Who doesn’t love a freshly baked treat? This weekend, in honor of National Pecan Month, treat yourself and the rest of your family to some delicious cinnamon pecan pinwheels. These treats are chock-full of pecans which give your body the fiber, protein, zinc, and magnesium that it needs. Plus, they are melt-in-your-mouth good.
If you’re ready to make these sweet treats, check out the recipe listed below.
Cinnamon Pecan Rolls
Ingredients
Dough
- 1/2 cup of whole milk
- 1/2 cup of granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon of salt
- 1/2 cup of unsalted butter, softened
- 2 tablespoons of active dry yeast
- 1/2 cup of warm water
- 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
- 4 to 5 cups of unbleached all-purpose flour
Filling
- 1/2 cup of unsalted butter, melted
- 1 cup of brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon of cinnamon
- 2 cups of chopped pecans
Icing
- 4 tablespoons of unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup of powdered sugar, sifted
- 1 1/2 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice
Directions
- In a small saucepan, scald the milk. Then pour the hot milk over the granulated sugar, salt, and 1/2 cup of butter. Cool to lukewarm.
- In a bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Let it sit for five minutes until yeast is bubbly. Add the milk mixture to yeast and stir to mix. With a whisk, beat in the eggs. Add the flour 1 cup at a time, mixing until smooth—be sure to add enough flour to make a soft dough.
- Knead the dough, adding small amounts of flour as necessary until the dough is smooth and elastic but not sticky.
- Place dough in a greased bowl, cover, and let rise until doubled, about 45 minutes.
- Punch down.
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Roll dough into a rectangle about 15×22 inches. In a small bowl, mix together the melted butter and brown sugar. Using a spatula, spread this over the dough up to 1/2 inch from the edges.
- Sprinkle cinnamon evenly over the sugar and butter. Top with a layer of nuts. Roll dough up lengthwise to make a log and pinch the edge to seal.
- Slice dough evenly into 12 pieces. Place each piece cut side down on baking sheets one inch apart and let rise, covered with parchment or plastic for 15 minutes.
- Bake rolls until lightly browned on top (about 30 minutes). Remove from oven.
- To prepare the icing, beat 4 tablespoons of butter with powdered sugar and lemon juice until fluffy. Using a spatula, smear the icing on top of the warm rolls.
(Recipe by Courtly from Genius Kitchen)
Bonus. Not a big fan of sweets? No problem! You can include more pecans in your diet without making a dessert. Try honey pecan chicken made with chicken breasts or soy chicken strips for vegetarians. For more fun pecan recipes, read these Mindful pecan recipes.