Cinnamon Rolls, or How I Met My Husband

They say that smell has a direct link to memory.  I know that this has scientific bearing but more importantly, I know this through experience. 

Case in point, cinnamon rolls.   I've used this recipe twice now and they make the moistest cinnamon rolls ever.  And they bring me right back to 2006.  I used to work in a mall book store right out of college.  (What else does one do with an English degree?)  The coffee shop across from the store sold spicy Mexican mochas and gooey cinnamon rolls.  They were baked in-house and the aroma was intoxicating.  Great days were the ones in which the owner of this coffee shop would bring us gifts of the last rolls of the day, which either had to be eaten or tossed.  They might have been hours old at that point, but the recipe was so good that they were still soft and moist.

I didn't always love working at this bookstore but I can love cinnamon rolls and the memories they evoke for one reason.  It was there at this bookstore that I met a man.  A man with expressive hazel eyes, who would buy any book I put in his hands just so he could talk to me.  The man I now sit across from, drinking coffee while we watch our sons rub sugary glaze through their hair.  Yeast and cinnamon and brown sugar are what I connect with the beginning of our lives together.  Not the cologne he wore, not the smell of new print, but the smell of cinnamon rolls.

I've decided that these rolls are going to become a special smell for our whole family.  Breakfast treats for birthdays, first days of school, Easter and Christmas mornings, "Proud of You" celebrations.  My boys might not grow up thinking of cinnamon rolls as "Mom met Dad" smells but I want them to connect something special with them, like I do. 

By the way, the secret to incredibly moist and gooey cinnamon rolls is Yukon Gold potatoes.  That's right.  Potatoes. 

How to Make Yukon Gold Cinnamon Rolls:
Makes 12 large rolls or 24 medium (seen here)

 Ingredients:
Dough:
1 lb. Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled, cut into 2" pieces
1 T. coarse kosher salt
1/2 c. unsalted butter
3 large eggs
4 1/2 c. (or more) unbleached all purpose flour
1/2 c. warm water
3 1/4-oz. envelopes dry active yeast
2 T. sugar


Filling:
1 1/3 c. (packed) golden brown sugar
2 1/2 T. ground cinnamon
3 T. unbleached all purpose flour
9 T. unsalted butter, room temp.


Glaze:
2 c. powdered sugar
1/4 c. unsalted butter, melted
2 T. (or more) whole milk
1 t. vanilla extract
1/8 t. coarse kosher salt

1.  Combine potatoes, 2 cups water, and 1 tablespoon coarse salt in large saucepan. Boil until potatoes are very tender, 15 to 18 minutes. Mash potatoes with water in pan (do not drain water). Add butter and mash until butter is melted. Whisk in eggs, then 1 cup flour; mash until very smooth. Let potatoes stand until barely lukewarm, about 10 minutes. 

2.  Meanwhile, pour 1/2 cup warm water into large bowl of stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment; stir in yeast and sugar. Let stand until foamy, about 10 minutes. Add potato mixture to yeast mixture; mix on low speed until well blended, 2 minutes. Mix in 3 cups flour, 1 cup at a time, beating well. Beat until sticky dough forms. 

3.  Spread 1/2 cup flour on work surface. Scrape dough out onto floured work surface. Knead until dough is smooth and elastic, adding more flour by tablespoonfuls if dough is very sticky, about 8 minutes.   May take a LOT more flour.  (I add about 1-2 cups extra.)

4.  Coat large bowl with butter. Transfer dough to bowl and turn to coat. Cover bowl with plastic wrap, then kitchen towel. Let dough rise in warm draft-free area until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.

5.  Meanwhile, make filling: mix brown sugar, cinnamon, and flour in medium bowl. Using fork, mix in butter. 

6.  Line large rimmed baking sheet with parchment. Turn dough out onto well-floured work surface. Roll out dough to 24x16-inch rectangle. Or to make medium rolls, divide dough in quarters.  Roll each piece into 12x6 inch rectangle.  Sprinkle filling evenly over dough. Starting at 1 long side, roll up dough jelly-roll style, enclosing filling. Using large knife dipped in flour, cut roll crosswise into 12 pieces, or 6 pieces for medium rolls.  Transfer rolls to baking sheet, spacing rolls about 3/4 inch apart. Cover baking sheet loosely with plastic wrap. Let rise in warm draft-free area until almost doubled in volume, about 20 minutes (rolls will be very puffy).  Or if making the night before, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2-24 hours.  

7.  Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Bake cinnamon rolls until golden, about 20 minutes. Cool rolls 10 minutes on baking sheet.

8.  Meanwhile, make glaze: whisk powdered sugar, melted butter, 2 tablespoons milk, vanilla, and coarse salt in small bowl. If glaze is too thick to spread, add more milk by 1/2 teaspoonfuls as needed. Spread glaze over warm rolls.

 
Recipe from Bon Appetit Magazine, March 2009.