It’s that time of year again – time for the 2nd Annual Asheville Honey Fest! I’ll be hawking my honey-sweetened wares this Sunday, June 4 from 12-6 at the Salvage Station, so if you’re a local or in the area, come by and see me, as well as some other pretty cool vendors, music, family fun, and more.
In honor of the festivities this weekend, I’m bringing you the honey-sweetened version of my cinnamon rolls. Yay! This is a more floral, less overtly sweet but very honey-forward pastry. Frankly, you can make it as sweet as you want with the drizzle at the end, but I like to keep it mild.
As with the OG cinnamon rolls, freshly-ground cinnamon is your friend here, as well as adding flour gradually and allowing your dough to rest and rise properly. This is especially important since you’re using honey, which adds extra moisture to the dough. And watch for early browning – that extra moisture in the middle from the honey can go from golden to burned very quickly.
Otherwise, this is the same deal as the OG cinnamon rolls. (Oh! And if you want to fill them with honey and some finely-chopped toasted pecans or walnuts, I’d be all about it. Variation at the bottom of the recipe.)
Ready? Let’s roll!
Honey Cinnamon Rolls
These may brown a little faster than traditional cinnamon rolls, so watch your oven. A light- to medium-bodied, floral honey is best with these rolls. Drizzle on a little or a lot!
you will need:
- 2 ¼ tsp dried yeast (1 package)
- ¼ c warm water
- ¾ c whole milk, warmed
- ¼ c softened butter
- 2 tbsp honey
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 large egg
- 2 ¾ – 3 ¼ c all-purpose flour
- ¼ c very soft butter
- ¼ c honey
- 1 tbsp ground cinnamon
- more honey for drizzling
Directions
- In a large bowl or bowl of a stand mixer, dissolve the yeast in the warm water, and allow to bloom for 5 minutes. Stir in milk, butter, 2 tbsp honey, salt, and egg, and mix well.
- Add the flour, ½-1 cup at a time, beating well with each addition, until the mixture cannot readily absorb more flour and it becomes hard to stir. Cover with a cloth and allow to rest for 15 minutes.
- If hand-kneading, turn dough out onto a lightly-floured countertop, and knead dough until smooth and elastic, about 8-10 minutes, adding just enough flour to keep the dough from sticking. (A bench scraper is your friend here.) You can also knead the dough in your mixer using a dough hook, adding just enough flour to keep the dough from sticking to the bowl. Grease a large clean bowl, form the dough into a smooth ball, and place the dough into the greased bowl, smooth side up. Cover with a cloth and allow to rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 to 1 ½ hours, depending on the warmth of your kitchen.
- Turn dough out onto a lightly floured or greased surface. Roll dough out into a rectangle about 18 inches long and 8-10 inches wide. Spread the softened butter evenly onto the dough, leaving about 1 inch of space on the edges. Sprinkle with ¼ c honey and 1 tbsp cinnamon. Roll the dough from the long edge so you’re left with a long spiraled log. Cut the dough into 12 even pieces (I cut from the middle, then cut those pieces in half, then cut those pieces into 3 even pieces) and place into a 9×13 inch metal baking pan or parchment-lined cookie sheet. Cover and allow to rise until doubled, about 30 minutes to 1 hour.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Bake for 10 minutes until golden and very puffy. Cool in the pan on a wire rack. You can either turn them out onto a serving plate and drizzle them with honey, or serve them straight from the pan.
For honey nut rolls: in Step 4, after spreading the softened butter, sprinkle 1/4 c finely chopped toasted walnuts or pecans, then drizzle with honey. Add cinnamon if desired, or omit to bring the nutty flavor to the forefront.
The Crunchy Baker 