When I first pushed past my paralyzing fear of yeast (well, I was not actually paralyzed - just a tad bit intimidated by the miniscule granules), I made batch upon batch of pizza dough. You might have heard me cackling with glee as I watched dough double in size, just the way I was promised in all those cookbooks. I considered myself unstoppable and boldly went where I had never gone before - sweet rolls. After hearing so many devotees sing the praises of Ree Drummond's (The Pioneer Woman) cinnamon rolls, I whipped up a full batch with the greatest of ease. Were they good? Well, they were deemed so good that my boys request them for Christmas morning breakfast each year.
Even though the original recipe is worthy of a large, drooling following of cinnamon roll lovers, I wanted to shake things up a bit. Heath Bars (or Skor Bars), which are chocolate-covered toffee bars, have always been a favorite of mine and I had great success using them in sugar cookies and coffee cake muffins. I replaced a good deal of the granulated sugar from the original recipe with crushed Heath Bar, as well as mixing it into the glaze.
The rolls are buttery soft, with just the amount of sweetness and a subtle crunch from the crushed chocolate bar. Both of my kids gave me an enthusiastic thumbs-up and my eldest son nibbled at the last bit of his cinnamon roll to savor the flavor. A success.
(Reminder: Head to my giveaway blog for a chance to win a $100 gift card.)
The recipe:
In a medium saucepan, combine milk, canola oil, and sugar. Heat the mixture until just before it reaches the boiling point. Remove from the heat and let cool for 45 minutes to an hour, or until the mixture is lukewarm. If the mixture is too warm, it will kill the yeast. Add the package of active dry yeast and stir.
Let the yeast rest for 10 minutes, then add 4 cups all-purpose flour. Stir well. Cover and let rise in a warm, draft-free place for at least an hour.
After the yeast rises, mix in ½ cup all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir well.
If you are ready to make the cinnamon rolls, continue with the next steps. If not, cover the pot with plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 2 days.
Working on a well-floured surface, shape the dough into a rectangle. With a well-floured rolling pin, roll the dough thin.
Pour melted butter over the dough and spread with a brush or spoon. Sprinkle cinnamon and Heath Bar bits over the butter.
Starting from the far edge, roll up the dough. Do it as tightly as you can without pushing all the butter out the sides.
Cut the roll into pieces that are ¾ – 1 inch wide. Spray baking pans with cooking spray and place the rolls in the pans, leaving a small space between the rolls. Cover and let the rolls rest for 20-30 minutes so that they rise a little.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Place the pans in the oven and bake the rolls for 10 to 15 minutes, or until they are light golden brown.
While the rolls are baking, make the glaze. Put powdered sugar in a medium bowl. Add vanilla extract, milk, melted butter, and salt. Stir until the glaze is smooth. Stir in Heath Bar bits.
Drizzle the glaze over the rolls while they are still warm. Serve.
Other sweet roll recipes:
Food Blogga's Mom's Blueberry Sweet Rolls
Brown Eyed Baker's Monkey Bread
Heath Bar Chocolate & Toffee Cinnamon Rolls
Rolls:
2 cups whole milk
½ cup canola oil
½ cup sugar
1 package active dry yeast
4 ½ cups all-purpose flour, divided + more for rolling
½ heaping teaspoon baking powder
½ scant teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoon salt
¾ cup (12 tbsp) unsalted butter, melted
1 ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 (1.4 oz each) Heath bars (or other chocolate-toffee bar), crushed
Glaze:
½ lb powdered sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
¼ cup milk
2 tablespoon melted butter
Pinch of salt
1 (1.4 oz) Heath Bar, crushed
In a medium saucepan, combine milk, canola oil, and sugar. Heat the mixture until just before it reaches the boiling point. Remove from the heat and let cool for 45 minutes to an hour, or until the mixture is lukewarm. If the mixture is too warm, it will kill the yeast. Add the package of active dry yeast and stir.
Let the yeast rest for 10 minutes, then add 4 cups all-purpose flour. Stir well. Cover and let rise in a warm, draft-free place for at least an hour.
After the yeast rises, mix in ½ cup all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir well.
If you are ready to make the cinnamon rolls, continue with the next steps. If not, cover the pot with plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 2 days.
Working on a well-floured surface, shape the dough into a rectangle. With a well-floured rolling pin, roll the dough thin. Pour melted butter over the dough and spread with a brush or spoon. Sprinkle cinnamon and Heath Bar bits over the butter.
Starting from the far edge, roll up the dough. Do it as tightly as you can without pushing all the butter out the sides. Cut the roll into pieces that are ¾ – 1 inch wide. Spray baking pans with cooking spray and place the rolls in the pans, leaving a small space between the rolls. Cover and let the rolls rest for 20-30 minutes so that they rise a little.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Place the pans in the oven and bake the rolls for 10 to 15 minutes, or until they are light golden brown.
While the rolls are baking, make the glaze. Put powdered sugar in a medium bowl. Add vanilla extract, milk, melted butter, and salt. Stir until the glaze is smooth. Stir in Heath Bar bits. Drizzle the glaze over the rolls while they are still warm. Serve.
Makes about 18 rolls.
