Marshmallow Fun "Sugar High" Sweet Rolls

I did not intend on making these Sugar High - but they are. These are Trial 1 sort of sweet rolls... I thought that I had been baking sweet rolls long enough to get it right the first time, but I'm going to have to go for a Trial 2 on these ones - and cut half the sugar out of them.

One reason being that they are filled with globs of marshmallow fluff - and that adds an intense sweet flavor of it's own. 

The good news: looks! The kids took one look and said, I want some!!! 

But after a bite or two, they said, it's too sweet. I love my kids - so honest and mostly healthy. They like candy and marshmallows like most kids, but they recognize when something is too sweet.

That's great... I'll make them again - one thing is for sure, looks wise, these would make a great birthday treat in place of standard cake.

They are very colorful - psychadelic and tie-dye sort of hippy colors - kind of Dr. Suess colors - rainbow bright - loved making them. I used yellow, pink and light blue, but I think any combination would be fun.

I also served them with a small handful of colorful twisty marshmallows.

Dough:
2/3 cup warm (soy) milk
50 ml oil or melted butter
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 T sugar
2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup yellow cake mix
1 heaping teaspoon active dry yeast

I put it in bread machine by order suggested by the manufacturer - which is liquids first, followed by dry stuff. I also do yeast last. - put it on dough cycle - hit start.

Of course you can mix it and knead it by hand, but lately, I'm looking for short cuts. (I'm 6 months pregnant after all)

Remove from bread machine and punch down. Let sit a few minutes while preparing filling ingredients. Roll out into rectangle - about 1-2 centimeters thick.

Top with Fillings (see below), roll up and cut into 8 or 12 equal slices. If 8 slices, it fits nicely into a large pie tin. If 12 slices, it fits nicely into a 9x13-inch casserole dish.

Line casserole or pie tin with baking paper - for easier clean up - or grease with butter generously.

Put into the oven on the lowest temperature or in another warm place to rise a second time - 30 minutes or until doubled in size. Meanwhile, prepare Topping ingredients (see below).

Bake at 175-C degrees for about 15 minutes (a bit longer for glass casserole - a bit less for pie tin - take a look at and bake according to how toasty the top of the rolls look, you can also tap them to see if they spring back lightly).

Remove from oven and drizzle with frostings and sprinkle with cake sprinkles or pearls (which we call parels in the Netherlands - like balls).

Filling: spread on rectangle 2 tablespoons melted butter, spread on top of that - 1/2 cup light brown sugar and up to 1 tablespoon cinnamon powder. Then put globs of marshmallow fluff on top - evenly spaced out over the rectangle (up to about 1/2 cup in total).

Topping: mix together 2 tablespoons each softened butter and cream cheese. Mix in 1/4 cup at a time, sifted powdered sugar and 1 tablespoon yellow cake mix and thin out with up to 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract. Then divide into two or three parts and color each - pink, blue, yellow. Add a little (soy) milk 1/2 teaspoon at a time to reach desired drizzling consistency.

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African Honeybush Tea - Banana, Vanilla, Pineapple and Cinnamon Sweet Rolls

Gosh - that's a mouthful - the name... and normally I like to do - that less is more when it comes to flavors... but I have been drinking some African Honeybush Tea in this variety and it's really yummy. So, I decided to do something with it in regards to sweet rolls. I was concerned that the flavors would compete each other and cancel each other out but actually they all came together really well and it worked. The "tea" taste was subtle, the pineapple was the most notable but it didn't overpower the other flavors and they all complimented the cinnamon and they were quite yummy.

I was in the sweet rolls mood this afternoon and I was trying to decide which ones to re-make. The Rooibos vanilla was were quite good and so were the Polynesian Pineapple rolls... so I went to the tea cupboard and looked for a new variety to try and that is when I saw that little bag of African Honeybush... and it has pineapple in it and then I just new exactly what to do. It all worked out so wonderfully.

Dough: 
1/2 cup hot "Oat Dream" or water with 1 bag of the above mentioned tea seeped in for 5-10 minutes (longer yields more flavor) [Use about 3/4 cup liquid and then set some aside for the glaze]
1 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast
3 tablespoons melted butter
1 small ripe banana, pureed smooth (about 100ml)
2 1/4 cups BASIC ROLL MIX

Filling:
+/- 1/2 cup raw sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 - 2 tablespoon butter, softened

Topping:
1/2 cup pineapple tidbits in syrup, pureed till smooth like apple sauce
1 teaspoon cornstarch

Glaze:
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1-2 tablespoons "Oat Dream" (tea seeped - see above)

Directions:
1. In a mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in 1/2 cup warm seeped tea (Oat Dream or water). Add in banana puree and melted butter. Mix in 2 cups of the BASIC ROLL MIX and up to 1/4 cup more until dough is smooth and elastic. Butter bowl, put in the dough and turn to cover all sides. Cover bowl with damp cloth or plastic wrap and put in warm place to double in size. For example, the oven on the lowest temperature is a good place. I usually heat it for a few minutes and then turn off the heat and let it sit in the oven with the door closed for at least an hour to let it double in size. Punch down dough. Let rest a few minutes. 

2. Roll out dough on clean surface dusted with flour and shape into rectangle flat form. Spread softened butter over top and sprinkle with generous amount of sugar - up to 1/2 cup and then with a generous sprinkle of cinnamon - about 1 tablespoon. Roll up jelly-roll style and slice into 8 equal slices. Put into pie dish prepared with parchment paper and let rise a second time 30-45 minutes in warm place as above.

3. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, combine cornstarch and pineapple and whisk until blended, bring to boil over medium heat; cook and stir about 2 minutes. Remove from the heat. Make an indentation with the back of a spoon or with your thumb into the center of each roll and then place a teaspoon or two of the topping in the center of each roll. Bake at 175-C degrees (350-F) for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven and allow to cool.

4. For glaze, combine sugar and extract and enough "milk" seeped Oat Dream to achieve desired consistency. Drizzle over warmed rolls.

Related Posts:
Rooibos Vanilla Sweet Rolls
Polynesian-inspired Pineapple and Bacon Sweet Rolls
Banana Date Mango Sweet Rolls
Coco-Nana-Nut and Dulce de Leche Sweet Rolls
Pineapple Upside Down Cinnamon Rolls

Cinnamon Roll Doughnuts with Warm Vanilla Glaze and Sprinkles

Two things I love combined into one delicious threat treat. Okay, okay - it is threat to my diet and my hips. But they are so yummy!


C'mon, who doens't love a crispy and creamy donut dipped in warm vanilla glaze? And who doesn't love cinnamon rolls?


I haven't met a person, yet!


They are real easy to make. Just put together your most favorite cinnamon roll recipe and when it's time to bake - you simply fry them. I have a tip here though - do not include butter in the filling. It's gonna have enough of that fat when it's fried. 


I actually used a donut recipe for the dough found here. It turned out beautifully. I tried these out twice - once making them with a cinnamon roll recipe dough and once with the doughnut recipe dough - and I liked them better with the recipe at said link. They were just a lot more fluffy like a doughnut should be.


I used a slightly different glaze - using only powdered sugar, milk and vanilla extract.


And for my filling using just dark brown sugar and cinnamon.


So, if you want yours to turn out like mine, then make your dough according to these directions. After the dough has risen, roll out into a large rectangle. Sprinkle with a mixture of sugar and cinnamon.

I used 1/2 cup dark brown sugar and 1 heaping tablespoon cinnamon. Roll up and cut into 24 equal slices. Place on prepared baking sheets (parchment paper works like a charm - or a buttered and flour dusted pizza pan) and let rise a second time in warm place (like a warm oven - on the lowest setting).


Meanwhile, heat up your deep fryer. I realize some people don't own deep fryers. That's a pity. You may do it like this awesome blogger did it then. Which is where I originally found this most delicious doughnut and which inspired me to do cinnamon rolls in the deep fryer. She also has a nice step-by-step tutorial. And she also made chocolate cake doughnuts. I also made chocolate cake -cinnamon roll doughnuts. And I'll post that chocolate lovers delight another day ;)


On a side note: did you know that most Dutch households own a deep fryer? They do not, however, own a slow cooker like most American households.

Okay, when you fry the cinnamon roll, let it slip into the oil off the spatula. Then flip it over. Let it fry about 1 1/2 to 2 minutes before flipping it again. For a total of about 4 minutes. It can go longer, but I like them lightly fried - just like store bought donuts. Remove and allow excess oil to soak into paper towels.


When they are cool enough to handle, dip into prepared warm vanilla glaze. I used about 1 cup sifted powdered sugar and 2 to 3 tablespoons milk. Heated in small saucepan over low flame. After it started to gently boil, I turned the heat off and left the pan on the burner. Now, stir in about 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract - and if you have any 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon extract. 


After dipping cinnamon roll in glaze, let the extra glaze drip back into pan and then place back on wire rack to cool completely. If using sprinkles - use those first before the glaze sets.


And that's it!

I discovered that I like my doughnuts at room temperature and my cinnamon rolls fresh from the oven. That's kind of a funny quirk about me.


Do you like to eat your doughnuts warm or cool?

Rooibos Vanilla Sweet Rolls

It's tea time!

Rooibos tea is very popular here in the Netherlands. I even heard once that tea in general was described as "angels peeing on your tongue." Ha ha. So, I decided to make a Rooibos tea sweet roll. I've tried several different Rooibos variations - one with vanilla, caramel and I also really like the mango peach variety. But for today's sweet roll I went with vanilla. Then while I was eating the finished roll together with a friend, she also mentioned the caramel variety and I said, don't finish your roll - wait a minute. I went to my refrigerator and pulled out a bottle of Dr Oeteker Caramel sauce and we drizzled the rolls with it. It was perfect. So - for the future... next Rooibos sweet rolls we make - are going to be the caramel variety.

My friend said the rolls were very vanilla - but that you could really taste this after taste of rooibos tea on your tongue - that tingly feeling you get from tea... so, maybe a bit less vanilla in the glaze would have been better as well.

The other thing about this particular roll is the dough recipe. I don't always use the same dough mix - I like to experiment and try different recipes. This particular recipe uses quite a lot of yeast and the dough rose a lot. I could have easily gotten 24 sweet rolls out of this recipe but I kept the rolls quite large - and that might have been a mistake because as the dough started to rise for the second time I thought that maybe the rolls wouldn't even fit on the baking sheet - so I baked maybe sooner than I should have - but I'm also a bit impatient and was eager to taste them, too.




The Dough:
2 envelopes active dry yeast (4 1/2 teaspoons)
1/2 cup sugar
1 3/4 cups luke warm rooibos tea (vanilla variety)
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/3 cup shortening, melted margarine or oil (plus extra to butter bowl)
5 cups flour (plus extra, if needed)


(1) Seep two tea bags of rooibos vanilla tea into 2 cups piping hot water. Allow to cool to luke warm temperature.
(2) In a large mixing bowl combine yeast and sugar. When tea is luke warm, pour 1 3/4 cups tea into the mix. Save the other 1/4 cup tea for the glaze. Then add salt, eggs and oil and mix. Add one cup of flour at a time and mix. It will be sticky. Add additional flour as needed and knead to make a elastic - not too sticky dough ball.  Add about 1 tablespoon more butter or oil to bowl. Turn dough to oil top and cover with plastic wrap (not warm wet towl... because this dough will rise - a lot). Put in warm place till doubled in size.

Vanilla Creme filling: (Adapted from Great American Favorite Brand Names Cook Book)
2 Tablespoons flour
1/4 cup milk
2 tablespoons butter, softened
2 tablespoons margarine, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 cups powdered sugar

(3) In a small saucepan, blend flour and milk; cook over low heat, stirring constantly with wire whisk, until mixture thickens and just begins to boil. Remove from heat and refrigerate.

(4) In a mixing bowl, cream butter and margarine till smooth. Add in vanilla, salt and refrigerated flour/milk mix. Mix until smooth and then beat in the powdered sugar gradually until spreading consistency.

(5) After dough has risen, remove and punch down. On a lightly floured surface roll dough out into large rectangle about 1-2 centimeters thick. Spread with Vanilla Creme Filling. Roll into jelly roll and cut into 16-24 slices. Place on prepared baking sheets and allow to rise again in warm place. Meanwhile, prepare glaze.

Vanilla-Rooibos Glaze:
1/3 cup butter
2 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup rooibos tea

(6) In saucepan over low heat, melt butter. Blend in powdered sugar, vanilla extract and rooibos tea. Stir until smooth and creamy. Remove from heat.
(7) After rolls have risen second time, bake in oven at 175-C degrees for 20-22 minutes, or until tops golden brown. Remove from oven and pour Vanilla-Rooibos Glaze over top. Allow to cool a few minutes before enjoying.
(8) Optional: drizzle with Dr. Oeteker Caramel Sauce or similar product if desired.

Oven fresh with Vanilla- Rooibos Glaze poured over!

Rooibos Vanilla Sweet Rolls