Cinnamon roll recipes to love

In the fall of 2011, cookbook author Judith Fertig took on an ambitious assignment: Write a book of cinnamon roll recipes in 60 days.

Fertig loves cinnamon rolls, and she’s authored more than 20 cookbooks on everything from bread to barbecue. Still, this was no easy task.

The expert baker holed up in her Overland Park, Kan., kitchen with colossal amounts of flour, butter and sugar. She gathered four kinds of cinnamon and started rolling it into swirls of every shape and size. Her overworked oven churned out all kinds of crave-worthy creations: Carrot Cake Cinnamon Rolls with Pineapple-Cream Cheese Frosting. Mexican Chocolate Cinnamon Rolls spiked with ancho chili. Moroccan-inspired crescents filled with black pepper and rose petals.

Fertig would taste each one, then hand out leftovers to neighbors, friends and family members. “I was very popular for a while,” she said.

At the end of those two months, Fertig had lots of new friends and another cookbook: “I Love Cinnamon Rolls!” (Andrews McMeel Publishing, 2012).

The book has everything from traditional sticky buns to gluten-free rolls. The recipes are customizable, so you easily change out the dough, filling, pan sauce or topping.

“I’m a mix-and-match person,” Fertig said.

Fertig said she wanted the recipes to be flexible because everyone has his or her own version of the perfect cinnamon roll.

In the Midwest, she said, we like our cinnamon rolls soft and feathery, with lots of gooey frosting on top. On the East Coast, people prefer sticky buns. In Colorado, it’s not a cinnamon roll unless it’s as big as a plate, and in the Northwest, vegan rolls are all the rage.

Don’t even get Fertig started on all the different kinds of rolls Europeans like.

As for the cookbook author, she’s a native Midwesterner, so it’s no surprise she likes cinnamon rolls that are soft and gooey, filled with lots of mouth-watering brown sugar and warm cinnamon.

“If you’re going to have a cinnamon roll,” Fertig said, “have a cinnamon roll.”

Traditional Cinnamon Roll Dough

This easy dough, which bakes up all soft and feathery, can be kneaded with a mixer or by hand. “You know you’re done when you can stick your knuckle in it and it bounces back, like a pillow,” Fertig said.

1 cup whole milk

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon salt

2 large eggs

3 1/3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for kneading and dusting

2 1/2 teaspoons instant or bread machine yeast

In a 4-cup measuring cup, combine the milk, butter, sugar and salt. Microwave on high for 1 minute or until warm (Careful: Exceed 130 degrees and you’ll kill the yeast). Whisk in the eggs.

Place the flour and yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Add the liquid ingredients. Mix on low speed, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl from time to time, until the dough forms a soft mass and starts to pull away from the sides of the bowl, 5 to 6 minutes.

Remove the paddle attachment and switch to the dough hook. With the mixer on low, knead the dough with the dough hook. Sprinkle the dough with a tablespoon of flour, if necessary, to keep it from sticking to the sides of the bowl. When the dough is smooth, not sticky, and springs back when you press it with your finger, you’ve kneaded it enough (4 to 6 minutes). Place the dough in a large, oiled mixing bowl, cover with a tea towel and let rise in a warm place (about 85 degrees) for 45 to 60 minutes, or until it has almost doubled.

Proceed with a cinnamon roll recipe.

Yield: Makes 6 jumbo, 12 large, 16-20 medium, or 48 mini rolls

Approximate nutrition per serving (based on 12): 209 calories, 6 grams fat (3 grams saturated, 25 percent fat calories), 6 grams protein, 33 grams carbohydrate, 49 milligrams cholesterol, 1 gram dietary fiber, 1 gram dietary fiber, 200 milligrams sodium.

Swedish Cinnamon Rolls

Swedes like their cinnamon rolls on the spicy side, Fertig says. These cute, compact sweets get their kick from aromatic cardamom and taste great with coffee.

1 recipe Traditional Cinnamon Roll Dough (see above)

Flour for dusting

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 tablespoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon cardamom

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

2 large egg yolks, beaten with 2 teaspoons water

3/4 cup Swedish pearl sugar or coarsely crushed sugar cubes

Line 48 muffin cups with cupcake liners.

Transfer the dough to a floured surface. Cut the dough in fourths. Roll each fourth out to an 8-by-12-inch rectangle.

For the filling, combine the sugar, cinnamon and cardamom in a small bowl. Brush a fourth of the butter over the dough and sprinkle with a fourth of the spice mixture.

Roll up the dough and form it into a tight 12-inch-long cylinder. Cut each cylinder into 12 slices. Place each slice, spiral side up, in a paper-lined muffin cup. Repeat with the remaining dough. Cover the pans with a tea towel and rest in a warm place until almost doubled, 45 to 60 minutes.

Brush the tops of the rolls with egg wash and sprinkle with pearl sugar.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Bake for 12 to 14 minutes, or until lightly browned.

Yield: 48 mini rolls

Approximate nutrition per roll: 439 calories, 14 grams fat (9 grams saturated, 29 percent fat calories), 6 grams protein, 73 grams carbohydrate, 72 milligrams cholesterol, 2 grams dietary fiber, 221 milligrams sodium.

Classic Cinnamon Rolls

For a twist, Fertig swapped the usual cream cheese frosting for an icing flavored with coffee and maple syrup.

1 recipe Traditional Cinnamon Roll Dough (see above)

Flour for dusting

8 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided and softened

1 cup packed dark brown sugar

2 1/2 tablespoons cinnamon

2 cups confectioners’ sugar

Pinch of salt

1 tablespoon whole milk

1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted

2 tablespoons strong brewed coffee

1/2 tablespoon maple syrup

For the pan sauce, spread 4 tablespoons of the butter into the bottom of a 9-by-13-inch pan.

Transfer the dough to a floured surface and roll out to a 16-by-20-inch rectangle.

For the filling, combine the brown sugar and cinnamon in a bowl. Spread the dough with 4 tablespoons of the butter and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. Starting with the shorter side, roll up the dough to form a tight 16-inch cylinder. Cut the cylinder into 12 rolls. Place in the prepared pan, spiral side up. Cover with a tea towel and let rise in a warm place until almost doubled, 45 to 60 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Bake for 15 to 17 minutes or until lightly browned on top.

For the glaze, whisk the remaining ingredients together in a medium bowl. Drizzle over the warm rolls.

Yield: 12 large rolls

Approximate nutrition per roll: 439 calories, 14 grams fat (9 grams saturated, 29 percent fat calories), 6 grams protein, 73 grams carbohydrate, 72 milligrams cholesterol, 2 grams dietary fiber.

Vegan Cinnamon Roll Dough

This recipe makes an incredibly soft, flaky dough that you’d never guess was made without real eggs or butter.

1/4 cup water

3/4 cup soy, rice or almond milk, preferably vanilla flavored

1/2 cup granulated sugar or date sugar

4 tablespoons vegan buttery-flavored sticks, such as Earth Balance, softened

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 tablespoon powdered egg substitute, such as Ener-g Egg Replacer

3 1/3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for kneading

2 1/2 teaspoons instant or bread machine yeast

In a 4-cup measuring cup, combine the water, soy milk, sugar, vegan buttery-flavored sticks, and salt. Microwave on high for 1 ½ minutes or until warm. Whisk in the egg substitute.

Place the flour and yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add the liquid ingredients. Mix on low speed, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl from time to time, until the dough forms a soft mass and starts to pull away from the sides of the bowl, 5 to 6 minutes.

Remove the paddle attachment and switch to the dough hook. With the mixer on low, knead the dough with the dough hook. Sprinkle the dough with a tablespoon of flour, if necessary, to keep it from sticking to the sides of the bowl. When the dough is smooth, not sticky, and springs back when you press it with your finger, you’ve kneaded enough (3 to 5 minutes). Place the dough in a large, oiled mixing bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let rise in a warm place (about 85 degrees) for 45 to 60 minutes, or until it has almost doubled.

Proceed with a cinnamon roll recipe.

Yield: 6 jumbo, 12 large, 16-20 medium, or 48 mini rolls

Approximate nutrition per serving (based on 12): 205 calories, 5 grams fat (3 grams saturated, 22 percent total fat calories), 4 grams protein, 35 grams carbohydrate, no cholesterol, 1 gram dietary fiber, 271 milligrams sodium.