Ginger Bread: Cinnamon Rolls

It's been awhile. But getting ready for school is frightening. I feel like if I don't spend every moment in preparation I am going to crash. That's probably not the case, but I would rather be over prepared then under prepared.

However, today I took a break to make the Mr. and I some cinnamon rolls with lemon glaze. He's been such a wonderful husband this week. Even though his job has been stressful as well this week, he listened to my irrational fears and mini-freak outs with nothing but hugs and encouragement.

This recipe was a little different than the normal bread making I've done. I thought you have to put warm water with the yeast to activate it. Apparently that is not always the case. This recipe called for cold milk and honey to get the yeast started.

The next part was covering the yeast mixture with flour to act as a sort of plastic wrap. After a while it smelled like it was doing its yeasty thing, so I supposed it was fine. At this point I'm also thinking something like, "Please work, this is a lot of ingredients to trash..."

The next part was to make that gooey cinnamon-sugar center that is so good! Honestly, with butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon how could it be bad??

I like recipes that tell you when to do the "busy work". Like grease and flour the cup cake bakeware, and mix together the magical cinnamon roll center.

This recipe has a lot of steps. And like most bread recipes you make the two parts of the dough: the yeast part and the everything else part.

Oh, story time.

Mr. Gingerbread said the cinnamon rolls were good when he tasted them, but like most men he just couldn't stop there.

Mr. G: "What's this got in it? It's got a twang to it."

Me: "That's cardamom"

Mr. G: "It leaves a weird after-taste" (makes nasty face, but with quick recovery) "But they are really good!"

The only reason I have included these two eggs is because the recipe said mix the two eggs in four additions. So I beat them up and tried to pour just a little at a time... that didn't work. Don't worry, the cinnamon rolls were fine.

I added the two parts together and it came together in no time. My poor mixture was really working to mix it all together; making noises and such.

So I fixed that with a change to the dough hook.

What's the best part about living in a state where it's stifling hot nine months out of the year? I can put the bread dough out on the porch to rise. It's a warm (freakishly hot) and relatively dry place.

Bread takes time. But if you've got an afternoon or a rainy day with nothing to do for a few hours, it is very rewarding. The scent alone makes me feel better.

I really can't wait to have a big kitchen. Just think, one day I'll be able to roll out the dough on the counter, instead of my dinner table.

Our apartment isn't that bad. My husband is always getting on to me about talking trash about the apartment, but I really don't. It's a perfect fit for us right now, us and our little dog.

I was nervous about the rolling, and it could have been a little tighter. Just get it as tight as you can, and seal it with water. Otherwise the rolls won't fit in the cupcake pan.

I didn't have a cool pastry chopper thingy like the girl whose recipe I used. However, a sharp kitchen knife worked just fine.

The third and final rise. I told you it's time consuming. But soooooo worth it!

While those were baking, I made what every good cinnamon roll needs: icing. It's surprisingly simple to make. Powdered sugar, milk, and some lemon juice for flavor. Mixy mix and there you go.