Fall in Mormonland means General Conference and General Conference, at my house, means cinnamon rolls. I used to make a complicated, time-consuming, super-rich-triple-bypass cinnamon roll that was never done until the second session was well underway, but then I found this recipe, thanks to Sugarcrafter, which is simple and perfect and, if I get started early, has us eating while still in the AM. I’ll never make a different cinnamon roll again. In fact, cinnamon rolls without Nutella just don’t satisfy anymore.

I was hoping to post this recipe before GC, so you all could use them to stay awake despite the gently lulling cadences of our beloved church leaders, but our website got sick. Sorry! Maybe you were all excited enough about the new mission ages that you weren’t sleeping anyway. And the site is all better now, which leaves plenty of time to test these out before April.

For best results, make sure your yeast is fresh and your milk is whole. This recipe makes plenty for my little family (about 3 small pans) but if you’re feeding a crowd be sure to double it.

2 C whole milk
1/2 C vegetable oil
1/2 C sugar
2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast (1 packet, if that’s the kind you’re using)
5 1/2 C flour, divided
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 stick butter
1/2 C Nutella
cinnamon

Glaze-
3 C powdered sugar
6 T milk

In a large pot, whisk together milk, oil and sugar.  You use a big pot so the dough can rise in it later. Heat the mixture until just before boiling and turn off the heat. Let the mixture cool until lukewarm (between 30-45 minutes). You want it warm enough to activate the yeast, but not so hot that it kills it. Whisk in your yeast and let it dissolve, then stir in 4 1/2 C of flour. Cover and let rise for at least 1 hour.

This is what it looks like before it rises.

After it has risen, turn your sticky dough onto a floured surface. Knead in the baking powder, soda, salt and as much of the remaining flour as you need to make a smooth dough ball. If you have never kneaded bread before, it’s not too hard. Here is a nice tutorial. When you’ve got your dough all ready, roll it out into a big rectangle. Don’t stress about this part; it doesn’t have to be perfect. The thinner you roll the dough, the more layers you’ll have in each roll. Somewhere around 1/4 inch thick is good.

The appendectomy-scar-looking-thing happens when you don’t have enough flour beneath it.

Cut the butter into chunks and combine with the Nutella. Microwave on low heat until the butter is melted and stir until smooth. Spread over the dough with a spoon, then sprinkle with cinnamon, as little or as much as you like. I go conservative with the cinnamon because I don’t want it to overpower the Nutella. Starting at one short end, start rolling the dough, keeping it as tight as possible. The innards may squish out. It’s okay.

Once the dough is in a nice tube, cut into approximately 1 inch rolls. Dental floss is my preferred method. Just ease the floss beneath the dough, criss-cross at the top and pull gently.

You can use round cake pans or glass drippers. Anything you’ve got that can hold these babies. I prefer glass. This recipe fills up my 3 glass drippers.

My rolls, about to rise again.

Let the rolls rise for 30-45 minutes until they’re fat and happy. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and let rolls bake for 15-18 minutes, or until slightly golden. To make the glaze, mix powdered sugar and milk until smooth, divide between your pans and drizzle on rolls while still warm.

These rolls are so good straight from the oven, but don’t be sad when they cool. They are just as good later with a quick visit (about 10-15 seconds) to the microwave.