Did you miss me?

I haven’t blogged in forever!  I’ve been baking, but too lazy to blog.  Blogging takes too much thinking! I don’t have enough brain cells to spare after finals.
And this is weird – WordPress has changed their layout since I’ve been gone!  Now I don’t know how to use it anymore
Oh well, better figure out how to use it so I can blog again.  And I can do just that while enjoying one (or more) of these Cinnamon Hazelnut Rolls!

These are probably my favorite things that I have posted on this blog!  These rolls are reminiscent of a cinnamon roll or a sticky bun, but much more fun!  These combine cinnamon, chocolate, and nuts all rolled up in a flaky croissant-like dough!

I always thought cinnamon rolls, flaky pastries, and their like would be really hard to make and time consuming.  But these were so simple!  I’m so glad I tried.  Now I can make these all the time!   YAY!!!

The filling is sooo amazing.  Nutella and cinnamon work so well together!  And the crushed nuts in the filling gives the pastry a nice crunch.  I’m in love with these!

Cinnamon Hazelnut Rolls (these deserve a better name)

Delicious Flaky Dough:

3/4 c warm milk

1 package (1/4 oz) active dry yeast

2 large eggs

2 egg yolks

3/4 c white granulated sugar

1/2 tsp salt

3 c all-purpose flour

1 stick unsalted butter, cubed

Pour warm milk into a small bowl. Sprinkle yeast and pinch of sugar over milk; let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes.  In a seperate bowl, whisk together the sugar, eggs, and egg yolks.  Add the egg mixture to the yeast mixture and whisk to combine.  In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine flour and salt. Add egg mixture, and beat on low speed until almost all the flour is incorporated, about 30 seconds.  Change to the dough hook.  Add the butter, and beat until flour mixture and butter are completely incorporated, and a smooth, soft dough that’s slightly sticky when squeezed is formed, about 6 minutes.  Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead dough.  Place dough in a butter bowl and cover bowl with plastic wrap.  Let sit for at least one hour to rise. 

Make egg wash while you wait for the dough to rise.  After the dough is ready, punch back the dough, and transfer to a generously floured surface.  Roll out the dough into a 1/8 in. thick square.  Brush edges (1/4 in. border) with egg wash.  Fill the square with filling.

Filling:

6 Tbsp Nutella (adjust according to how much Nutella you want inside your pastries)

1/2 c chopped nuts (I used chopped pecans and slivered almonds – again, adjust for how crunchy you want your pastries to be)

1.5 Tbsp cinnamon

Spread Nutella evenly over the dough, leaving a 1/4 in. border.  Sprinkle with the cinnamon.  Sprinkle nuts over the Nutella and cinnamon.  Roll dough up tightly – seal with Nutella.  Cut into 12 rolls, and place in a 9×13 lightly greased pan (or use a lightly greased baking sheet).  Generously sprinkle tops of the rolls with streusel (below).  Bake at 350 degrees for 20 – 25 minutes, until light golden brown.

Egg wash:

1 egg, beaten

1 Tbsp heavy cream

Beat together to make egg wash.

For the streusel topping:

1 stick butter

3/4 c sugar

3/4 c all-purpose flour

2 Tbsp cinnamon

Combine all the ingredients together.