No-Rise Cinnamon Rolls (which makes them sort of a cinnamon biscuit / scone / muffin / roll)

No yeast but 4 tsp of baking powder make these "rolls" more like biscuits. To me, they're just as good as traditional, but just a little different. I actually prefer the more biscuity texture, instead of the doughy, bready feel of your standard roll. And since they take about 20-25 minutes of hands-on time, it's worth it to give them a shot just once. If they're not your thing, go back to the yeast rolls.




Ready for the belly. Maybe the world's ugliest cinnamon rolls, but wicked easy. One notch harder than opening the Pillsbury tube.









2 cups flour
2 Tbs sugar
4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup butter, ice cold, baby
1 cup milk
1/3 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
3 tsp ground cinnamon

Optional: 1/4 to 1/3 cup of raisins, currants, or almonds. (We went with almonds today. Like how they caramelize when they bake in the brown sugar / butter mix.)

Frosting:
1/2 cup powdered sugar
Splash of milk


Grease your muffin tin. Mix the 1/3 cup butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon together. Put 1 tsp into each of cup of the tin. Save the remaining mixture for your roll filling.


bit of brown sugar and cinnamon that will soak up into the rolls


In a largish bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Cut in 1/4 cup butter.

* Side: I hate cutting butter. Never get it quite right. But then I read Scott Peacock's description in his American Classics series. Makes a lot of sense, and easy to follow instructions.


In your flour mix, make a well in center and pour in the milk. Slowly stir until you have a smooth dough.

Turn dough out on lightly floured cutting board or counter top. Knead about 10 times. Roll out into rectangle about 1/4 inch thick and a foot long. (That's 12 inches, and you have 12 muffin cups ... so guess how thick each cut will be when you're ready to make your rolls.)

Spread the remaining cinnamon mixture over dough rectangle. Sprinkle the almonds or raisins (optional) onto the cinnamon mix. Roll up so you have a foot long roll, and the cut into 12 slices. Instead of measuring, just cut it in half, and then each half in half again. Then cut each of those pieces into three equal pieces.







Bake at 400º F for about 20 minutes. If your rolls are nice and tight, the cinnamon mix will stay put, but mine were a bit loose and the mix bubbled over the top. I needed to put an extra baking sheet until the muffin tins to catch the overflow.

The rolls should pop right out as soon as you take them out of the oven. Drizzle the tops with your powdered sugar / milk glaze.