Cinnamon Rolls!

Ahhh… here is a recipe that is great in so many ways! I love getting up to make a batch of these goodies and eating them for breakfast- warm and soft and oozing cinnamon filling goodness! And what about a change for afternoon tea as well, a fragrant and very wintery treat to perk up these dark afternoons! These are best eaten fresh and unadorned straight from the oven, but can be left to cool and drizzled with a simple glaze. They can also be reheated in the microwave if they have gone a little stale.

I have tried a few different recipes for these, and here is the one I like best. The dough is made from just four staple store cupboard ingredients so you should be able to make them now if you're tempted! It does not have yeast, so it doesn't need to spend time rising and only requires a little time to knead, overall taking about twenty to minutes to make and just over 10 to cook, you can have your rolls ready in half an hour! They are just golden with a firm outside and soft, cinnamony centre with the distinct swirl pattern. I'm always tempted to make more filling but it really doesn't need it, or they will overflow and burn before properly cooked!

Cinnamon Rolls
2 cups self-raising flour
Pinch of salt
90g butter, chopped
2/3 cup of milk

Filling:
60g butter, softened
2 tablespoon soft brown sugar (or 1 tbsp dark sugar and 1 tbsp caster sugar)
3 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Icing (optional:)
1 cup icing sugar
1 tablespoon boiling water

•   Preheat the oven to 190C/375F. Brush melted butter or oil over an oven tray and then set to work on the dough: Sift the flour and salt into a mixing bowl and add the butter. Work to breadcrumbs using your fingertips. Make a well in the centre and pour in milk. Mix it through to form a soft dough.
•   Tip the dough out onto a floured surface and knead briefly until smooth. Roll out to a rectangle shape measuring 25 x 40cm.
•   Beat together the filling ingredients until smooth and spread evenly over the rectangle of dough with a palette knife. Roll the dough up from the long side. Using a sharp knife, slice it into slice 3cm long and place on the tray, spaced a little apart from each other.
•   Bake for 12 minutes, or until just golden but still soft. Cool slightly and then serve straight away, or make the icing: combine ingredients in a small bowl and beat until smooth, then drizzle over buns before serving. Enjoy!