Desserts & Baking

If autumn rolled up in a breakfast pastry, this 2009 prizewinning recipe would be it. The yeasted dough gets its deep color and malty warmth from molasses, tipping these firmly into sweater-weather territory. Cinnamon pulls double duty in both the filling and the glaze, while a generous hit of ginger gives the roll its snap.

Ingredients

1. In a large bowl stir together 1/4 cup warm water (105°F to 115°F) and the yeast; let stand 5 minutes. Stir in 1/4 cup of the brown sugar, the evaporated milk, molasses, egg, 2 Tbsp. vegetable oil, and 1/2 tsp. salt. Stir in as much of the flour as you can. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead in enough of the remaining flour to make a moderately soft dough that is smooth and elastic, 3 to 5 minutes. Shape dough into a ball; place in a lightly greased bowl, turning once to grease surface. Cover and let rise in a warm place until double in size (about 1 hour).

2. Punch dough down. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Cover and let rest 10 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, lightly grease a 13x9-inch baking pan. For filling, in a small bowl stir together granulated sugar, cinnamon, ginger, and the remaining 1/4 cup brown sugar.

4. Roll dough into an 18x12-inch rectangle. Spread butter over dough. Sprinkle with filling to within 1 inch of edges. Starting from a long side, roll up rectangle. Pinch to seal seam. Cut roll into 12 equal slices. Arrange slices cut sides up in the prepared pan. Cover and let rise in a warm place until nearly double in size (45 minutes).

5. Preheat oven to 350°F. Bake until golden, 22 to 25 minutes. Cool in pan on a wire rack 5 minutes. Carefully invert warm rolls onto a serving platter. Drizzle with Glaze.

Glaze

In a small bowl stir together powdered sugar, ground cinnamon, and vanilla. Stir in 4 to 5 tsp. milk to reach drizzling consistency.