Need Help with Cinnamon Roll Filling

[SzczerbiakManiac]

I've been experimenting with baking cinnamon rolls as of late. I'm very happy with the taste (especially the frosting), but my cinnamon filling keeps crystallizing and making "candy" at the bottom of the roll. I don't want that. I want the filling to stay gooey.

Right now I'm coating the inside of the dough with a thin layer of margarine and then sprinkling a mixture of dark brown sugar and cinnamon on top of it before I roll it up.

What am I doing wrong? Do/can I need to add something to the filling to keep it soft?

[Mousey Girl]

Are you cooking it too hot/too long?

[JWBear]

It's probably the brown sugar. Also, I would use real butter instead of margarine.

[Kevy Baby]

I read the topic as "Need Help with Cinnamon Roll Fling" and was thinking "I'm in!"

[SzczerbiakManiac]

Originally Posted by Mousey Girl

Are you cooking it too hot/too long?

I'm cooking at 375° and pull out (tee hee) when the bread starts to brown.

Originally Posted by JWBear

It's probably the brown sugar. Also, I would use real butter instead of margarine.

Should I use regular sugar instead? All the recipes I saw called for brown. Does Dark vs. Light make a difference?

Should I use butter for taste reasons or will that help reduce crystallization too?

[JWBear]

I've never seen a recipe that calls for brown sugar in the filling, so that was my first thought.

Margarine reacts differently than butter to heat. I don't recommend it in baking.
Never use low fat or "healthy" spreads when baking. They don't work.

[bewitched]

Originally Posted by SzczerbiakManiac

I'm cooking at 375° and pull out (tee hee) when the bread starts to brown.
Should I use regular sugar instead? All the recipes I saw called for brown. Does Dark vs. Light make a difference?

Should I use butter for taste reasons or will that help reduce crystallization too?

I believe most cinnamon roll recipes call for brown sugar. Dark vs light is the amount of natural molasses in the sugar. Try light brown and real butter (the butter/margarine shouldn't make a difference but baking with butter, in my experience, usually tastes better).

Try buttering the pan (w/butter, not Pam or something else). Hopefully that will help keep any stray sugar a "caramelly" texture rather than crystallizing.

[Kevy Baby]

Or just go to Cinnabon and pick up a box of six.

[SzczerbiakManiac]

Originally Posted by bewitched

I believe most cinnamon roll recipes call for brown sugar. Dark vs light is the amount of natural molasses in the sugar. Try light brown and real butter (the butter/margarine shouldn't make a difference but baking with butter, in my experience, usually tastes better).

Try buttering the pan (w/butter, not Pam or something else). Hopefully that will help keep any stray sugar a "caramelly" texture rather than crystallizing.

I had been using Butter "Flavored" Pam, I'll try real butter next time. I originally opted for dark brown sugar because I thought it would have more flavor, but I'll give the light a try. Thanks.

Originally Posted by Kevy Baby

Or just go to Cinnabon and pick up a box of six.

OMG, you have no idea...!

That's actually what started this whole experimentation. For weeks (no kidding) I tried to find a good cinnamon roll. All the ones I found were too dry and I didn't know of a nearby Cinnabon.

So about two weekends ago, I had some time on my hands and went to the 3rd Street Promenade for the main purpose of getting a Cinnabon from the Santa Monica Place Mall. Much to my surprise, it was gutted.

A few days later, I checked the Cinnabon web site for a nearby location. I wanted to pick up a pack for my D&D game that night. I also had an appointment with my doctor about my jaw, but I figured I had enough time since it was quite literally on my way there.

As it happened, I parked on the exact opposite side of the mall from the Cinnabon. After I hiked to the store, I asked to buy a pack of six. Even though they had nine fresh rolls ready to go, they refused to sell me a box of six. The guy claimed he had to save those for people walking up. Well what the hell was I doing?!? He said if I could wait half an hour, he could make me some. Uh no, I still had to hike back to my car and get to my appointment.

So I determined right then and there that I would find a way to make cinnamon rolls that were just as good and certainly a lot less expensive.

[cirquelover]

Are you using a glass or metal pan to bake them in?


Now that I think of it, I've always just used white sugar in my cinnamon rolls. I use brown sugar for the carmel rolls, that would be the goo you're getting on the bottom. Kind of like a pineapple upside down cake gooey goo.