Sooooo 2018 is a couple days away…
So much has happened this year, yet it’s flown by so fast that I can honestly hardly remember anything! Anyone else? But I can’t wait for what the new year has in store. Even though 2017 has been a crazy year, I’m actually kind of sad that it’s ending. I’m grateful for all the excitement and adventure that this year has brought me. I wouldn’t go back and change anything!
Today, I’m partnering up with my girl Angie from Indulge Your Inner Foodie, to bring you some easy recipes to celebrate the new year with. I’m showing y’all how to make colorful confetti cinnamon roll muffins (!!), and over on IYIF, Angie is whipping up an some boozy Captain Morgan and Kombucha Shooter drinks (!!!!!!). What better way to end 2017 than with one last epic foodie collab? Make sure to check out Indulge Your Inner Foodie, as well as her Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook, and Twitter.
Okay now let’s talk about these confetti cinnamon roll muffins, which, by the way, were kind of an accident. I made a whole batch of regular cinnamon dough, and I tried to cram them into one baking dish, but some of them wouldn’t fit. So, being my usual lazy self, I decided to pop them into a muffin tin instead of having to grease another dish. They ended up puffing up so much that they spilled over the edges of the tin and made little muffin tops!
The secret to getting some over-the-top muffin tops (pun intended, hehe)? Cut the cinnamon dough log into giant rolls. For normal cinnamon rolls, you’d cut the log into 10-12 good sized pieces, fit them into a baking pan, and then bake them off. But these are not your average cinnamon rolls. MAKE ‘EM BIG, I’m telling you! 8 giant pieces baked into a muffin tin, and you get these golden, muffin-esque, confetti cinnamon roll muffins.
Also, it’s funny that I’m currently in New York City, which is basically the center of all of the new year’s eve festivities in the nation, and yet I’m returning home on the evening December 31st. Literally missing the annual NYC NYE ball drop by a few hours. I’m curious… are any of y’all going to Times Square to watch the countdown? I’m actually kind of glad I’m not going. Crowds are going to be insane and honestly I’d rather be at home, on my comfy couch!
I mean this cinnamon roll muffin honestly just looks like a cupcake, comparable to the ones I had at Georgetown cupcakes in my last post. Still craving that Christmas sugar cookie cupcake!
New year’s resolutions/new year new me/dieting/a healthier lifestyle starts on January 1st. It’s still December. Go preheat your oven, whip out some butter and sugar, and get baking!
- 2¼ tsp yeast (1 package)
- 1 cup milk, lukewarm (about 90ºF)
- 1 tbsp granulated sugar
- 4 cups all purpose flour
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 egg, room temp
- 4 tbsp butter, melted
- ¼ cup butter, softened
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 2 tbsp cinnamon
- 3-5 tbsp sprinkles (more/less depending on how colorful you want your rolls to be!)
- 1¼ cup powdered sugar
- 2-3 tbsp milk (depending on how thick/thin you like your frosting)
- 1 tsp vanilla
- extra sprinkles for decoration
- In a small bowl, whisk together lukewarm milk, yeast, and 1 tbsp of sugar. Set aside for about 5 minutes, until the yeast has proofed and is nice and frothy.
- Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine flour, remaining 3 tbsp sugar, and salt (you could do this in a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, but I prefer doing this by hand). Make a well in the center and pour in the milk/yeast mixture, along with the room temperature egg and melted butter. Mix until well incorporated.
- Once a rough rough has been formed, place on a lightly floured surface and knead for a couple minutes, adding flour as needed to prevent sticking, until the dough is slightly tacky but mostly smooth. Place into a well-oiled bowl (I just use the same bowl I made the dough in because I'm lazy, but a new, clean bowl is ideal), cover with a damp dish towel, and let it rise for about 45 minutes or up to an hour. I always let mine rise in my microwave, because it is relatively warm and draft-free.
- Preheat oven to 350ºF. When the dough has doubled in size, punch it down, then remove from the bowl onto a lightly floured surface. Roll out the dough into about 20 inch by 18 inch rectangle, about ¼ inch in thickness.
- Spread the softened butter over the entire surface. Then, sprinkle over brown sugar, cinnamon, and sprinkles. Starting from the longer side, carefully roll the dough into a log. Pinch the seam of the dough to seal the log.
- Using a knife (OR dental floss... I just use a knife because it doesn't matter if your rolls aren't perfect. They're baked in a molded tin anyways), cut the log into 8 equally sized pieces. If you don't like yours as big, you can do 10, but you might not get the signature "muffin top"! I find it easy with 8 because not only does it make big giant muffins, you can just halve the log over and over again until you get 8 pieces.
- Grease a muffin tin, placing one cinnamon roll into each well. Cover with a damp towel, and let rise for an additional 30 minutes. Then, bake in preheated oven for 23-25 minutes, until the muffins are puffy and golden-brown.
- While the cinnamon roll muffins are baking make the frosting. In a small bowl, whisk the milk into the powdered sugar gradually, until desired consistency is reached. Whisk in vanilla, then set aside for later.
- Serve the cinnamon rolls fresh out of the oven with a generous drizzle of the frosting and a pinch of sprinkles, along with a glass of milk. Enjoy!!!
Thank you for making 2017 one of the best years yet!
1 Comment
I’d love to try these. They sound amazing.