Recipe: Hecka Good Cinnamon Rolls

When a family friend (bless her heart) refused to share her recipe for her mouth-watering cinnamon pull-apart bread, I set out on a quest for the perfect sweet roll recipe, blending a cinnamon roll taste with gooey caramel. This final recipe is the result of pure genius (completely original recipe) and rivals the one still being hoarded.

Hecka Good Cinnamon Rolls

by Alana Lee

Ingredients:

1 Recipe Rose’s Rolls

1 c. brown sugar
2 t. cinnamon
Dash allspice or nutmeg (optional)

3/4 c. butter, softened

1 Recipe Caramel Glaze (below)

1 Recipe Cream Cheese Frosting (below)

Optional Caramel Glaze
2 T. water
1/2 c. light corn syrup
1 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. white sugar
3/4 c. butter
1 t. vanilla

Cream Cheese Frosting (see this post)
8 oz. cream cheese, cold
1/2 c. butter, room temperature
2-3 c. powdered sugar
1 t. vanilla

Directions:

1. Make 1 recipe Rose’s Rolls, knead lightly 1-2 minutes, and let rise until doubled in bulk.

2. Mix brown sugar, cinnamon, and allspice or nutmeg (optional) in bowl. Set aside.

3. Caramel Glaze: (When dough is nearly doubled, begin making Caramel Glaze.) Cook all ingredients but butter and vanilla over low heat until it starts to bubble. Add butter and return to boil. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.

4. Grease bottom of casserole dish or baking pans with cooking spray.

5. Drizzle caramel glaze* on bottom of greased casserole dish (I use two 9 x 13s with glaze drizzle covering about half of the bottom--one glaze recipe is good for 4-5 baking pans).

6. Back to the Rolls: Punch down dough and roll into long strip about 8-10” wide.

7. Spread softened butter over rolled out dough. Evenly sprinkle brown sugar-cinnamon mixture onto buttered dough. Smooth out mixture with hands.

8. Roll up prepared dough starting with long edge (should be skinny and long roll). Cut into 1" to 2" rolls using quilting thread (slide a length of hand-quilting thread under the roll and cross over ends, pulling tightly; this keeps the rolls round). I cut the long roll in half, and then in half again to make sure I get the right number of rolls for my desired pan.

9. Dip each roll in melted butter and place buttered-side up in the baking dish, on top of optional caramel glaze. If you cut rolls at 1", rolls can touch in the pan; if you cut rolls at 2", leave 1" between rolls. Drizzle any remaining melted butter over rolls.
   

10. Let rise until nearly doubled and bake at 375-380 degrees until golden brown, about 15-20 minutes.

11. Optional: Invert pan. Top with warmed, leftover caramel glaze or cream cheese frosting.

Makes 24 small or 18 medium cinnamon rolls. 

Cook's Note: *Only make caramel glaze if you plan on eating the rolls warm. If you don't plan on eating the cinnamon rolls within a few hours, do NOT to put caramel glaze in the bottom of the pan as it tends to make the bottom of the rolls chewy. I usually store any leftover caramel glaze in a canning jar in the fridge for my next batch.

Two scrumptious rolls stuck together.

Dough ready to roll out.

A nice layer of butter.

Cinnamon-sugar mixture spread over butter.

The quilting-thread cutting method.

Cut into equal sections, and then into equal-sized rolls.

Use a butter knife or thread to mark cutting guides.

Pan of rolls before second rise.

Close up: rolls before second rise.

Pan of rolls after second rise; ready for oven.

Close up: rolls after second rise; ready for oven.

Pan of baked rolls, slightly golden.

Close up: baked rolls, slightly golden.

Process pictured below with optional caramel glaze.