Glazed Cinnamon Rolls with Pecan Swirls

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With a filling of toasted pecans, cinnamon, and brown sugar, these cinnamon rolls are one of the most sought-after bites in Kansas City, where Megan Garrelts serves them at her restaurant, Rye.

Penzeys Spices. My parents got us some a couple of years ago for Christmas and for our wedding. They’re a great way to refill the spice cabinet. Cooking classes make a great gift, too. We have the Kansas Culinary Center—most major cities have a place in town that offers classes and demos where you can sit and watch, or cook and eat. And homemade stuff is always fun: brownies, cookies or things in jars, or even a cocktail set, two cocktail glasses and a bottle of liqueur or whatever is needed for the drink. Or cheeses, I love cheeses, we get so many at the restaurant. Green Dirt Farm near us in Weston, Missouri, makes an amazing fresh sheep’s milk cheese with the texture of ricotta, but you could put a little honey on it, that makes a great gift. What are your favorite holiday drinks? I love a mulled cider, something on the stove that makes the house smell good, maybe with some blood orange and clove. I always like Champagne, sometimes with a splash of some pomegranate liqueur, or St-Germain liqueur. Anything warm in a mug or sparkling in a flute is what you’ll see me drinking during the holidays. What’s a great entertaining tip? I love to remind people of your party the next day by giving people something to take away with them: a little of your favorite coffee or tea in a tin, or a sliver of pound cake or cranberry bread, a breakfast bread or muffin. Especially if you have out-of-town guests cooped up in a hotel or at grandma’s house, it’s a nice thing to have for the day after. What are 5 top places not to miss on a holiday trip to Kansas City?

The Plaza Lights in Kansas City: On Thanksgiving night at the Country Club Plaza, our big outdoor shopping area, they light the Christmas lights as well as the lights along the streets and buildings, that’s definitely a don’t-miss. They just also opened the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts a few years ago. “The Nutcracker” is there. It’s a beautiful new facility bringing a lot of people to Kansas City. Crown Center is our main holiday area—Santa’s there, it has an ice-skating rink, a great Christmas store, and The American Restaurant. It’s a great one-stop spot, great for kids, too. I also love Union Station. They have a big train set every year, and a museum, too, with revolving exhibits, sometimes with kid-friendly things. Bluestem does a holiday tea the Saturday before Christmas every December. We do one tea per quarter: a spring tea, a Mother’s Day tea, Valentine’s Day tea and Christmas tea. We serve a selection of teas and pastries and play holiday music. It’s something nice and different from what we usually do, and people seem to enjoy that. And this makes six, but a nice day trip: Weston, Missouri, where Green Dirt Farm is—about 40-mile drive from Kansas City. Weston has one shopping strip with a lot of local restaurants, a great Irish pub, a lot of little shops and boutiques. It also has nearby apple orchards and a couple of local wineries. It’s a great sleepy town with a lot going on.

What’s your most popular dish? My salted pumpkin ice cream is asked for every year, that’s in our cookbook. My menu changes so much, so I don’t stick to anything very much. But I love the chocolate pudding cake in our cookbook, that’s my go-to recipe for something rich and chocolatey. That would be a good thing to serve with the salted pumpkin ice cream, especially in the winter. What’s your favorite cookbook of all time?The Last Course, by Claudia Fleming. I think it’s out of print now, but you can probably find it on eBay. It’s simple but chef-driven. I use it at home all the time—her gingerbread stout cake is to die for—but as a chef I can also build a dish off one of her recipes to get inspired. It’s organized the way I build my menu: with sections on spices, chocolate, cream and dairy. And she has some composed dishes in the back. Typically, pastry books are single-subject; this covers the gamut. And it’s pretty, I like the photography. What’s a technique everyone should know?Meringue. I like it because it stands up; it looks hard, but it’s a simple thing to do and doesn’t take much more time than whipping cream. And mine is really easy: It’s just double sugar to egg whites (so if it’s one cup of egg whites, it’s 2 cups of sugar). Heat the sugar and whites over a double boiler in the mixing bowl until the sugar melts (which usually takes about 5 minutes) and then whip it. That way if you’re finishing a cake or pie or topping cookies or a cocktail like a hot chocolate, you can pipe or spoon a little dollop. If you have a torch at home you can torch it or pop it under the broiler, or leave it white and garnish it with some crushed peppermint candies, whatever you want. It’s just a matter of heating the whites first and making sure the sugar has dissolved. The biggest key is to make sure the sugar has dissolved. You can stick your finger in the whites to test: It shouldn’t feel that hot, and if you don’t feel any granules and it looks like a syrup, you can’t mess it up. I guess you could overwhip it until it gets completely dry, but that would take a lot of whipping. It should whip up to marshmallow texture. And if you have guests, you can whip it up before they come over, and it can sit out until you’re ready to serve dessert.

" tabindex="0" data-inline-tooltip="true"> Megan Garrelts

Updated on March 28, 2024

Glazed Cinnamon Rolls with Pecans — Photo:
Brie Goldman / Food Styling by Annie Prost / Prop Styling by Addelyn Evans

Active Time:

1 hr

Total Time:

10 hrs 30 mins

Yield:

2 dozen rolls

We love these buttery, tender cinnamon rolls from star pastry chef Megan Garrelts, who owns and operates two locations of Rye restaurant in Kansas City and Leawood, Kansas, with her husband, Colby. At the restaurant, Garrelts will bake and serve these cinnamon rolls straight from mini cast-iron skillets, but she modified her recipe for Food & Wine so home cooks can bake a batch without any special equipment. This recipe yields 24 cinnamon rolls, and the unbaked rolls can last in the freezer up to a month, making it easy to bake up a few on short notice.

Frequently asked questions

What is instant yeast?

Instant yeast is a dried commercial yeast that comes in smaller granules than active dry yeast and does not have to be proofed or dissolved in liquid to be used. You can mix the yeast into your flour and then add the liquid ingredients.

What is the best way to toast nuts?

Toasting nuts in the oven, as Garrelts instructs in this recipe, is the best way to make sure they are evenly browned. Let them cool before chopping them.

Notes from the Food & Wine Test Kitchen

We love the layer of sour cream in the filling — it gives these rolls a nice tang that balances the sweet dough and brown sugar. Be sure to wrap the cinnamon rolls well before freezing them; we cover them in plastic wrap and then store them in a freezer bag.

Make ahead

The unbaked cinnamon rolls and sugar glaze can be frozen separately for up to one month.

Cook Mode (Keep screen awake)

Ingredients

Dough

2 1/4 teaspoons instant dry yeast
2 tablespoons warm water
1/4 cup plus 1 teaspoon sugar
6 large eggs
4 1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour (1 1/4 pounds), plus more for rolling
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
3 sticks unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes and chilled

Filling

4 ounces pecans (1 cup)
1 1/2 cups light brown sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 cup sour cream
2 large eggs beaten with 1/4 cup of water

Sugar Glaze

1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions

Make the Dough

In a medium bowl, combine the yeast with the warm water and 1 teaspoon of the sugar and let stand until the mixture is foamy, about 5 minutes. Whisk in the eggs. In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the dough hook, mix the 4 1/2 cups of sifted flour with the salt and the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar. Add the egg mixture and beat at medium speed until the dough is just moistened and very stiff. Add the butter, a few cubes at a time, waiting until it is partially kneaded into the dough before adding more. Continue kneading until the butter is fully incorporated and the dough is silky, 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer the dough to an oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until chilled and slightly risen, at least 2 hours or overnight.

Make the Filling

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spread the pecans in a pie plate or rimmed baking sheet and toast until they are fragrant and browned, about 8 minutes. Let the pecans cool, then finely chop. Transfer them to a medium bowl and stir in the brown sugar and cinnamon.
Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. On a floured surface, cut the dough into 2 pieces. Working with 1 piece at a time (while keeping the other refrigerated), roll the dough out to a 12-by-16-inch rectangle. Transfer the dough to a baking sheet and refrigerate until chilled. Repeat with the remaining dough.
Spread half of the sour cream over one sheet of dough, leaving a 1/2-inch border all around. Sprinkle the dough with half of the pecan filling. Brush the long sides with some of the egg wash. Roll up the dough from a long side into a tight cylinder and pinch the ends to seal. Freeze the dough log until it is fully chilled, about 2 hours. Repeat with the remaining dough and filling. Cover the remaining egg wash and reserve it in the refrigerator.
Transfer the logs to a work surface and cut each one into 12 even slices. Set the slices on the baking sheet, cut sides up. Cover with plastic wrap and freeze until firm, at least 3 hours and preferably overnight.
Unwrap the rolls and let stand at room temperature for 1 hour.
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Brush the tops and sides of the rolls with the reserved egg wash and bake in the center of the oven for 35 to 40 minutes, until golden and risen.

Meanwhile, make the sugar glaze

In a medium bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the confectioners' sugar with the butter, heavy cream and vanilla extract until thick and smooth. Spread the sugar glaze on the hot cinnamon rolls and let cool for 20 minutes before serving.

Originally appeared: December 2011