Pineapple Upside-Down Cinnamon Rolls

I've always wanted to try something different with familiar recipe, eating the same old sounds boring to me.  Well, I found it in this cinnamon rolls recipe; instead of normal cinnamon rolls, I treated my family to the pineapple upside-down cinnamon rolls.  And you know what, it's actually delicious!

The basic sweet dough recipe is already fantastic, it's a very soft dough that's easy to handle.  It can be made using a mixer or bread machine--which is my go-to machine to make bread dough.  Bread flour is my preferred flour to make sweet dough even though the original one uses all-purpose.  The quantity of pineapples was changed slightly to 2 cups instead of 1 1/2 cups.  I do like it that way so there's an equal amount of pineapple to the rolls, otherwise I would have eaten only rolls and no more pineapples.  

And because I wanted to bake it in the morning for breakfast, I proofed the two pans in my fridge overnight.  The morning of, take those pans out and set in the oven with a pan of boiling water placed on the rack underneath the pans.  Let it proof for 30 minutes and then bake.  

If you have cream cheese frosting, this is also good with it!

Pineapple Upside-Down Cinnamon Rolls

Makes 18 small rolls

Pan Sauce:
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
2/3 cup packed light brown sugar
2 cups canned pineapple chunks (juice reserved)
1/4 cup reserved pineapple juice
1/8 teaspoon salt
9 maraschino cherries, cut in half

Dough:
Flour for dusting
1 recipe Cinnamon Roll Dough--recipe follows

Cinnamon Filling:
2 tablespoons cinnamon
1/2 cup granulated sugar
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

For the pan sauce, melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat.  Stir in the brown sugar until it melts.  Stir in the pineapple chunks and juice and cook until the sauce starts to bubble and thicken, about 3 minutes.  Stir in the salt, remove from heat, and divide the sauce between two 9-inch square pans.  Set aside to cool for 15 minutes.  Arrange half the cherries, cut side up, in the bottom of each prepared pan.

Transfer the dough to a floured surface and cut in half.  Roll each half out to an 8 by 12-inch rectangle.

For the filling, combine the cinnamon and sugar in a bowl.  Set aside.  Spread each half rectangle of dough with half the melted butter and sprinkle with half the cinnamon sugar.  Roll up the dough, starting with a short end, to form a tight 9-inch cylinder.  Cut each cylinder into 9 slice. Place each slice, spiral side up, in a prepared pan.  Cover with tea towels and let rise in a warm place until almost doubled, 45 to 60 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 375F.  Bake for 23 to 25 minutes or until the rolls have risen and browned. Transfer to a rack to cool for 5 minutes before inverting onto serving platters.

Cinnamon Roll Dough

Makes 6 jumbo, 12 large, 16 to 20 medium, or 48 mini rolls

1 cup whole milk
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs, at room temperature 
3 1/3 cups bread flour, plus more for kneading and dusting
2 1/2 teaspoons instant or bread machine yeast

In a 4-cup measuring cup, combine the milk, butter, sugar, and salt.  Microwave on High for 1 minute or until warm.  Whisk in the eggs.

Place the flour and yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.  Add the liquid ingredients.  Mix on low speed, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl from time to time, until the dough forms a soft mass and starts to pull away from the sides of the bowl, 5 to 6 minutes.

Remove the paddle attachment and switch to the dough hook.  With the mixer on low, knead the dough with the dough hook.  Sprinkle the dough with a tablespoon of flour, if necessary, to keep it from sticking to the sides of the bowl.  When the dough is smooth, not sticky, and springs back when you press it with your finger, you've kneaded enough (4 to 6 minutes).  Place the dough in a large, oiled mixing bowl, cover with a tea towel, and let rise in a warm place for 45 to 60 minutes, or until it has almost doubled.

For bread machine dough:  Place the liquid ingredients in the pan of the bread machine after first step.  Add the flour, then the yeast.  Select Dough cycle, and press Start.



Source:  adapted heavily from I Love Cinnamon Rolls by Judith Fertig