Rollin’ Cinnabon to the Curb

What better way to start the week than with a hot and gooey pan of cinnamon rolls to meet you on the way out the door? I decided to try it this week and lemme tell you—it did make a difference! :-) I figured I would try to squeeze in one last Hungry Girl recipe from my Cookbook of the Month, and this one has been calling my name for quite sometime now. And lucky for you, they were a sweet success and mighty cheap to make! I would say these are semi-homemade, so if you have about a half hour to spare, you have no excuse not to make these! Of course if you are a person with no time to bake these whatsoever, you can always head on over to Holey Donuts and try out their delish Cinnamon Buns.(I did a review here.) Also, I have decided these qualify for my Recipe Redo on a Budget.

But first, how the heck did a cinnamon roll even get created? Thought this was interesting!

In the 13^th century Marco Polo opened the spice trade to Europe. Medieval chefs were using cinnamon and the cinnamon was very expensive. Cinnamon rolls are probably descended from their first fritters. There was an English bun called the Chelsea bun that was described in an English cookbook almost exactly like a cinnamon roll. Then in the 1910s a cookbook did an exact recipe for cinnamon rolls. By the 1922 there was a huge fad for delicious cinnamon rolls that everyone could enjoy and everyone did want them. Then in the 18^th century the Philadelphia cinnamon roll was born. With brown sugar, honey, cinnamon, and raisins, it was a new twist on the old favorite. It was brought by the English and German immigrants to America. No one will ever know where the true origin of cinnamon rolls come from, after all, cinnamon and bread are very ancient foods. When foods are used often and for a very long period of time, origins are difficult to discover. While history is fascinating, the taste of cinnamon rolls is a testament to all those who have contributed to the taste of it in the past.

 

Budget Breakdown

• Brown Sugar- freebie
• Pillsbury Reduced-Fat Crescent Rolls- $1.49
• Splenda- $3.85
• Cool Whip Free- $2.99
• Light Butter Spread- $1.75
• Fat-Free Cream Cheese- $2.29
• Salt- freebie
• Cinnamon- freebie
• Butter Spray- $2.29

Total= $14.66  Per Bun= $1.22

*Generally a cinnamon roll from Cinnabon or any fast food place will cost you around four bucks, and not to mention a hefty overdose of calories and sugar.*

Gooey Cinnamon Rolls with Cream Cheese Icing

Makes: 12 

Ingredients:

--For Dough--

• 1 package refrigerated Pillsbury reduced-fat Crescent Rolls
• 16 sprays of I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter Spray

--For Filling--

• 1/4 C dark brown sugar
• 1/4 C granulated Splenda(or other no cal sweetener of choice)
• 1/2 Tbsp light butter spread
• 1 1/2 Tsp cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp salt

--For Icing--

• 1/4 C Cool Whip Free, thawed
• 3 Tbsp FF cream cheese, room temp
• 1 Tbsp Splenda, granulated

Directions

• Preheat oven to 350 F
• To make filling, combine all ingredients in medium bowl, stirring well to make sure the butter gets mixed in evenly. Set aside.
• To make icing, combine all ingredients in small bowl and mix until smooth and blended. Place in the fridge to chill and set.
• Prepare a dry surface by sprinkling it with a small amount of flour to prevent sticking. Remove dough from package and knead into a ball.
• Using a rolling pin lightly dusted with flour, very firmly roll out dough into a thin sheet about 8 x 12 inches. Spray the dough’s surface evenly with butter spray.
• Spread filling evenly over dough, leaving a 1/2 in border around the edges.

• Starting with long side of the dough, roll it up tightly, forming a log. Once dough is completely rolled up, pinch the long seam to seal.
• Turn the log over so that the seam side is facing down. Using a very sharp knife, cut log into 12(the original recipe says 8, but I squeezed in 4 more!)being careful not to squish dough.
• Spray a baking pan with nonstick spray and arrange pieces of dough in the pan with swirl sides facing up. Use your hands to firmly press down the tops of the pieces. Pinch the side seams if necessary.
• Cover pan with aluminum foil. Bake in oven for 8 minutes.
• Remove foil and return pan to oven. Bake an additional 5 minutes, or until rolls have risen and are slightly browned on top.
• Evenly distribute icing over cinnamon rolls and dig in!

Here’s a virtual roll to quell your cravings! (I know you have one now!!)

Cool New Feature Alert!

  Hey everyone! Here we are, another week, another month—time sure does fly. Sorry my posts have been somewhat sporadic lately, but I do have a legit excuse—actually 2!

• I have been a busy blogger bee working on new blogging features for you.
• And last night I went gambling for the first time with my momma dearest. I love how the gambling age is only 18 in Minnesota! I wasn’t a fan that indoor smoking is allowed in casinos(yuck!), but I was intrigued by the millions of flashing lights and so on. I got my members card(with a free five bucks to spend!) and I didn’t end up winning anything or losing, I left when I was even which works for me! Of course my mom wins the big one hundred. Cool, real cool.  Overall gambling experience—not something I would make a habit of doing, but something different every once and awhile.

Now I would like to present to you a brand new feature I am adding to the good ol’ blog!

Recipe Redo On a Budget

What does it consist of you ask?

• Recipes I choose or readers submit to be “healthified” using better-for-you ingredients, but still keeping the price significantly low.
• Tips and tricks to lighten any recipes.
• Basically just a chance to bring a dash more of healthy to the blog!

Why did I choose to add this feature?

• The main reason I chose to add this feature to my blog is to distill the myth that eating healthy is such a chore and too expensive and that eating packaged and highly processed food is the only way to go. Yes, eating organic foods can be a bit more costly, but an all-around healthy diet, organic or not, can actually be quite cheap. If you are already a healthy eater, super! If not, or if you’d like to improve a bit, hopefully these recipes can help you out a bit!
• Eating healthy does not have to be bland or boring as these recipes will hopefully prove. Most all recipes can be made healthy with some simple tweaks and adjustments with alternate products or reducing amounts of ingredients.
• The third reason I chose to do this is because I have a ton of recipes that are healthy, but a ton that are not! I figured it would be a fun challenge to turn them healthy, while staying on a budget and of course maintaining the original flavor as much as possible.

How can you participate?

• If you have a recipe you would like me to try and redo while keeping the price down low, I am up for the challenge! Shoot me an email at apinchandadash@live.com with the title being: Recipe Redo and I will see what I can do!
• Also, if you have a recipe that you have tweaked to turn healthy, don’t be shy; please share as I will also have a readers recipe tab for this! All I need is the recipe, photo if available, and nutritional stats =)

How do I access this new feature?

• Lucky for you, I redid my first recipe today!!! Hopefully I can get one in every week, or every other. You can click here to view it! I really hope you guys like this—lemme here feedback!

See You Tomorrow!

Make sure to check out a cool Father’s Day Cookie Giveaway here!