Almond Cinnamon Rolls

I’ve been craving cinnamon rolls this entire week. I’m too broke to buy yeast so I had to make do with what I had already. Luckily, my kitchen is the smallest baker’s paradise in Manhattan but I just don’t have yeast. Sugar sifter? Yes. Dutch cocoa? Yes. Pastry pin? Check. Caster sugar? Yep. See what I mean?

I’ve never made cinnamon rolls with no yeast before and I hate the idea of giving my hard earned (and non-existent) dollars to Pillsbury [Ready Bake Cinnamon Rolls]. I googled and I found a recipe from Ezra Poundcake, but I revised it slightly and used a different glaze. See the recipe after the jump.

Makes 9 biscuits:

Cinnamon Sugar Filling

• 1/4 c. light brown sugar
• 2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1 tsp. nutmeg
• 1 tbsp. ground almonds

Dough

• 2 1/2 c. unbleached white flour
• 2 tbsp. light brown sugar
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. coarse salt
• 1 1/2 cups plus 1 tablespoon heavy cream

Icing

• 8 oz. cream cheese
• 1 tbsp. melted butter
• 1/2 tsp. almond extract
• 2 tbsp. milk
• 2 c. powdered sugar

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. In a small bowl, combine the brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg. This is the tasty sugary in-between stuffs for the cinnamon roll. Set it aside but taste it if you absolutely have no self-control and you just love sugar that much. In a large bowl, stir together the flour, brown sugar, baking powder and salt. Add 1 1/2 cups cream, and stir until the dough forms a ball, about 1 minute. With your hands, fold the dough over a few times in the bowl, until the dough is smooth. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Lightly flour your hands, and pat the dough into a 1/2-inch-thick rectangle, about 9 X 13 inches. Brush the surface of the dough with the remaining tablespoon of cream. Sprinkle evenly with the cinnamon sugar topping. Starting from the long side, roll the dough into a cylinder. Slice into 9 equal rounds. Place the rounds, cut side down, into an ungreased 8-inch square baking dish or a pie plate. Bake for about 30 minutes, until the biscuits are lightly browned. While the biscuits bake, whip all of the ingredients together to make the icing. When you remove the biscuits from the oven, immediately drizzle them with icing. Serve warm.

Truthfully, I still like cinnamon rolls with yeast MUCH better. I don’t think I’ll do no-yeast again, but some people do love it which is why I thought this was worth posting.