“You never should have made these?” was my husband’s response. He didn’t mean they were bad. He explained that they were too dangerously good. This is a recipe that needs to be reserved for that once a year on Christmas morning kind of indulgence. These cinnamon rolls were inspired by a maple bacon funnel cake my husband had at a fair in Washington (Blues, Brews, and Beautiful Views post). The next day we went to Springhouse Cellars in Hood River, Oregon winery and loved a Syrah that had suggested pairings as bacon and pancakes with maple syrup. An idea was shaping... a delicious, naughty, absolutely not nutritious recipe was developed. I share it here.
These cinnamon rolls are not technically difficult, but take a long time to rise. You need two –three hours before they are ready to bake. My recommendation is to make these the afternoon/evening before you want to serve these and bake in the morning. You can also easily make the icing for the glaze in the morning too. Just refrigerate the buns once they have finished rising.
WINE: ORANGE PEACH MANGO MIMOSAS
Even though a Syrah inspired this dish, I felt mimosas were a better choice for breakfast. When making mimosas, I skimp on sparkling wine quality and get the cheap stuff. I am a huge fan of mango juice over plain OJ. Today, I could only find Orange, Peach, Mango juice which was also delicious. Just mix half a glass of sparkling wine (or champagne) and half a glass of juice.
RECIPE: MAPLE BACON CINNAMON ROLLS
Yields 1 dozen
Ingredients:
• 1 package dry yeast (3/4 tbsp)
• 1 cup half-n-half
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup butter, softened
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• 4 cups bread flour
• 2 tsp Cinnamon and sugar mixture (roughly 2 parts sugar, 1 part cinnamon)
• 12 pieces bacon, cooked and cut into 1 inch pieces (I used nice thick slices of Apple Maple Bacon)
(FYI: Ingrediens for filling and icing are listed below with recipes for these)
Directions:
1. Put half-n half in microwave for one minute. Pour into large bowl.
2. Dissolve the yeast in the warm half-n-half.
3. Add sugar, butter, salt, eggs, and 2 cups of flour. Mix well.
4. Stir in one cup of flour. I used a fork at this point to stir as it was too thick for my electric mixer.
6. Add fourth cup of flour. Knead in by hand. I transferred to a cutting board and kneaded for a couple of minutes. You may need to add ¼-1/2 cup of flour so it is not sticky. Knead the dough into a large ball.
7. Put in a bowl, cover with towel and let rise in a warm place about 1 hour or until the dough has doubled in size. This took about an hour and a half for me. While rising, make filling (recipe below) and cook bacon.
8. To make it easier to manage, I cut the dough in half before rolling out.
9. Roll half the dough out on a lightly floured surface or parchment paper . You want to get it as close to a rectangle as you can. You want the dough to be about ¼-1/2 inch thick.
10. Spread with half of filling (see recipe below).
11. Sprinkle with half of cinnamon & sugar mixture.
12. Spread out half of bacon pieces in six rows.
14. Repeat steps 9-13 for other half of dough.
15. Grease two nine inch round pans.
16. Place six rolls in each pan around the edges leaving space between. Leave the center empty. This will allow for even baking.
19. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until light golden brown.
20. While the rolls are baking, make the icing (see recipe below).
21. When the rolls are done, spread generously with icing. Serve warm.
Ingredients:
• ½ cup butter softened
• 2 tbsp maple syrup
• 1 ½ cups confectioner sugar
• 1 tbsp brown sugar
Directions:
1. Combine above with a mixer in a medium bowl.
RECIPE: ICING
Ingredients:
• 1/2 cup half n half
• 4 cups confectioner sugar
• ½ tsp maple extract (or a little more to taste)
Directions:
1. Combine above with a mixer in a medium bowl.
