mandarin zest cinnamon rolls
cinnamon rolls are great, but they’re even better with a touch of mandarin.
ingredients:
ROLLS
1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling out dough
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
3 tbsp. white sugar
3/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/3 tsp. kosher salt
3/4 c. almond milk
1/4 c. mandarin juice (fresh squeezed)
2 1/4 tbsp. unsalted butter, plus more for greasing baking dish
FILLING
6 tbsp. white sugar
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 1/2 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
1 tsp. mandarin zest
FROSTING
3 tbsp. cream cheese, at room temp
3 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temp
3/4 tsp. vanilla extract
3/4 c. confectioners' sugar
1 1/2 tbsp. almond milk
1/2 tsp. mandarin zest
directions:
preheat oven to 350. in a bowl, mix flour, baking powder, sugar, cinnamon & salt — set aside. in a small pan, melt butter + almond milk, then add mandarin juice. pour over flour mixture & stir with spatula until a dough forms. next up, time to knead — sprinkle the counter with about 1 tbsp. flour and knead dough for 2-3 minutes until a smooth ball forms. Pop the dough back into the bowl and cover with a damp towel for 10 minutes. in the meantime, make your frosting — whip cream cheese, butter, vanilla extract, mandarin zest and confectioners’ sugar together with a whisk. add almond milk to loosen the mixture up, then put the bowl in the fridge to chill. back to the dough — sprinkle a little more flour on the counter, then roll out the dough out using a pin (or wine bottle) until you have a small rectangle. brush on your melted butter, followed by sprinkling copious amounts of the cinnamon-sugar-zest mixture. Starting at the long end, tightly roll the dough up into a log & trim off the edges; then slice the log into 9 rolls. grease a pan with butter, arrange the rolls & bake for 30 minutes, followed by 2 minutes on high broil. remove the rolls from the oven, frost and enjoy!