Breakfast Pigs-In-A-Blanket Meets Cinnamon Rolls & They Fall In Love

Move over, caviar, there was no bigger delicacy in my childhood than pigs-in-a-blanket. Breakfast sausage links, wrapped in warm, fluffy pancakes, and then dipped in maple syrup. This was Saturday morning heaven. Fast forward 20 years and I still love all those flavors; so when I was thinking about how I could make cinnamon rolls a little more savory, enter sausage. Crumbled sausage is rolled into the cinnamon rolls and all topped with a maple syrup glaze. Pigs-In-A-Blanket, all grown up.

Savory Sausage Cinnamon Rolls with Maple Syrup Glaze

Ingredients:

Dough:

• 1/4-ounce package yeast

• 1/2 cup warm water

• 1/2 cup scalded milk (warmed almost to a boil)

• 1/4 cup sugar

• 1/3 cup butter or shortening

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 1 egg

• 3 1/2 to 4 cups all-purpose flour

Filling:

• 1/2 cup melted butter, plus more for pan

• 3/4 cup sugar, plus more for pan

• 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon

• 1 pound sausage, cooked and drained

Glaze:

• 1 cup confectioners' sugar

• 3 tablespoons butter, melted

• 3 tablespoons pure maple syrup

• 1 to 2 teaspoons whole milk

Directions:

1. In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water and set aside. In a large bowl mix milk, sugar, melted butter, salt and egg. Add 2 cups of flour and mix until smooth. Add yeast mixture. Mix in remaining flour until dough is easy to handle. Knead dough on lightly floured surface for 5 to 10 minutes. Place in well-greased bowl, cover and let rise until doubled in size, usually 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

2. When doubled in size, punch down dough. Roll out on a floured surface into a 15 by 9-inch rectangle. Spread melted butter all over dough. Mix sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle over buttered dough. Sprinkle with cooked sausage. Beginning at the 15-inch side, role up dough and pinch edge together to seal. Cut into 12 to 15 slices.

3. Coat the bottom of baking pan with butter and sprinkle with sugar. Place cinnamon roll slices close together in the pan and let rise until dough is doubled, about 45 minutes.

4. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Bake for about 30 minutes or until nicely browned.

5. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine the confectioners' sugar, butter, syrup and enough milk to achieve desired consistency. Spread over warm rolls.

#breakfast #brunch #thanksgiving