Savory Sweet Potato & Chorizo “Cinnamon Rolls”
These savory sweet potato "cinnamon" rolls are adorable and delicious. They're soft, buttery yeast rolls wrapped around sweet potato puree seasoned with cinnamon, chili powder, and cumin. The rolls also pack a healthy dose of chorizo, queso fresco, and jalapeno. If you're afraid of yeast, don't be! This recipe is super easy; you just mix and stick it in the fridge overnight to rise before shaping your rolls.
Also in this blog post I review my friend Lauren's brand new mail-order dessert company, Keep It Sweet Desserts. I tried a salted caramel butter bar, a milk chocolate almond toffee cookie sandwich with peanut butter buttercream, and a chocolate chip cookie sandwich with mocha ganache buttercream. They were all just as fantastic as I knew they would be, but the mocha ganache smooshed between two soft chocolate chip cookies was my favorite. I feel pleased as a plum to wholeheartedly recommend Keep It Sweet Desserts for anytime you want someone else to Cook the Hard Stuff for you. In fact, if you use the code "WillowBirdBaking" anytime before June 30, 2012, you can enjoy 10% off your dessert order.
Also head to the blog post itself (below) to enter to win a dozen treats of your choice :) Now onto the savory cinnamon rolls...
Savory Sweet Potato & Chorizo "Cinnamon Rolls"
Recipe by: Willow Bird Baking
Yield: 24 rolls
Roll Ingredients:
1 package (2 1/4 teaspoons) active dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water (100-110 degrees F)
2 tablespoons white vinegar
2 cups milk minus 2 tablespoons, room temperature
2/3 cup cold shortening (I use butter flavored Crisco)
3 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
5 cups flour
Filling Ingredients:
3 pounds of sweet potatoes
4 tablespoons butter
2 1/2 teaspoons chili powder
1 1/4 teaspoon cumin
1 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
salt and pepper to taste
16 ounces chorizo, browned and drained
6-8 ounces queso fresco
minced, seeded jalapeno to taste (I used about 1 teaspoon)
2 tablespoons melted butter for after baking
Directions:
Note: I don't recommend halving yeast recipes; instead, if you don't want 24 rolls at once, consider freezing some for later. To freeze some of the unbaked rolls, just wrap them well before the second rise and freeze them. Once frozen, pop them out of the pan all together and store in the freezer, wrapped in plastic wrap and in a zip top bag or wrapped in foil. When you want to bake them, stick them back in a greased pan, thaw them in the fridge overnight, proof for the instructed amount of time, and bake like usual.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Poke each sweet potato several times with a fork and bake them on the oven rack (with a baking sheet on the rack below to catch any oozing) for 1 hour or until a knife will slice them easily. Scoop the flesh out into a food processor and add butter, chili powder, cumin, and cinnamon. Process until smooth and salt and pepper to taste.
While the potatoes bake, mix the warm water and yeast in a medium bowl and let the yeast foam for about 10 minutes. Put 2 tablespoons white vinegar in a measuring cup and then add milk up to the 2 cup line. Set this aside. In a separate large bowl (or the bowl of a mixer fitted with a dough hook), whisk together flour, sugar, salt, baking soda, and baking powder and cut the shortening into the mixture with two knives or a pastry cutter until the shortening looks like small peas. Stir yeast mixture and milk mixture into the dry ingredients and mix well, kneading just a few turns. Transfer the dough to a bowl lightly sprayed with cooking spray, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and store in refrigerator overnight.
The next morning, preheat the oven to 400 degrees F and lightly spray two 9 x 13-inch baking dishes with cooking spray. Turn the chilled dough out onto a floured surface and roll it into a large rectangle about 1/4-inch thick. Spread sweet potato puree over top evenly. Sprinkle on the browned and drained chorizo, the queso fresco, and the minced jalapeno (wash your hands after handling peppers). Roll the dough up into a spiral and cut it into rolls, placing them close together in your prepared baking dishes (at this point, you could wrap and freeze the rolls for later if you wanted).
Cover the rolls with a clean dish cloth and let them rise in a warm spot until they've nearly doubled, about 1 1/2 - 2 hours. Bake them for about 15-20 minutes or until browned on top (if you take them out at just lightly golden brown, they may still be doughy in the center). Brush with 2 tablespoons melted butter and return to the oven for 1 more minute. Let cool slightly and serve warm with cilantro, salsa, sour cream, and/or guacamole.
To read my last Cooking Hard Stuff tip (I think I said this last time, but surprise! one more!), enter an awesome Keep It Sweet Desserts giveaway, and see more photos, please head over to Willow Bird Baking!
x-posted to food_porn, cooking, picturing_food, and bakebakebake
Also in this blog post I review my friend Lauren's brand new mail-order dessert company, Keep It Sweet Desserts. I tried a salted caramel butter bar, a milk chocolate almond toffee cookie sandwich with peanut butter buttercream, and a chocolate chip cookie sandwich with mocha ganache buttercream. They were all just as fantastic as I knew they would be, but the mocha ganache smooshed between two soft chocolate chip cookies was my favorite. I feel pleased as a plum to wholeheartedly recommend Keep It Sweet Desserts for anytime you want someone else to Cook the Hard Stuff for you. In fact, if you use the code "WillowBirdBaking" anytime before June 30, 2012, you can enjoy 10% off your dessert order.
Also head to the blog post itself (below) to enter to win a dozen treats of your choice :) Now onto the savory cinnamon rolls...
Savory Sweet Potato & Chorizo "Cinnamon Rolls"
Recipe by: Willow Bird Baking
Yield: 24 rolls
Roll Ingredients:
1 package (2 1/4 teaspoons) active dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water (100-110 degrees F)
2 tablespoons white vinegar
2 cups milk minus 2 tablespoons, room temperature
2/3 cup cold shortening (I use butter flavored Crisco)
3 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
5 cups flour
Filling Ingredients:
3 pounds of sweet potatoes
4 tablespoons butter
2 1/2 teaspoons chili powder
1 1/4 teaspoon cumin
1 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
salt and pepper to taste
16 ounces chorizo, browned and drained
6-8 ounces queso fresco
minced, seeded jalapeno to taste (I used about 1 teaspoon)
2 tablespoons melted butter for after baking
Directions:
Note: I don't recommend halving yeast recipes; instead, if you don't want 24 rolls at once, consider freezing some for later. To freeze some of the unbaked rolls, just wrap them well before the second rise and freeze them. Once frozen, pop them out of the pan all together and store in the freezer, wrapped in plastic wrap and in a zip top bag or wrapped in foil. When you want to bake them, stick them back in a greased pan, thaw them in the fridge overnight, proof for the instructed amount of time, and bake like usual.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Poke each sweet potato several times with a fork and bake them on the oven rack (with a baking sheet on the rack below to catch any oozing) for 1 hour or until a knife will slice them easily. Scoop the flesh out into a food processor and add butter, chili powder, cumin, and cinnamon. Process until smooth and salt and pepper to taste.
While the potatoes bake, mix the warm water and yeast in a medium bowl and let the yeast foam for about 10 minutes. Put 2 tablespoons white vinegar in a measuring cup and then add milk up to the 2 cup line. Set this aside. In a separate large bowl (or the bowl of a mixer fitted with a dough hook), whisk together flour, sugar, salt, baking soda, and baking powder and cut the shortening into the mixture with two knives or a pastry cutter until the shortening looks like small peas. Stir yeast mixture and milk mixture into the dry ingredients and mix well, kneading just a few turns. Transfer the dough to a bowl lightly sprayed with cooking spray, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and store in refrigerator overnight.
The next morning, preheat the oven to 400 degrees F and lightly spray two 9 x 13-inch baking dishes with cooking spray. Turn the chilled dough out onto a floured surface and roll it into a large rectangle about 1/4-inch thick. Spread sweet potato puree over top evenly. Sprinkle on the browned and drained chorizo, the queso fresco, and the minced jalapeno (wash your hands after handling peppers). Roll the dough up into a spiral and cut it into rolls, placing them close together in your prepared baking dishes (at this point, you could wrap and freeze the rolls for later if you wanted).
Cover the rolls with a clean dish cloth and let them rise in a warm spot until they've nearly doubled, about 1 1/2 - 2 hours. Bake them for about 15-20 minutes or until browned on top (if you take them out at just lightly golden brown, they may still be doughy in the center). Brush with 2 tablespoons melted butter and return to the oven for 1 more minute. Let cool slightly and serve warm with cilantro, salsa, sour cream, and/or guacamole.
To read my last Cooking Hard Stuff tip (I think I said this last time, but surprise! one more!), enter an awesome Keep It Sweet Desserts giveaway, and see more photos, please head over to Willow Bird Baking!
x-posted to food_porn, cooking, picturing_food, and bakebakebake