i woke up and wanted cinnamon rolls

brown sugar, cinnamon, poppyseeds and cardamom lace these luscious babies

My kitchen smelled lovely; cinnamon and brown sugar and … yeast. I used to do a lot of baking and my kind man mentioned the other day my current baking dearth, after having been totally spoiled with baked goods over the Holidays.

Honestly, I don’t bake nearly like I used to; it’s the two of us and quite frankly, we don’t need to eat dozens of cookies and cakes and pies. If it’s here, it gets eaten. Is that bad?

Saturday is breakfast day at our house. Usually that means some sort of egg dish or occasionally waffles, pancakes or muffins. Today, I had a craving for cinnamon rolls, which is kinda weird since I’m a savory girl. Nonetheless, that’s what I wanted.

orange-cinnamon rolls, sweet and tangy with bits of zest

Several years ago I was given a recipe for a lovely raised roll. It’s been made so many times I almost do it by rote. Due to a combination of both yeast and eggs you end up with a roll that is slightly dense with a yeasty, sweet flavor. The recipe is basic enough to form into dinner rolls, crescent rolls or any number of other options.

baby oranges, as they’re known in our house, juicy and sweet

Citrus is in abundance this time of year – isn’t that wonderful since it’s cold and stormy to have sweet bites of sunshine – so I will make cinnamon-orange buns iced with a creamy orange glaze. However, another of my loves is cardamom, and yesterday I picked on an Ocean Roll from Sparrow Bakery that’s part roll, part croissant and loaded with cardamom. So, guess what went into my rolls? Yep, cardamom goodness.

brown sugar, cinnamon, poppyseeds and my much loved cardamon rolls

Note: the dough itself is an exact science; it is baking. The add-ins are to personal preference, ie the amount of brown sugar, cinnamon, cardamom. The more the better, right?

Raised Rolls

Ingredients

• 2 c warm water
• 1/3 c sugar
• 2 pkg yeast
• 1 Tbsp salt
• 2 ½ c flour

Method

• Beat the first five ingredients by hand (or with a mixer if you must), add 2 eggs, 1/3 cup butter then begin adding an additional 4 cups of flour.
• Mix well, let sit 20 minutes. Shape into rolls, raise until doubled in size (or not for a dense, yeasty roll.)
• Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.

Makes about 2 dozen rolls.

generous amounts of sugar and spices, that’s how i like it

To make Brown Sugar Poppyseed Cardamom Rolls

• Using the Raised Roll recipe, pat dough into a large rectangle, approximately 14 x 20”.
• Brush generously with softened butter, spread with a good layer of brown sugar, sprinkle cinnamon and poppyseeds on top and then lovely cardamom. I use Cardamom-Vanilla sugar from Savory Spice Shop.
• Roll the dough from the long side, pinching the edges together.
• Slice into 1 ½” slices. Place in a buttered baking dish.
• Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until rolls are golden brown.
• Brush the tops with butter and sprinkle with additional cardamom sugar.

So, friends, tell me, is it crazy to wake up and want sweet rolls on a whim?

Happy eating –

Missy