A Snowy Weekend

We had a wonderful snowy winter weekend. Big lace doily flakes falling slowly and coating everything in a nice wintery blanket. My favorite kind of day.

Days like this always make the city seem so quiet and clean.

I fed my kids and neighbors. Everyone is suffering from covid boredom so getting food gives them something to look forward to. I made egg rolls.

Accompanied by a savory soy dipping sauce and a duck sauce.

I also made them Levain Bakery's famous double chocolate chip cookies.

I made a spanakopita for a couple of my neighbors.

And early Sunday morning I made everyone cinnamon rolls.

Nothing like waking up to a delivery of fresh, warm cinnamon buns.

Ingredients

For the dough:
¾ cup warm milk (whole milk or 2% preferred) (110 degrees F)
2 ¼ teaspoons quick rise or active yeast (1/4-ounce package yeast)
¼ cup granulated sugar
1 egg plus 1 egg yolk, at room temperature
¼ cup unsalted butter, melted
3 cups bread flour, plus more for dusting
3/4 teaspoon salt
For the filling:
2/3 cup dark brown sugar (light brown sugar also works)
1 ½ tablespoons ground cinnamon
¼ cup unsalted butter, softened
For the cream cheese frosting:
4 oz cream cheese, softened
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
¾ cup powdered sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

Warm milk to around 110 degrees F. Transfer warm milk to the bowl of an electric mixer and sprinkle yeast on top. Add in sugar, egg, egg yolk and melted butter. Mix until well combined. Next stir in flour and salt with a wooden spoon until a dough begins to form.
Place dough hook on your mixer and knead dough on medium speed for 8 minutes. Dough should form into a nice ball and be slightly sticky.
Transfer dough ball to a buttered bowl, cover with plastic wrap and a warm towel. Allow dough to rise for 1 hour to 1 ½ hours, or until doubled in size.
After dough has doubled in size, transfer dough to a well-floured surface and roll out into a 14x9 inch rectangle. Spread softened butter over dough, leaving a ¼ inch margin at the far side of the dough.
In a small bowl, mix together brown sugar and cinnamon. Use your hands to sprinkle mixture over the buttered dough, then rub the brown sugar mixture into the butter.
Tightly roll dough up, starting from the 9-inch side and place seam side down making sure to seal the edges of the dough as best you can.
Cut into 1 inch sections with a serrated knife. You should get 9 large pieces.
Place cinnamon rolls in a greased 9x9 inch baking pan or round 9 inch cake pan. Cover with plastic wrap and a warm towel and let rise again for 30-45 minutes.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Remove plastic wrap and towel and bake cinnamon rolls for 20-25 minutes or until just slightly golden brown on the edges. You want to underbake them a little so they stay soft in the middle, that’s why we want them just slightly golden brown. Allow them to cool for 5-10 minutes before frosting. Makes 9 cinnamon rolls.
Frosting: In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar and vanilla extract. Beat until smooth and fluffy. Spread over cinnamon rolls and serve immediately.