Slow cooker cinnamon roll fail

Before Christmas, I saw a friend's Facebook post of homemade cinnamon rolls that looked amazing. She kindly shared her recipe, but it was designed for a bread machine/Kitchen Aid mixer and I felt a bit nervous to make it without using either of those.

After searching a bit online, I decided to try these slow cooker cinnamon rolls. It was quite chilly in Hong Kong earlier this month, so letting the dough rise in the slow cooker seemed like a good idea. (I think the only other place that would've been warm enough might be a pre-warmed oven).

Unfortunately, I didn't use fresh yeast when I made the dough. It was leftover from when I made focaccia bread earlier this year. I thought that it might not be working as it should when I added it to the warm milk, but I decided to just give it a try anyway.

In the end, the cinnamon rolls definitely did not rise. They were quite chewy and certainly not fluffy or bread-like. But they were buttery, cinnamony and sweet, so we still ate them rather than letting them go to waste. And next time I will buy new yeast!