Coconut Date Oatmeal Sandwich Cookies

Greetings, from my hometown! It remains unclear how long will be my California stay, but needless to say it will be filled with citrus and strange fruits if it carries on much past this week. In the meantime, there isn’t much that needs to be justified about these pudgy little oatmeal sandwich cookies that I made in Baltimore last week—they’re delicious, and so stupid cute. Melissa Clark gets it right again, as always, by adding some toasted coconut and swapping out the classic but insipid raisin for a totally charmed handful of dates. Dark brown sugar, as it should be, and honey, as I love it to be, round out the sweetness profile, and this cute little cookie is stuffed with a roly-poly rope of filling that really brings it all together. You may be stuck whiling away your winter in the sun or even stuck under a pile of snow, but either way, these cookies belong on your counter and in your belly—make ‘em today!

Coconut Date Oatmeal Cookies with Cream Cheese Filling

Adapted from Melissa Clark

Yield: 24 2-inch cookies, enough for 12 sandwiches

Only thing is, the photo of Clark’s recipe shows her cookies are as being much thinner. Mine turned out nice and thick and domed—I have no idea why—and I didn’t change much except to toast the oats. They’re undoubtedly good either way! I also cut her recipe in half, and I used a different filling that didn't require mascarpone (because I'm poor)!

Coconut Date Oatmeal Cookies

40 grams shredded sweetened coconut flakes

½ cup unsalted butter, softened

165 grams packed dark brown sugar

1 tablespoon honey

1 large egg, at room temperature

1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract

95 grams all-purpose flour  

4 grams fine sea salt

½ teaspoon baking powder

4 grams ground cinnamon, divided

130 grams rolled oats

50 grams dates, pitted and chopped

30 grams granulated sugar, for rolling

Cream Cheese Filling

Yield: enough to fill the recipe above!

3 ounces cream cheese, softened

3 ounces unsalted butter, softened

1.5 ounces powdered sugar

3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

1.  Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spread coconut flakes and oatmeal on a rimmed baking sheet. Toast, stirring occasionally, until coconut is lightly colored and both oats and coconut are fragrant, seven to ten minutes. Set aside to cool. Raise oven temperature to 375 degrees.

2.  In the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter until light. Beat in brown sugar and honey, then beat until very fluffy, about five minutes. Beat in the egg until well mixed, then vanilla. Scrape bowl.

3.  In a large bowl, whisk together flour, salt, baking powder and one gram of the cinnamon. With the mixer set on low, beat flour mixture into butter mixture until combined. Mix in the oats, dates, and toasted coconut by hand. Be certain that everything is evenly combined!

4. In a small bowl, stir together granulated sugar and remaining three grams cinnamon. Roll heaping tablespoonsfuls of dough into balls, then roll balls in cinnamon sugar; transfer to parchment-lined baking sheet, leaving about 1 1/2 inches of space between dough balls. Flatten tops just a little bit, and bake until cookies are golden brown, about 12 to 15 minutes. Let cool in the pan for two minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

5.  Make the filling and assemble: Using the electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat cream cheese and butter until smooth. Beat in sugar and vanilla until mixed, scrape down the bowl, and beat again until filling stiffens up, about five minutes. Scrape down sides of bowl. Pipe or scoop one to two tablespoons of filling per sandwich onto half the cookies; top with remaining cookies. (I preferred more filling to less, duh!) Assembled sandwiches will keep packaged in the fridge for several days. Clark warns about them becoming soft if filled and not eaten, but I liked ‘em that way.

Blueberry Whoopie Pies with Lemon Cream Cheese Filling

Whoopie pies were strictly a summer treat when I was a kid. It sounds backwards, considering summer is the time for lighter, fresher fare—jumbleberry pavlova, anyone?—but summer was when my family made its annual, magical pilgrimage to Maine, and along with sleep-away camp and fireworks, whoopie pies were the quintessential New England privilege. Even as a tried-and-true popsicle kid, I couldn’t resist the whoopie pies with their deep black cookies and bright white ropes of filling two fingers thick, beckoning from the counter at Day’s General Store in Belgrade Lakes. I’d poke at the tops through the plastic wrap, and was indulged especially on afternoons when my mom needed a sugar-chomping partner in crime. More than two decades later, the enormous, classic whoopie pies at Day’s are as insistent as ever.

Much regional ink has been spilled as to the origin of whoopie pies—there’s a cute story about Amish farmers yelling “Whoopie!” whenever they discovered the treat in their lunch pails—and a few years ago the Maine legislature considered adopting the cake as its official state dessert, but relegated it instead to just the official state “treat” (blueberry pie made with Maine blueberries is the official “dessert”). On behalf of the Pennsylvania Dutch, Lancaster County also took up the cause, claiming the whoopie pie originated within the traditions of Amish families. Whatever its true origin, the whoopie pie has a special place in my heart as part of a beloved Maine history, so I was more than jazzed to make this blueberry version on the farm over the weekend—it's a sort of ode to welcome returns. Plus, with that pudgy mound of filling in the center, this makes for a perfectly Maine-ish and delicious pre-summer treat. Enjoy!

And if you're interested in following along as I play midwife to baby goats this spring, check here for photos and updates...or just scroll all the way down. How could I resist!?

Blueberry Whoopie Pies

Adapted from the Food Network, of all places

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon fine salt

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

5 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

2/3 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 large egg

1/3 cup buttermilk

3/4 cup blueberries

1. Whisk the flour, baking powder, salt and baking soda in a medium bowl. Beat the butter, sugar and vanilla on medium-high speed in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until light and fluffy, about five minutes. Beat in the egg until combined, scraping down the bowl. Reduce the mixer speed to low and beat in the flour mixture and milk in three
alternating batches, starting and ending with the flour. Fold in the blueberries with a rubber spatula.

2. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper, then coat with cooking spray or lightly grease with butter. Use a tablespoon or small ice cream scoop to scoop mounds of batter onto the sheets, spacing them each about two inches apart. Chill the batter in the fridge (or outside if it’s real cold!) for at least a half-hour; this helps the cakes stay round and puffed.

3. Bake until the halves are lightly golden, rotating the pans halfway through, 10 to 12 minutes; be careful not to overbake. Let cool on the pans for five minutes, then transfer to a rack to cool completely.

Lemon Cream Cheese Filling

Adapted from Baked Explorations

If lemon isn't your thing, just omit the zest and juice to get a straight-up cream cheese filling. You could also go for orange or add a bit of maple syrup for a sort of pancake experience, but we did enjoy the lemon.

4 ounces cream cheese, softened

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar, sifted

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Pinch salt

1 teaspoon lemon zest, optional

1 teaspoon lemon juice, optional

1. Beat the butter in or with an electric mixer until it is completely smooth, with no visible lumps. Add the cream cheese and beat until combined. Add the sifted confectioners’ sugar, vanilla, salt, and lemon zest and juice, if using. Beat until just smooth.

2. Turn half of the cooled cookies upside down (flat side facing up). Use an ice cream scoop or a tablespoon to drop a large dollop of filling onto the flat side of the cookie. Place another cookie, flat side down, on top of the filling. Press down slightly so that the filling spreads to the edges of the cookie.

3. Repeat until all the cookies are used. Put the whoopie pies in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes to firm up before serving. The whoopie pies will keep for up to three days, on a parchment-lined baking sheet covered with plastic wrap, in the refrigerator.

We'll be keeping them in the house until enough kids are born such that they can keep each other warm during the day and throughout the night. Until then: ridiculous indoor photos!

Applesauce Carrot Date Bundt Cake with Cream Cheese Glaze

The countdown to baby goats has begun. It seems that farms the world over have long since welcomed their lambs and kids, but my experience is that Maine is generally a month or two behind the times, considering its winter. The snow won’t melt until May, rhubarb and asparagus won’t peek out until June, and our baby goats are holding steady until...well, any second now, really. April finds me back here on the farm to finish what I started, that being helping goats knock hooves back in November in the name of springtime babies. I know things ‘round these parts have been a touch quiet as of late, but I hope to soon enough inundate you with photos of fluffy, tiny, tail-wagging kids. In the meantime, my final days down south(er) were a torrent of buddies, travel, and a rekindling of my lifelong love of Bundt cakes. There are a few more waiting in the wings, but this carrot cake is one of the handful of recipes that I’ve authored, so I’m pretty pumped to share it with you! It’s chock full of carrots and dates, and if nuts are your thing, well go ahead and add a cup of chopped pecans too. It might not be the quintessential seasonal dessert, but it’s perfectly delicious for sitting around waiting for kid goats and springtime to finally rear their heads.

Applesauce Carrot Date Bundt Cake

This makes a really tender cake. I enjoyed it best from the fridge with a mug of coffee, but still warm from the oven was mighty fine too. Serving carrot cake without cream cheese is practically sacrilege to many folks, including my main dude, but I prefer cinnamon and powdered sugar dusted on top. If you’re like that too, just sift a combo of the two with a pinch of salt over the cake; otherwise, get down with your cream cheesy self!

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

2 teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon ground allspice

1 teaspoon fine-grain sea salt

3 large eggs

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup light brown sugar

1 cup unsweetened applesauce

2/3 cup safflower or vegetable oil

3 cups grated carrots

10 Medjool dates, pitted and chopped

1.  Grease and flour a 10-cup Bundt pan, and set oven to 350 degrees F. In a medium bowl, sift all the dry ingredients; set aside. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs with the sugars until fluffy and paler in color, about three or four minutes. (In my experience, this step is essential to getting the Bundt to crisp on the the outside, so don’t skimp.) Whisk in the applesauce and oil, followed by the carrots. Stir in the chopped dates, breaking them up with your fingers to spread them through the batter as much as you can.

2.  In two parts, mix the dry ingredients into the wet. Pour the batter into your prepared Bundt pan, and bake for about 45 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the middle comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 15 minutes, then turn out onto a cooling rack and allow cake to cool mostly or all the way before glazing. This is a moist cake and will keep for about three days at room temperature, longer in the fridge.

Cream Cheese Glaze

4 ounces cream cheese

1/2 cup powdered sugar, or more to taste, sifted

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Pinch salt

5 to 6 tablespoons milk

1.  Beat cream cheese in a medium bowl until smooth and fluffy. Beat in sugar, followed by vanilla, and mix until smooth. Add the milk a tablespoon or so at a time until you have a thick but pourable glaze. Taste for flavor. I prefer my glaze on the less sweet side, but you can always add more sugar and thin it with more water as needed. Pour frosting along the top of cake, and use a knife to nudge it over the edge and down the sides. Voila!

Walnut + Cream Cheese Cookie Sandwiches

It's 70 degrees and sunny in San Diego. I'm still shackled to my computer in DC working remotely, most unfortunately, but thank golly I'll be home snarfing fish tacos and wearing cut-offs before the day is through; southern California Christmas is sort of a terrifically fluorescent thing. My parents recently moved from the suburban home of my childhood to the San Diego neighborhood in which I would spend all my time were I ever to move back (so, never), and I am so excited to help them christen the place with leftover burritos and bloody marys and backyard sunbathing and general daughterly detritus.

In the meantime leading up to my sunny winter vacay, I've been doing shittons of holiday preparation and generally making enormous, annoying messes at my DC home. One such task was baking for the holiday party that I mentioned last week, and I wanted to share the second of three recipes that emerged from that frantic morning. If you're still seeking holiday baking inspiration or getting ready to fatten up yr family, look no further than these walnut cookie sandwiches. They appear a little unexciting or homely even, but these cookies are deceptively buttery and rich and basically all you need to have a pleasing holiday snack. I hope that you enjoy, and happy holidays from my kitchen to yours!

Walnut + Cream Cheese Cookie Sandwiches

Adapted from Kate Zuckerman via Lottie + Doof

I toasted the walnuts beforehand to make sure the cookies had enough nutty kick and also chilled the filling before making the sandwiches. Other than those changes, this is relatively untweaked.

Cookies

1 cup walnuts

2 1/2 cups flour, divided

1/2 teaspoon salt

8 ounces (two sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature

3/4 cup sugar

1 egg, at room temperature

Cream Cheese Filling

4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

1/2 cup powdered sugar

pinch of salt

1.  Heat the oven to 375 degrees F. Lay the walnuts out on a pan and roast for 10 - 12 minutes, until the nuts are slightly darkened and fragrant. Combine the walnuts and one tablespoon of the flour in a food processor and grind to a fine powder. In a dry bowl, whisk together the walnut powder, remaining flour and salt and set aside.

2.  Place the butter in the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment and beat on medium speed for one minute. (I don't have a stand mixer and did this with an egg beater.) Add the sugar and beat on medium high speed until the mixture becomes fluffy and lighter in color, six to eight minutes, stopping the mixer occasionally to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the egg and continue to beat until it is fully incorporated and the batter looks smooth and glossy, one to two minutes.

3.  Add the dry mixture to the butter mixture all at once, and using a rubber spatula, fold together a few times. With the mixer on low, mix the dough until thoroughly combined, one to two minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula and mix for another 30 seconds.

4.  Divide dough in half and using a rubber spatula, scrape the dough onto two pieces of plastic wrap. Form dough into two logs, about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Wrap the logs fully in the plastic and refrigerate for two hours or overnight.

5.  Preheat the oven to 350° F and line two cookie sheets with parchment paper. Using a sharp knife, cut as many 1/8-1/4 inch slices from each log of dough as possible and place the cookies on prepared cookie sheets. Bake the cookies until golden brown and you smell the toasted walnuts and butter, 12 - 15 minutes. Allow the cookies to cool before proceeding with filling.

6.  To make the cream cheese filling, combine all ingredients in a bowl and beat with an electric mixer until the filling has increased in volume, lightened in color, and formed stiff peaks, four to five minutes. I then chilled the filling for about 20 minutes in order to get it to firm up. Mound a couple teaspoons of filling on half of the cookies and sandwich with the other half. Zuckerman recommends serving within five hours of filling so cookies don't lose their crunch. You can bake the cookies and store them in an airtight container for up to four days ahead, then fill them the day you plan to serve them.

Summertime Strawberry Mascarpone Tart with Chocolate Cookie Crust

This has been a dreamy-as-fuck summer.  I was feeling a little snarky when I started writing this, as recent experiences with aggressive basil-plant death, terrible things happening to a hazelnut-cardamom-tartlet experiment, and a traveling Joey and faraway Molly had left me feeling a little crotchety, but then I remembered how I recently learned that the Potomac is home to four-foot long water snakes and probably water moccasins too (awesome), and that if someone hollers at you to shout the name of a state capital when you're swinging off a tree, you might possibly shout back "Maryland!" but no one will hold it against you. 

Multiply that by a bunch of seriously good-times trips to Maine, Seattle, Portland, and Richmond and a perpetual marathon of beer, bikes, and dance parties, and well, it's no wonder I've totally been cheating on this blog with summertime and instant ramen. Let me make it up to us though: This recipe is shamefully easy and it's practically no-bake! It's a take on last year's nectarine tart (You should click that. I use the phrase "fickle produce mistress."), adapted since the strawberries in Maine are baby jewels of awesome. If you're like me and have been completely underusing your farmers' market's supply of berries and stone fruit this summer, then this is an excellent recipe for getting back into the rhythm of fruity dessert accountability (for you and me both); it would be equally and possibly more awesome with gingersnap crust and blackberries drizzled with honey on top. Get yr summer on. 

Strawberry Mascarpone Tart 

Adapted from SmittenKitchen

Crust
About 3 1/2 cups of crushed chocolate cookies
7 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted 

2 tablespoons brown sugar, or more, if you prefer a sweeter crust

Filling
1 8-ounce container mascarpone cheese
6 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1/4 cup sour cream
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon grated lemon peel
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Topping
1 quart of the tiniest strawberries around, with their tops cut off
1/4 cup strawberry jam, warmed (I skipped this, it felt cheap)

For crust: Preheat oven to 350°F. Finely grind cookies and sugar in food processor. Add melted butter and pulse on and off until crumbs are evenly moistened. Press mixture over bottom and up sides of 10-inch-diameter tart pan with removable bottom. Bake crust until color darkens, pressing sides with back of spoon if beginning to slide, about eight minutes. Cool completely.

For filling: Beat first six ingredients in medium bowl until smooth.  You can make this ahead and keep refrigerated for up to one day, or proceed and spread filling in prepared crust. Cover loosely and refrigerate at least two hours and up to one day.

For topping:  Place hulled strawberries bottom up across your filling. Alternatively, you can cut the berries into thin slices and fan them across the top. Brush with jam if you're using. Serve, or cover loosely with plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to six hours. (We actually had leftovers for about two days and they kept okay, but the crust gets soggy and the fruit degrades after about a day, so this is definitely best if eaten in the same day.)

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

Oh hai, we are pie.

The whoopie pie has been one subject of a few attempts by major media outlets to connect the rising popularity of homespun "throwbacks" to economic agony and escapism in nostalgia. I'd like to think that the whoopie pie could elude connection to national gloom, but hey, if the recession is where I find my right to eat pumpkin whoopie pies for breakfast, well then thank you New York Times, I'll take your hypothesis and run with it.

The recession is fun! It resuscitated the whoopie pie! And farming!

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

My thusly only successful recipe baked from Baked! New Frontiers in Baking

This pumpkin version is excellent as is, but I think it would also be good if you dialed back the sugar in the filling and added some maple syrup instead.

Cookie tops and bottoms
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 generous tablespoons cinnamon
1 tablespoon ground ginger
1 tablespoon ground cloves
2 cups firmly packed dark brown sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
3 cups chilled pumpkin puree
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Filling
3 cups confectioners' sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Make the pumpkin cookies

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. In a large bowl, whisk the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves together and set aside.

2. In a separate bowl, whisk the brown sugar and oil together until combined. Add the pumpkin puree and whisk to combine thoroughly. Add the eggs and vanilla and whisk until combined. Sprinkle the flour mixture in thirds over the pumpkin mixture and whisk until completely combined.

3. Use a small ice cream scoop with a release mechanism to drop heaping tablespoons of the dough onto the prepared baking sheets, about 1 inch apart. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until the cookies are just starting to crack on top and a toothpick inserted into the center of a cookie comes out clean. Remove from the oven and let the cookies cool completely on the pan while you make the filling.

Make the cream cheese filling

1. Sift the confectioners’ sugar into a medium bowl and set aside. In a separate bowl beat the butter with an eggbeater until it is completely smooth, with no visible lumps. Add the cream cheese and beat until combined.

2. Add the confectioners’ sugar and vanilla and beat until smooth. Be careful not to overbeat the filling, or it will lose structure. (The filling can be made 1 day ahead. Cover the bowl tightly and put it in the refrigerator. Let the filling soften at room temperature before using.)

Assemble the whoopie pies

1. Turn half of the cooled cookies upside down (flat side facing up). Use an ice cream scoop or a tablespoon to drop a large dollop of filling onto the flat side of the cookie. Place another cookie, flat side down, on top of the filling. Press down slightly so that the filling spreads to the edges of the cookie.

2. Repeat until all the cookies are used. Put the whoopie pies in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes to firm up before serving. The whoopie pies will keep for up to 3 days, on a parchment-lined baking sheet covered with plastic wrap, in the refrigerator.

Non-Onomatopoetic Cinnamon Buns

There are three things I have missed from Pilsbury cinnamon rolls during the past six or so years of their absence from my life. First, is the firecracker “pop” that sounds off when you peel back the Pilsbury label and that would send our cats yowling to cower under the kitchen table. Second, is the resounding “thwap” that that heavy log of dough would make when it fell out of its aluminum tube. And third, is the circular cake pan I used to bake the rolls in so they would hug sides and bake up puffy and close. I might miss the convenience of Pilsbury buns too, but it’s hard to feel cheated when your kitchen is filled with the scent of homemade cinnamon rolls and you can excuse yourself for eating three or four since you made them. Oh yes, I operate on a labor-based baking economy. Homemade buns mean I eat at least three, maybe four to account for inflation, and I surely dip a finger in the glaze here and there to preempt my tax refund. And even though the sounds of homemade cinnamon buns aren’t as exciting as Pilsbury’s onomatopoetics, I absolutely enjoyed the suspense of seeing (literally watching) the dough rise and hearing the cinnamon sizzle. This recipe pays off big, in aesthetics, taste, and a certain lack of nutrition facts dictating whether or not five buns is considered a single serving (it is, promise).




Cinnamon Buns with Cream Cheese Glaze
Via Bon Appétit

Dough
1 cup whole milk
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 1/2 cups (or more) unbleached all purpose flour, divided
1/2 cup sugar
1 large egg
2 1/4 teaspoons rapid-rise or instant yeast (from 1 envelope)
1 teaspoon salt
Nonstick vegetable oil spray

Filling
3/4 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
2 tablespoons ground cinnamon (plus more if you're really into cinnamon)
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
Pinch of salt

Glaze
4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

For dough: Combine milk and butter in glass measuring cup. Microwave on high until butter melts and mixture is just warmed, about 30 to 45 seconds. Pour into bowl, and add 1 cup flour, sugar, egg, yeast, and salt. Beat on low speed with an eggbeater for 3 minutes, stopping occasionally to scrape down sides of bowl. Add additional 2 1/2 cups flour. Beat on low until flour is absorbed and dough is sticky, scraping down sides of bowl. If dough is very sticky, add more flour by tablespoonfuls until dough begins to form ball and pulls away from sides of bowl. Turn dough out onto lightly floured work surface. Knead until smooth and elastic, adding more flour if sticky, about 8 minutes. Form into ball.

Lightly oil large bowl with nonstick spray. Transfer dough to bowl, turning to coat. Cover bowl with plastic wrap, then kitchen towel. Let dough rise in warm draft-free area until doubled in volume, about 2 hours. I let mine rise in the oven, which had been preheated to 200 degrees F. the hour before, then turned off and left open while I prepared the dough. DC was cold that day, so the warming precaution was necessary.

For filling: Mix brown sugar, cinnamon and pinch of salt in medium bowl.

Press down dough. Transfer to floured work surface. Roll out to 15×11-inch rectangle. Spread butter over dough, leaving 1/2-inch border. Sprinkle cinnamon mixture evenly over butter. Starting at the longer side, roll dough into log, pinching gently to keep it rolled up. With seam side down, trim ends straight if they are uneven, and cut remaining dough crosswise with thin sharp knife into 18 equal slices (I made 16, so each was a little plumper).

Spray two 9-inch square glass baking dishes (I used a 9 x 14-inch rectangle dish) with nonstick spray. Divide rolls between baking dishes, arranging cut side up (there will be almost no space between rolls). Cover baking dishes with plastic wrap, then kitchen towel. Let dough rise in warm draft-free area until almost doubled in volume, 40 to 45 minutes, though this part may take you longer. I let mine rise overnight in the refrigerator, then took it out and let it come to room temperature for an hour and 15 minutes in the morning before baking.

Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 375°F. Sprinkle rolls with extra cinnamon if you so desire, which I did, because cinnamon is rad and highly delicious. Bake rolls until tops are golden, about 20 minutes. Remove from oven and invert immediately onto rack. Cool 10 minutes. Turn rolls right side up (I skipped all this and glazed mine in the pan).

For glaze: Combine cream cheese, powdered sugar, butter, and vanilla in medium bowl. Using electric mixer, beat until smooth. Spread glaze on rolls. Serve warm or at room temperature.