Cinnamon rolls

Today’s recipe is very special! Sweet, fluffy, cinnamon rolls (Cinnamon-rollppang: 시나몬롤빵). If you made my original bread rolls (rollppang: 롤빵) recipe, these will be easy for you, because the dough is the same. My rollppang recipe has been so popular since I posted it, probably some of you had a similar idea to make cinnamon buns from them. This cinnamon rolls recipe was invented by me and my friends in Korea, sharing ideas on how to experiment with different flavors in rollppang.

This recipe is perfect for the festive mood of these days. They fit the holiday season when friends and family get together and you want to have something sweet to eat together. They are so easy to make because the dough is all made in one pot, and the sweet syrup makes them unique. After they are baked, you can flip the pan upside down and voila! You can serve it like a glazed cake!

I just learned recently, after all these years, that washing walnuts will remove the bitter flavor from the skin. As we Koreans say: “There are a lot of things to learn everyday until you die!”

So fluffy and spongy, with a cinnamon aroma and nutty flavor, everyone loves these rolls. I hope you make them over the holidays and enjoy them with good company!

Ingredients

Serves 9

• ½ cup plus 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
• 1 cup milk
• ¼ cup white sugar
• ¼ cup plus ⅓ cup brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon powder
• 3 tablespoons rice or corn syrup
• 1 package dried active yeast (2¼ teaspoons)
• ½ teaspoon plus pinch of kosher salt
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 3 cups plus ¼ cup all purpose flour
• 1 cup cleaned and toasted walnuts (see below for how to clean and toast walnuts)
• 2 to 3 ounces raisins, optional

Directions

How to clean and toast walnuts:

1. Put the walnuts in a bowl and fill it up with cold water. Gently rub them in the water with your hands.
2. Rinse and drain a couple of times until the water is clear, then drain well.
3. Dry them well with paper towels or kitchen towel. Put them on a microwave-safe plate in a thin, even layer. Microwave on high heat for 3 minutes. You can also toast them on a pan, stirring with a wooden spoon as needed, for 4 to 5 minutes until light golden brown and crunchy.

Make dough:

1. Heat a large heavy pot over medium heat. Add ¼ cup butter and stir with a wooden spoon until melted.
2. Remove from the heat. Add the milk and ¼ cup white sugar. Stir well. Add the dry yeast and let it sit for 5 to 10 minutes until the yeast is frothy.
3. Stir in the eggs, kosher salt, and vanilla extract.
4. Add 3 cups flour and mix it with a wooden spoon for about 1 minute until smooth. The dough should be sticky.
5. Cover and let the dough rise for 1 hour at room temperature until it doubles in size.
6. Deflate the dough by hand and knead it until smooth and soft.
7. Cover and let it rise another 30 minutes.

Make dried filling:

1. Combine ¼ cup brown sugar, cinnamon powder, cleaned walnuts, raisins, and a pinch of salt in a bowl. Mix well.

Make syrup:

1. Combine ⅓ cup brown sugar, ⅓ cup water, and 3 tablespoons rice syrup in a pan. Cook for about 3 minutes over medium heat until the bubbles come up vigorously.
2. Reduce the heat to low and simmer another 3 minutes until it turns a little sticky and shiny. Let cool.

Shaping and baking:

1. Deflate the dough and knead it until it’s nice and smooth. Use the remaining ¼ cup flour to dust your dough, cutting board, and your hand.
2. Transfer the dough to the dusted board. Dust your hands with a little bit of flour and spread the dough into a flat rectangle about 13 x 8 inches.
3. Brush the ¼ cup melted butter all over the dough. Evenly spread the dried filling over top.
4. Grab the bottom edge of the dough and gently roll it up, to make a log.
5. Cut the roll into 9 equal sized pieces.
6. Put the syrup into your baking pan. Swirl it around so it evenly coats the bottom of the pan. I used my 8 x 8 inch square non-stick baking pan.
7. Transfer each section of roll to the baking pan, laying them down in the syrup on their sides. Cover and let it rise for 1 hour.
8. Preheat oven to 350° F (175° C) and bake for 25 to 30 minutes until light golden brown.

Serve:

1. Remove from the oven and brush the last tablespoon of butter over top, to make them shiny.
2. Let the rolls cool for 5 minutes. You can serve them this way, or upside-down, by flipping the pan over a plate and removing it so the sticky syrup is on top of the rolls.
3. Break apart the rolls one by one, add to a serving plate and serve.

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