Not Your Mother's Make-Ahead Whole-Grain Cinnamon Rolls

Dough:

• 2 cups milk
• 4 1⁄2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 11⁄2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1⁄4 cup granulated sugar
• 3 3⁄4 teaspoons active dry yeast
• 1⁄2 cup quick-cooking rolled oats
• 1 cup whole-wheat flour
• 3 to 3 1⁄2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 3⁄4 teaspoons salt

Filling:

• 3 1⁄2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
• 3⁄4 cup light or dark brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

When ready to serve, you will need:

• 3⁄4 cup confectioners’ sugar
• 1 to 2 tablespoons milk
• 1⁄2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Line baking sheets with parchment paper.

Place the milk and butter in a medium saucepan and warm slightly. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl and add the vanilla, sugar, and yeast. Stir and allow the yeast to proof for 5 minutes. Add the oats, whole-wheat flour, 3 cups of the all-purpose flour, and the salt. Stir to combine well. Turn the mixture onto a lightly floured surface and knead. Continue kneading for 5 minutes to create a smooth, elastic dough, adding more of the all-purpose flour as necessary. Transfer to a greased bowl and turn the dough ball to coat. Let rise until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.

When the dough is ready, roll it out on a lightly floured surface to form a 12 × 15-inch rectangle.

Spread the softened butter over the surface.

In a small bowl, combine the brown sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle this mixture over the butter.

Roll up the dough, jelly-roll fashion, starting from a long edge and pinching the seam to seal.

Cut the rolled dough into 18 slices, each about 2 ⁄3 inch wide, and arrange them on the prepared baking sheets 1 to 2 inches apart.

Freezing instructions:
Place the trays in the freezer and freeze the rolls until they are firm. Remove the trays from the freezer and place the rolls on their sides in the freezer bags, in stacks of six. Place the bags in the freezer immediately.

To thaw and serve:
The night before baking, remove as many rolls as desired from the freezer and place them in a greased 9 × 13-inch baking dish. You may need two pans if you bake all 18 rolls at once. Cover the dish with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. The rolls will thaw and rise in the refrigerator. In the morning, remove the dish from the refrigerator and let the rolls rest for 20 minutes at room temperature. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Bake the rolls until browned, 20 to 30 minutes. Remove the pans from the oven and cool on a wire rack. To make the icing, stir together the confectioners’ sugar, milk, and vanilla until smooth. Glaze with the icing before serving.

Serves: 18.

VERDICT:  These are wonderful--not too sweet, with complex flavor from the whole grains.  I love that we can just take out a few rolls and not have leftovers lying around getting stale.  Good job, Jess!  Keep, obviously.