Whole-Wheat Cinnamon Rolls with Maple Icing

On the heels of my successful Cardamom-Cinnamon Sweet Rolls, I decided to make a batch of larger cinnamon rolls. I adapted this recipe from my Cooking Light cookbook as well, but I definitely made a few modifications. I made most of this recipe last night, and then allowed them to do their second rise in the fridge overnight. I pulled them out about 30 minutes before I wanted to cook them this morning, fired up the oven and baked them off. Oooh boy! These are MIGHTY TASTY!!! And the whole wheat flour, which adds some nice dimension, is not overdone here. The rolls were still light and airy and they were very flavorful. I made a maple icing to go with these, which added a nice little maple flavor to these cinnamon-y rolls!

Whole-Wheat Cinnamon Rolls with Maple Icing
Ingredients:
1.5 pkgs dry yeast (about 3 & 1/4 tsp)
3/4 cup warm fat-free milk (100 degrees to 110 degrees)
1/4 cup warm water (100 degrees to 110 degrees)
1/4 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup honey
1/2 tsp salt
1.5 tsp fresh lemon juice
1 large egg
1 large egg white
11.25 oz AP flour (about 2.5 cups, divided)
7 oz. whole-wheat flour (about 1.5 cups)
Cooking spray
2 tbs butter, melted
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
2 tbs ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
1 cup powdered sugar, sifted
2 tsp real maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract
5 tsp fat-free milk

1. Dissolve yeast in warm milk and 1/4 cup warm water in a large bowl; let stand 5 minutes or until foamy. Add 1/4 cup softened butter and the next 5 ingredients; stir well. Add 9 oz. (about 2 cups) AP flour and all of the whole-wheat flour to yeast mixture, stirring until a soft dough forms. Turn dough out onto a floured surface. Knead until smooth and elastic (about 5-8 minutes); add enough of the remaining AP flour, 1 tbs at a time, to prevent dough from sticking to hands (dough will feel sticky). Place dough in a large bowl coated with cooking spray, turning to coat top. Cover and let rise in a warm place for 1 hour or until doubled in size. Punch dough down; roll into a 16X12 inch rectangle on a floured surface. Brush 2 tbs of melted butter over the surface of the dough.

2. Combine brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg. Sprinkle over dough, leaving a 1/2 inch border. Roll up rectangle tightly, starting with a long edge, pressing firmly to eliminate air pockets; pinch seam to seal. Cut dough into 16 rolls (mine was a little short, so it only made 12 rolls). Place rolls, cut side up, in a 13X9-inch baking pan coated with cooking spray. Cover and let rise 45 minutes or until doubled in size.

**If you want to prepare the night before, do everything up until this second rise. When it's time to do the 2nd rise, cover the pan with plastic wrap (loosely), and put in the fridge overnight to rise. Take out about 30 minutes before cooking in the morning and remove the plastic wrap. Let the rolls warm up a bit. Then bake. You will notice a little of the sugar mixture has liquefied, but not enough to make a big difference. This is what I did, and the baked up beautifully in the morning.**


3. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

4. Uncover rolls. Bake for 22 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool in pan on a wire rack.

Before they got their glaze.

5. Place powdered sugar, maple syrup, vanilla and 5 tsp of fat-free milk in a bowl. Whisk until smooth. Drizzle glaze evenly over rolls.