Sunday, April 24, 2011

Kanelbullar (Swedish Cinnamon Rolls)

Kanelbullar

So it's been a while since I last posted...(holy crap, almost 3 weeks in fact). I have to admit, I really lost my interest in cooking/baking (and therefore, taking/posting photos or blogging) for a while there. I always thought that I was the kind of person who baked to de-stress--well apparently there is a point beyond which even baking is too much to handle. So I've been holing up lately and just letting myself be lazy--I've been reading a lot (and watching lots of movies--well, on the weekends, at least). I'm starting to feel a bit more like myself, don't worry--and there are positive things to look forward to (like Py coming to visit in a couple of weeks). And warmer weather, and flowers blooming. Yes, it's not all bad, and what does not kill me (work) can only make me stronger (unless it does kill me).

Glazed and sugared

Easter isn't a big thing for me, and with my current state of mind, I wasn't in the mood for making my army of bunny and chick cookies, like I had originally planned. But I wanted to make something a little more special, and cinnamon rolls sounded like just the thing, so I browsed around a bit and found this recipe for kanelbullar (Swedish cinnamon rolls) at My Kitchen From Scratch. It was the photo that convinced me, and I happened to have pearl sugar in my pantry. There really is something to be said about the therapeutic value of kneading dough..not to mention the smell of butter and cinnamon. (Most of the other recipes I saw included a bit of cardamom, so I did the same, but you can certainly leave it out if you don't like the flavor.)

Kanelbullar 2

These are nice and tender (they should be! There is a lot of butter in these.) and only lightly sweet. The glaze and pearl sugar add a little bit of crunch and all around, these are great with a cup of tea (or coffee). I won't tell you how many I ate but I'll add it to my list of "things that make me feel better."

For those that celebrate it, Happy Easter!

5 comments:

Unknown said...

Oh noooo don't make me drool! Please leave me one of them, I'd eat with my coffee! That pearl sugar makes them even more delicious.
Anybody feels that way every now and then. You should be so lazy when you should. Everything has its time in our lives. I hope you had (or having) a happy Easter with lots of eggs! :D :D :D

Laura said...

Oooh, I LOVE cinnamon rolls. And these look amazing! I just can't get over how incredibly clear and professional your pictures turn out, too. Unfortunately I don't have the money for a nice camera so I have to deal with a $100 digital camera I got five years ago and my Droid camera.

(Oh, and I started a baking blog! It's certainly not as impressive as yours, but check it out if it interests you!)

http://lepetitebaker.blogspot.com/

Anonymous said...

Looks great!! Nothing beats the smell of cinnamon and cardamom on a cold day.

Yue Jiang said...

Hi, nice to know you also live in NYC. Thanks for your advice on flea market, i will definitely go check it out! We might bump into each other there sometime. lol

tofugirl said...

Hey Izumi--I finally had to put the rest of them in the freezer, or I would have eaten them all :D Yes, I do need to relax and take care of myself! After these two weeks are over, I think I will have a little more free time....hope you and your family had a great easter too!

Laura, sometimes I'm surprised by how good the photos from my cellphone can be! Anyway, I think I've decided that natural light is more important than the camera :) I will definitely check out your baking blog :)

mykitchenfromscratch, thanks for posting the recipe! Loved it, and I reaaaally love the way this dough feels when you knead it.

Hi Yue--definitely check out that market :) I've found some great things there (and also some frightening things!). I sent you a mail with some links to some other markets as well :)