Cinnamon Roll Muffins

It’s tiiiime for another edition of… It’s a lazy Sunday but I still want some baked goods!

It’s a working title.

I know it’s not actually Sunday, but sometimes Sundays can be so lazy that you don’t get around to telling anyone about them until a few days later.

Last time I made Banana Coconut Muffins on a sleepy Sunday. These are muffins too, but really only in shape. They’re a mock cinnamon roll, with yeasty plush dough and sweet ribbons of cinnamon sugar, just like a real roll.

I hate making cinnamon rolls. I could eat them all day long, but sometimes it feels like they take all day long to make.

I’m not very good at waiting for dough to rise.

This dough only sits for 15 minutes. Then you portion it out, swirl it with cinnamon yumminess and bake.

Don’t fill your muffin tin as much as I did, all my cinnamon sugar overflowed and melted everywhere. There was more inbetween the muffins than on/in them. The photo above is after I scraped it off the pan and crumbled it back over the muffin. Shh… don’t tell.

I always thought a cinnamon roll was a wonderful way to sneak dessert into breakfast, but by the time I’m done making them it’s lunchtime. These are not quite as luscious and ooey gooey as your standard cinnamon roll, but I guarantee they’ll ready and fresh from the oven at breakfast time.

Unless you don’t wake up until 11am. Which I have been known to do on Sundays.

Late brunch, anyone?

Adapted from Joy the Baker

Dough

• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 4 tsp active dry or rapid rise yeast
• 2/3 cup warm milk (100-110F; low fat is fine)
• 3 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 large egg

Filling/Topping

• 2 tbsp butter, room temperature
• 2/3 cup brown sugar
• 3/4 tsp ground cinnamon

Icing

• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 2-3 oz. softened cream cheese (depending on how tangy you like your icing)
• 1-2 tbsp milk or cream

Directions

1. In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar and salt. Dissolve the yeast in a measuring cup filled with the warmed milk, then stir milk mixture, vegetable oil, vanilla extract and egg into the flour mixture. Mix well, until very smooth. Let rest for 15 minutes.
2. While the dough rests, mix together butter, brown sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl using a fork until all the butter has been incorporated into the sugar and mixture is crumbly.  Divide the batter between 12 greased muffin cups. Sprinkle evenly on top of rested dough and press the mixture down into the dough with your fingertips (or swirl in with a spatula.)
3. Place pan into a cold oven, then set the oven temperature to 350F.
4. Bake for about 20 minutes, until bread is lightly browned at the edges and the center of the bread springs back when lightly pressed. Some of the sugar mixture on top may still be bubbling.
5. Cool for at least 30 minutes before whisking the powdered sugar, milk and cream cheese together to form an icing and drizzling it onto the bread.
6. Serve warm. Leftovers can be reheated in the microwave.

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