It’s been a very wintery and festive weekend! It snowed all of Friday, and just once it was all almost melted away, it snowed again all day Monday. I feel like we don’t usually get much snow until January here so I’m really loving the early snow storms!
All this snow really just makes me want to bake. It’s the season of cozy recipes, spices, maple, molasses, and always served warm. That’s a big reason for why I’m publishing this today, because this is such a cozy and comforting recipe, that still has a good amount of festive flavor to it.
I’m personally not a huge fan of gingerbread cookies. But gingerbread flavored things are one of my favorites this time of year like gingerbread lattes, gingerbread creme brûlée , or caramel gingerbread cookies. And now I can add these rolls to that list!
Describe These Rolls to Me
Taste: These taste like a cross between a cinnamon roll and gingerbread cookies. The dough provides a buttery and spiced background flavor, while the toffee sauce gives these cookies a unique gingerbread latte sort of flavor, and the filling of the rolls really drives this flavor home.
Texture: The dough of these rolls is incredibly tender and fluffy while the toffee sauce provides the moisture that keeps these rolls flavorful and moist.
Ease: These are very simple to make, and even a little faster than some cinnamon roll recipes. The dough, filling, and toffee sauce all come together quickly and easily. The only time consuming part is waiting for the rolls to rise.
The Dough
This is a very classic and straightforward dough, but one that always turns out delicate and fluffy while still providing a stable base for both the filling and the toffee sauce. It comes together in one bowl with no mixer, using kitchen staples like flour, sugar, yeast, spices, milk, water, butter, and egg. It’s such a simple recipe, but one I always come back to.
The Filling
The filling on these rolls is very similar to a classic cinnamon roll, but with the addition of ginger and molasses. Brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger, and molasses work together to make the filling of these rolls taste just like gingerbread.
The Toffee Sauce
The shaped rolls are baked on a bed of spiced toffee sauce to make them extra gooey and cozy. This sauce comes together by melting down butter, brown sugar, maple syrup, molasses, espresso powder, ginger, cinnamon, and vanilla. This will become an almost caramel-like sauce, which we will pour into the bottom of our baking pan before layering the rolls on top to rise.
Sticky Toffee Gingerbread Rolls
Ingredients
Method
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together 2 cups of the flour, granulated sugar, yeast, cinnamon, ginger, and salt. Set aside. Place the milk, water, and butter in a microwave safe liquid measuring cup. Microwave for 1 minute and whisk to combine. The butter may not be fully melted, that's ok. Add this mixture into the dry ingredients, along with the egg. Whisk until smooth. Add in 2 more cups of flour and use a sturdy rubber spatula or a wooden spoon to mix into a shaggy and sticky dough. Stir in the remaining ½ cup of flour.
- Turn the dough out onto a heavily floured work surface and knead the dough for 2 minutes. Add more flour as needed, the dough should be a little sticky but not impossible to work with. Form the dough into a ball and put it back in the bowl. Cover with a towel and let it sit at room temperature for 10 minutes while we prepare the filling.
- In a medium sized bowl using a spatula, stir together the softened butter, brown sugar, molasses, cinnamon, and ginger. The mixture should be a spreadable paste.
- Place the dough on a floured work surface and use a floured rolling pin to roll it into a 14×16 inch rectangle. Using a spatula, spread the filling evenly on top of the rolled out dough. Starting from the 16 inch side, roll the dough into a 16 inch log. Slice the log into 12 rolls, and let the rolls rest on the floured work surface while we quickly make the toffee sauce.
- In a large saucepan, melt the butter, brown sugar, maple syrup, molasses, and espresso powder together on medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the butter is melted and the mixture is smooth and combined. Remove from the heat and stir in the cinnamon, ginger, and vanilla extract. Let the sauce cool for 5 minutes.
- Pour the sauce into a 9×13 inch rectangular baking pan. Place the rolls in 3 rows of four on top of the sauce. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and let the rolls rise for 1 hour at room temperature.
- Preheat the oven to 350℉.
- Once risen for 1 hour, remove the towel from the rolls and bake at 350℉ for 25-30 minutes or until the tops are lightly browned and the rolls sound hollow when tapped.
- Let the baked rolls cool for 10 minutes before enjoying warm! Finished rolls last up to 5 days sealed in the refrigerator. Rolls are best served warm.