“Great to come across your blog and find these amazing recipes. I’m always on the look out for middle Eastern recipes and I seem to have hit the jackpot with your blog. And the icing on the cake is the fab giveaways. Will definitely take part in it.”
– Mehnaz’s Comment on Sfeeha post
I don’t need to open this post with a line about how fabulous the house smells when you bake anything with cinnamon! I don’t even need to say how delicious these Cinnamon Rolls are. I bet you can already smell and taste these indulgent succulent aromatic dough rolls, just as you look at the picture! But what I will tell you is, make more because they disappear in a second!! We all could not stop munching last night! I, my hubbs, the kids and our nanny have spent all night convincing ourselves this is the last one I will have! A thought that never materialised!! These are not the phyllo dough equivalent of cinnamon rolls. These are the cinnamon rolls. They are fluffy, moist, aromatic, sweet and packed full with cinnamon!
A few reminders before I jump to the recipe
- Just like with any dough, the quantity of water is just a guide. You might have to use less, or more water depending the environmental condition of your location. You know: Too hot and/or humid = less water. Too dry = more water….etc. However that is just a minimal variation, nothing too major. Just to say do add or take out that 1/4 cup if needed.
- When you add the yeast and sugar to the warm water, mix well and let stand for 5 minutes a reaction must happen, and bubbles must form. If that does not happen, then either the yeast is non-active or expired. In this case, discard buy a new one and start again. Otherwise your dough will not rise and therefore you won’t achieve the desired results.
- The classic recipe instructs using only cinnamon and sugar as filling, but you can go for raisins as well, which I find to be a brilliant layer of flavour and texture for these rolls. I also like to add coarsely crushed pecans in the filling. The bite and flavour compliment the overall flavours. For variation you can add shredded coconut to some rolls, or more spices such as ginger, cloves and cardamom… But for the purist, I know you would want to stick to only cinnamon and brown sugar; That is why I have put down the classic recipe with no additions, and you can build on it adding flavours as you like.
- I am using a cream cheese glaze here, but if you like the shiny look of the sugar glaze, then feel free to dip them in sugar glaze while they are still hot, then leave them on a wire rack to drip off excess and cool down.
I have also included for you the cinnabon cheat recipe video!! In case you wanted to give it a try and check if it turns out the same!