Bacon Cinnamon Rolls
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I feel like I’m always craving cinnamon rolls. Usually late at night, about thirty minutes before bed time, I convince myself I can just “whip up a batch” in a few minutes. Of course, much to my dismay, most recipes from scratch require hours of rising time, or I don’t have any cans of sheet dough handy. Well folks, I’ve done it. I’ve figured out how to master cinnamon rolls in about thirty minutes. So long late night cravings, I’m coming for you!
This dough requires NO yeast and yet is just as so any fluffy as a dough that had hours to rise. The secret: baking powder and buttermilk. Their combination makes for a perfect acidic combination that makes the dough buttery soft. Of course, I don’t always have buttermilk on hand – and no worries if you don’t either. Just curdle some regular milk with a tablespoon of lemon juice to achieve a similar effect.
Roll the dough out nice and thin. If you’re making just regular ol’ cinnamon rolls, now is when you’d add the sugars and butter to the center of the rolls. This time, however, I added bacon down the middle instead!
I making mine in a cast iron skillet on the stove top for this week’s challenge of “one pot.” Thus far, I’ve only needed a bowl to stir together the dough ingredients.
When the butter and sugars are nice and bubbly, add the slices of rolled dough, bacon side down into the caramelized sugars. When the tops of the bacon has crisped up, transfer the cast iron skillet to the preheated oven to finish cooking.
Once I removed the rolls from the oven, I let them cool for a few minutes in the cast iron skillet before flipping them out onto a plate then letting all the ooey-gooey, cinnamon-y caramel-y goodness drizzle out on top. For an added touch for classic cinnamon rolls, I made a simple cream cheese frosting too.
They are pillows of bacon-y deliciousness, topped with caramelized cinnamon sugar – the perfect excuse to eat dessert for breakfast (or breakfast for dessert!).
Bacon Cinnamon Rolls
Ingredients
- 10 slices bacon
- 2 cups flour
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- ¾ cup buttermilk
- 1 egg
- ¼ cup sugar
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons butter
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup cinnamon
- 8 oz cream cheese room temperature
- 2 tablespoons heavy cream OR water
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 F. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt and two tablespoons of sugar. Pour in the buttermilk and stir until a soft dough forms.
- Knead the dough on a floured surface until smooth. Roll the dough into a thin layer (about 1/2 inch thick). Place the strips of bacon about a half inch apart starting at the edge of the dough. Roll the dough into a cylinder shape.
- Slice the dough into rolls after each divot between the slices of bacon (cut as close to the start of the next slice as you can).
- In a cast iron skillet over medium high heat. Stir in the brown sugar and white sugar until completely coated in butter. Pour in the cinnamon and stir until completely incorporated. Bring the sugar to a simmer.
- Place the rolls, cut side down, into the melted sugar mixture. Cook for about 2-3 minutes. Pop the cast iron skillet into the preheated oven and continue to cook for 10-15 minutes, or until the bottoms of the exposed dough are golden brown.
- Remove the skillet from the oven and let cool for about 10 minutes. Use a plate to cover the top of the skillet and flip out the cinnamon rolls. Let all of the gooey sugar drip onto the tops of the rolls.
- Let cool for 15 minutes prior to serving. While cooling, stir together the cream cheese, powdered sugar, vanilla extract and heavy cream until a smooth frosting forms. Pour of the top of the cinnamon rolls. Serve warm and enjoy!
- NOTE TO REHEAT: The tops of the cinnamon rolls may get harder as they cool. To reheat, pop into the microwave for 1-2 minutes, until the frosting and sugar has melted.
