i'd rather be baking

I can’t do January without cinnamon rolls. Can’t and won’t. It’s not right. There’s a reason I’m not into diets and resolutions and whatnots. It gets in the way of the carbs, usually.

Ryan’s favorite food is probably a biscuit and mine is probably a cinnamon roll, so it was only a matter of time until this happened. I made these while my sister was in town and they were a huge hit. Flaky biscuit goodness + cinnamon and butter is all you need, really.

January is hard, you guys. We’ve almost made it through! I need a cinnamon roll.

Biscuit Cinnamon Rolls
Joy the Baker

Makes about 9 rolls

For the biscuits:
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, cold and cut into cubes
1/4 cup vegetable shortening, cold and cut into cubes (I used additional unsalted butter)
1 egg, beaten
3/4 cup buttermilk, cold
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

For the filling:
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground nutmeg (optional)
pinch of salt
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted plus a bit more for topping the biscuits before baking

Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 400°F. Grease a 8×8-inch square baking pan with butter and set aside.

In a small bowl, make the filling by mixing together sugars, spices, and salt. Set aside. Set melted butter aside as well.

In a mixing bowl, sift together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Cut in shortening and butter until mixture resembles coarse meal. Use your hands to break the fat cutes into the dry ingredients. Some of the fat bits will be the size of peas and some fat bits will be the size of oat flakes. In another bowl, combine egg, milk, and vanilla, and beat lightly with a fork. Add the liquid to flour mixture all at once, stirring enough to make a soft dough.

Turn out onto a floured board and knead about 15 times. If the butter has warmed too much in the making of the dough, shape the batter into a dish, wrap in plastic wrap, and let rest in the fridge for 15 minutes. If the butter is still cool, shape the dough into a disk and, on a well floured surface, roll dough to a little less than 1/2-inch thickness (about 12-inches long and 10-inches tall). The dough will be rolled much thinner than a biscuit dough that you would cut biscuits from.

Brush biscuit dough with melted butter. Sprinkle liberally with cinnamon sugar filling. Begin to carefully roll one vertical side into a fairly tight roll. Continue rolling until you have a biscuit cylinder. Using a sharp, floured knife, slice into log, about 1-inch thick. Place rolls, in prepared pan. Brush the tops with melted butter and bake for 13-15 minutes, until slightly golden brown on top.

These biscuit cinnamon rolls are best served warm the day they’re made. They’re also good reheated with butter and jam.

Cinnamon roll madness! A whole wheat varietal + my favorites ever.