What Heaven Smells and Tastes Like

Cinnamon Rolls V. 2.0

So, while I was happy with my first batch of cinnamon rolls, there was definitely a lot to be desired.

I wasn’t completely thrilled with the texture of the dough,

And I needed to experiment before my work’s Christmas party (I’ve signed myself up to bake about 5 batches…. Yeah, I’m crazy like that)

So here we are!

I have some yummy smelling rolls in the oven, and I’m going to share my secrets with you.

Now, let me be clear,

These are not regular cinnamon rolls…

Technically, these are Chai cinnamon rolls,

But you can’t really tell,

And I think this will be my normal way of making them,

So for the sake of this argument,

Let’s just call these the normal way of making cinnamon rolls.

I also added 1 cup of plain mashed potatoes to the dough, along with 1/2 of a cup of cornstarch,

Both of which have been said to make the end product very moist and tender.

I also used whole wheat flour and whole wheat pastry flour instead of just strict all purpose flour, because I wanted these to be somewhat nutritious.

I started the process just like I did last time (here’s the link to the original blog post) http://yummyyummyvegan.blogspot.com/search/label/Breakfast?updated-max=2010-09-12T12%3A53%3A00-07%3A00&max-results=20

And I added just about 2 tbs. of brewed black tea to the milk and butter mixture when I heated it on the stove.

I then added the mashed potatoes and cornstarch to the batter after I had combined the dry ingredients with the wet

Additionally, the recipe calls for 6 c. of flour. I did 2 c. whole wheat pastry flour, 1 c. whole wheat flour and then the remaining all purpose (including the flour used during the kneading)

I also kneaded my dough in a kitchen-aid and it worked wonderfully.

I also think that next time, I will use a greater ratio of wheat flour to all-purpose; I just wasn’t sure how it would turn out.

So for the filling I made a Chai spice mixture, that was:

1 c. sugar

2/3 tsp. ground cardamom

1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/3 tsp. ground cloves

1/2 tsp. nutmeg

2 tsp. ground black pepper

About 3 tbs. of brewed black tea

Aprox. 1 1/2 tsp. Anise extract

And I creamed that with 1/2 c. Earth Balance

I then spread that on nice and thick,

Rolled it all up,

Sprinkled some additional cinnamon/sugar/cloves on top

Baked

Mixed the frosting (added in a swig of the black tea and about another teaspoon of the Anise)

Spooned it on

Sprinkled more C/S/N

And ate

Mhmm, mhhm, mhmm

Darn were these good

Should have made a double of the frosting though,

Ah well, always next time :)

The rolls were unbelievably soft and moist and delicious,

Who knew mashed potatoes and cornstarch could be so magical!

These weren’t really gooey, which could be attributed to how little butter I used, and that can easily be fixed.

All in all,

I am pleased with the end result of this experiment