Coco's Cravings

I was excited that @cocoscravings808 recently popped up nearby so I could once again enjoy Cocobonz!

I was never really a fan of cinnamon rolls until Nat gave me a box of Cocobonz a few years ago.

They are made with milk bread dough, so they are very light and fluffy. A cinnamon + brown sugar + butter mixture is incorporated throughout, with a butter cream cheese whip for that indulgent finish.

Follow @cocoscravings808 on Instagram for her daily auctions and to find out where she'll be popping up!

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Coco's Cravings

Nat loves Cinnamon Rolls (fun fact: she bought me my first cinnamon roll from that popular chain store).  

I was never really a fan of them . . . until Nat gave me a box of Cocobonz by Coco's Cravings!

These Cinnamon Rolls are made with milk bread, making them so light and fluffy.

They are scrumptious, and I absolutely loved the Cocobonz, which I felt had the perfect amounts of icing, cinnamon, and sugar (I've had some where they were overly sweet and overly iced).

Thank you, Nat!

Follow Coco's Cravings on Instagram @cocoscravings808!

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Cocobonz by Coco's Cravings

Another great local business that was born during the COVID-19 pandemic is Coco's Cravings, specializing in homemade Japanese milk bread.  They first started out making just savory milk bread, but now they have branched out to cinnamon rolls (which they call COCOBONZ)!

Available by pre-order only (pick-ups are usually on Saturdays), these Cocobonz are better than the C place, IMHO.  And the fact that they're made by a local small business is just the icing on the cake!

I spotted these mouth-watering Cocobons on Instagram one day and immediately DMed @CocosCravings808 to inquire on when the pick-up date was going to be.  A few days later, I picked up my order from the owner/chef and took my first bite in my truck.  I just couldn't wait until I got home.  

The Cocobons are made with homemade milk bread which makes these cinnamon rolls the lightest, fluffiest, softest rolls you'll ever sink your teeth into.

The cream cheese frosting is soooo good!

 

Follow @CocosCravings808 on Instagram to find out when the next pre-order opens! 

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Rise and Shine Cafe

After running an errand for my mom in Pearl City on a Saturday morning, I decided to head northward to Mililani Mauka to get a cinnamon roll from Rise and Shine Cafe. 

It's been years since I've been here for breakfast.  They are currently doing take-out only.

While Rise and Shine is known for their homestyle breakfast and lunch items, they have a really great line up of homemade desserts, neatly displayed in the display case.

My eyes gravitated to the top of the display, where the cinnamon rolls were.  Since it was still early yet, they had a lot of cinnamon rolls available for sale.

Each roll is covered with a generous amount of cream cheese icing. 

I couldn't wait until I got home - I had to eat half of it in the car, right in front of the restaurant! 

I also picked up a Lilikoi Tart which I saved for dessert later that evening. The crust was amazing!

In addition to their takeout menu, they are also offering Family Dinner Meals for pre-order once a week (pick up on Sundays). Check out their Instagram posts for updates!

_________

Rise and Shine Cafe

95-1057 Ainamakua Dr. # F-6

Mililani Town, Hawaii 96789

(808) 260-9312

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No Yeast Cinnamon Rolls

Want to make Cinnamon Rolls, but you have no yeast?  No problem!

Active dry yeast is one of those ingredients that is hard to come by these days, but you can still make some yummy cinnamon rolls without it!

I used a 12" cast-iron skillet so I made the cinnamon rolls "mini," and I also used a different glaze recipe, but the end result was delish!  

No Yeast Cinnamon Rolls

Ingredients:

• 2 c flour
• 2 T sugar
• 4 t baking powder
• 7 T butter, divided, softened
• 3/4 c + 1 T almond milk, divided
• 1 c brown sugar
• 3 t cinnamon
• 1 c powdered sugar

Directions:

• Make the filling by combining 4 T butter, softened, brown sugar, and cinnamon.
• Sprinkle 1/2 of mixture on bottom of a 12" cast-iron skillet
• In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, and baking powder.
• Cut in softened butter.  
• Stir in 3/4 c almond milk to form a dough.
• Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface into a rectangle about 1/4" thick.
• Spread remaining filling on dough.
• Roll up dough and slice into 1" rolls.  
• Bake for 20-25 minutes in a pre-heated 400°F oven.
• Meanwhile, combine powdered sugar and 1 T almond milk, and stir until smooth.  
• Drizzle over cinnamon rolls once done baking.

You can find the original recipe here on Food.com.

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Bake This! Cinnamon Rolls!

You can do this!

I love cinnamon rolls.  I don't know how anyone can walk by a Cinnabon and not buy one.  After doctor imposed diet restrictions during my first pregnancy (aren't you supposed to eat for two???), super kind friends and family brought Cinnabons by the dozen to the hospital.  It was like Christmas.

I had drooled over and over The Pioneer Woman's (Ree Drummond) famous cinnamon rolls, but I tend to stay away from recipes that either involve 1. chilling dough or 2. yeast.  But I was feeling ambitious one day and decided to give it a try.  Here is the Pioneer Woman's recipe.  It makes about 50 cinnamon rolls which I decided was too much in case I failed miserably.  I put my math skills to work and cut the recipe in thirds.  I ended up with 18 cinnamon rolls (some bigger than others).  

First, I stirred together 1 1/3 cups whole milk, 1/3 cup vegetable oil and 1/3 cup of sugar in a pot over medium high heat.  Right before it boils, remove from heat and let it cool for at least 45 minutes. 

Wise words:  Keep calm and bake on!

Here's where I did some guestimating.  After several conversions, I ended up putting in 1.5 teaspoons of yeast, which turned out to be the contents of one packet and not the approximate 2.25 teaspoons it said on the package.  Let the yeast sit about a minute.   

Add 2 2/3 cups of flour.  Don't run out of room like me. 

I transferred the contents into a larger bowl and mixed it together. 

I covered with a paper towel and let it sit for about an hour. 

Here's my risen dough!

I mixed in 1/3 cup of flour, 1/3 heaping teaspoon of baking powder, a little less than a full 1/3 teaspoon of baking soda, and 1/3 heaping tablespoon of salt.  I didn't have a 1/3 measuring teaspoon so I did more guestimating using 1/4 teaspoon. 

I rolled my dough out on parchment paper for ease of cleanup.  Roll into a rectangular shape.

Spread 1/2 cup of melted butter.  Oh yeah!  Follow with 1/3 cup of sugar. 
 

Don't be shy with the cinnamon! 

   

I'm not sure what happened here but I have no pictures.  I must have been in the zone.  But after you are done with the cinnamon, grab the top of the dough (furthest from you) and start rolling it toward you.  Try to keep it tight.  It got a little messy for me.  Pinch the seam to seal up the roll.

I cut the rolls about 1 - 1.5 inches thick and put them in a pan that was covered with about 1 teaspoon melted butter.  Let these babies sit for about 30 minutes to rise.    

Bake at 400 degrees for about 15-18 minutes until they are light golden brown.  I thought it was 18-20 minutes so mine are a darker golden brown. 

While they are baking, mix up the icing.  Here's where things went a little funky.  I ran out of powdered sugar and had no maple extract or coffee.  So basically, I created an icing with milk, melted butter, vanilla extract and powdered sugar.  You can't really go wrong with that.

One mistake I realized I did was when I calculated the measurements for the butter and sugar to spread on top of the dough, it was based on half of the Pioneer Woman's recipe so mine came out not as sweet.  Don't get me wrong, it was still very sweet, buttery, and yummy.  I'm calling it a low-cal version. 

Although time consuming, this recipe was easy to follow and I think if I make it again, I will make the whole recipe and bake in round tins and present as gifts as suggested by the Pioneer Woman.  Who wouldn't love a gift like that?  :)  Happy Baking! 

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