Cinnamon rolls

Do you also think it is really hard no to eat spekulatius or panetonne before December? We have a self-imposed rule that we will eat Christmas cookies only after the first of December but the shops are full of them since October and Germany is a country where Christmas cookies are various and extremely delicious. Who can resist a fresh Lebkuchen and some Zimtsterne? But I decided I will use the energy I needed for ignoring all the christmasy products for my Christmas baking rehearsal.

Probably the first ingredient which comes to your mind when you think of Christmas baking is cinnamon. And what could be better than sharing some fluffy cinnamon rolls and a glass of milk with your family next to the Christmas tree? At least that's what I did last Christmas and I still think it's the best thing to do.

While trying different cinnamon rolls recipes I came to the conclusion that there is nothing sadder in this world than hard, not fluffy cinnamon rolls. And to tell you a secret, I first tried this recipe in the summer while it was extra hot outside and my dough rose beautifully in a short amount of time.
Also, another thing I do when I make yeast dough, I put the dough in bed, so that it can rise under a blanket, that's why I also write a warning sign so that my boyfriend doesn't accidentally throw himself on the bed on my dough.

Servings: 6-8
Difficulty: medium
Preparation: 30 min + 2 hours rest for dough

Ingredients:
For the dough:

• 540 g flour
• 5 Tbsp sugar (about 80 g)
• 2 sachets vanilla sugar (14 g)
• 250 ml lukewarm milk
• 7 Tbsp oil
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cube fresh yeast (here it would be 21g)

For the filling:

• 4,5 Tbsp melted butter
• 140 g brown sugar
• 2 Tbsp cinnamon
• 60 g shredded nuts or almonds

For the topping:

• 5 Tbsp powdered sugar
• 2 Tbsp cream
• 1 Tbsp melted butter

Method:

• In a bowl mix the yeast, milk, oil, sugar and 2 Tbsp from the flour, cover with a dish cloth and set aside, for 10 minutes until it becomes frothy
• Add the rest of the dough ingredients and knead well 10 minutes until you get a smooth dough.
• Form the dough to a ball, cover the bowl with cling film
• Put the dough in a warm place and let it rest for about 2 hours or until it doubled it's volume
• Roll-out the dough to a rectangle and brush the melted butter over it
• Spread the sugar, cinnamon and nuts over the buttered dough
• Make a roll from the dough, starting to roll from the larger side of the dough rectangle
• With a floured knife, cut the dough in 9-12 rolls, each roll should be 5-6 cm thick
• Put the rolls in a baking pan or a round pan with baking paper and leave to rise, covered with cling film, for another 30 minutes - 1 hour
• Preheat oven to 180 degrees
• Put rolls in oven for 20-25 minutes until golden
• Take the rolls out of the oven and spread the topping over them