch, Yeast Free

Ingredients:

For the rolls

DRY INGREDIENTS

2 1/2 Cups All Purpose Flour + more for dusting

3 Tablespoons sugar

1 1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt (we used french sea salt)

WET INGREDIENTS

1 cup to 1 1/4 cup milk (we used organic whole milk but buttermilk and heavy cream work well also)

2 Tablespoons melted butter + 2 Tablespoons reserved for brushing the rolls

For the filing

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

4 teaspoons cinnamon

pinch of salt ~ 1/8 teaspoon or so

For the icing

1 cup powdered sugar

2 Tablespoons melted butter

1 teaspoon good quality organic vanilla

1 Tablespoon milk

Preheat the oven to 425 Degrees and grease a 9 x 9 baking dish.

We will start by making filling. Simply combine all the filling ingredients in a medium size bowl. Sit aside

Next, to make the dough for our cinnamon rolls. In a large bowl combine all of the dry ingredients well, a sifter works great for this. Slowly add the milk to the dry ingredient mixture, begin stirring and as soon as the mixture begins to come together add the melted butter. Finish stirring until the dough has come together and is slightly sticky. Turn to the dough out on to a *well* floured surface. Knead the dough several times. Begin rolling out the dough with a rolling pin, the goal here is to roll the dough to approximately 9 x 11in. and to make it quite thin, slightly less than 1/2 inch in thickness. Once the dough is rolled out it time o prepare it for filling. Spread or brush to the top surface of the dough with additional 2 Tablespoons of melted butter. Make sure you go right up to the edges. Then sprinkle the filling mixture evenly across the buttered dough. Now come the fun part rolling the cinnamon rolls. Starting from the shorter side of the dough (the 9 inch side) start neatly rolling. Continue until you have neatly form log or roll. Its time to cut the individual rolls, simply slice of the rolls using a sharp knife. Rolls should be approximately an inch thick and you should be able to get 6 or 7 out of the log depending on how thick each roll is. Place the rolls , evenly spaced, in the greased baking dish. Put the rolls in to the preheated oven bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until the cinnamon rolls are golden brown.

While the rolls are baking you can mix up up the frosting. Combine the icing ingredients, to create a thicker icing add more powdered sugar, for thinner icing add  more milk. Once the rolls are out of the oven allow them to cool slightly before topping them with the icing. Once the rolls are ready spread to icing on top of each roll. Enjoy your made cinnamon rolls!

Stop by Cortado Coffee Bar to try our delicious baked goods! 

Cinnamon Rolls in Paradise