Homemade Cinnamon Rolls with Orange Olive Oil and White Balsamic Glaze

Nothing beats fresh, warm cinnamon rolls on a cool weekend morning. We were inspired by a recipe from Sally McKenney that proved making cinnamon rolls from scratch is definitely worth it. Not only are you using fresh ingredients but we tweaked her recipe a bit replacing all the butter with extra virgin olive oil. These pillow-soft treats are a bit healthier for you and your family. We also found that cooking with yeast doesn’t have to be intimidating and with this method you don’t need to wait for your dough to rise twice. Fair warning, the rising period is 1½ hours so plan accordingly. The recipe can be made the night before up to the point where you set the rolls aside to rise. However, make sure they are at room temperature before baking. If they rise too much overnight, you can gently press them down before baking. We also discovered, almost by accident, the perfect glaze. Searching the pantry for a tangy flavor to cut through all the sugar, we reached for our own Cara Cara Orange Vanilla White Balsamic Vinegar and it worked deliciously with the powdered sugar. Glaze the rolls right before serving. These rolls are best when served the same day but they will stay fresh in a covered container for a few days. But really now, who can let fresh cinnamon rolls sit on the counter for more than one day?

INGREDIENTS

ROLLS

• 2¼ plus ½ cup of all-purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons of granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 package active dry yeast (1¼ teaspoons)
• ½ cup water
• ¼ cup milk, at room temperature
• 2 tablespoons Olive This! Blood Orange Olive Oil
• 1 large egg, at room temperature
• ½ cup chopped pecans, toasted (optional, not pictured above)

FILLING

• 1/3 cup lightly packed brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
• 5 tablespoons Olive This! Blood Orange Olive Oil

BALSAMIC GLAZE

• ¾ cup powdered sugar
• 3 tablespoons Olive This! Cara Cara Orange Vanilla Balsamic Vinegar

DIRECTIONS

To make the dough, start with the dry ingredients. In a large bowl, whisk together 2 ¼ cups of the flour, the 3 tablespoons of granulated sugar, 1 teaspoon salt, and the package of yeast. Set aside the remaining ½ cup of flour in a small bowl or measuring cup.

For the wet ingredients, combine the ½ cup of water, the ¼ cup of milk and the 2 tablespoons of Blood Orange Olive Oil in a small bowl and heat in the microwave until it is hot to the touch (about 125 degrees). If you start with cool tap water, it should take about 50 seconds in the microwave.

Lightly beat your egg in a small bowl and set aside.

Add the heated wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir to combine. (Save the empty wet ingredients bowl aside; it should have some residual oil coating the sides.) After the dough begins to clump together, add the egg and some of the reserved flour to make a soft dough.

Keep folding the dough with a spatula adding more flour as necessary. The dough will be ready when it pulls away cleanly from the side of the bowl and has an elastic consistency. When finished, set aside the reserved flour to prepare your surface for kneading.

Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and knead for about 3-4 minutes. When finished, place the kneaded ball of dough into an oiled bowl (use the lightly-oiled bowl you set aside earlier). Let stand for about 10 minutes while you make your filling.

To make the filling, combine the 1/3 cup of brown sugar, the 2 tablespoons of ground cinnamon and the 5 tablespoons of Blood Orange Olive Oil. Stir well to combine.

After 10 minutes, roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface in a 15×9 inch rectangle. Try to stay true to the measurements so you’ll have the right amount of filling.

Spread the cinnamon olive oil filling evenly on the dough. Add any pecans or walnuts as desired.

Using the longer edge of the rectangle, roll up the dough tightly (as pictured) keeping the filling inside.  When finished, pinch along the edge of the dough to seal to the body of the roll.

Cut the roll into 11 pieces and place into a glass baking dish a little larger than a 9-inch round pan. We used a larger oval baking dish as these rolls will almost double in size.

Evenly space the rolls in the baking dish leaving room for them to expand. Loosely cover the dish with foil and allow to rise in a draft-free place for about 90 minutes. If you’re struggling to find a warm, draft-free place, try this: 1. Set your oven to 200 degrees. 2. Once it reaches 200 degrees, turn the oven off. 3. Place the foil covered rolls in the oven and let them rise as the oven cools.

After about 90 minutes, the rolls will almost double in size. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Bake the cinnamon rolls covered with foil for 15 minutes. Remove foil after 15 minutes and continue to bake for another 10-15 minutes until brown.

When the rolls are done baking, remove from the oven and get ready to glaze.

In a small bowl mix together the ¾ cup of powdered sugar and 3 tablespoons of Cara Cara Orange Vanilla white balsamic vinegar. Stir well to form a smooth glaze. Generously spoon glaze over rolls while still in the baking dish.

Serve immediately and enjoy!

MAKES 11 ROLLS

Have a comment? We’d love to hear from you. Have you tried this dish? Do you have a variation that you think others will enjoy? Leave us a comment below.