Happy New Year!!  Well, it is almost the new year!!  And just something wonderful and warm and delicious to ring in the New Year–Cinnamon Rolls!  I had a craving last weekend for cinnamon rolls after my sister went to Cinnabon and picked up some for herself and her husband.  After seeing her quickly texted picture to entice me, I HAD to find something to make myself!  Can I just say Oh.My.God.  These little bits of decadence were worth the work!

After having one…ok, maybe two for Christmas breakfast, I realized…I have TEN more of these little gems…  What better way to celebrate Christmas than to share?  So, I packed away six of them for my parents and brought them on over..(duh, I had to save some more for myself)!  Even after putting them in the fridge and re-heating them they were wonderful!  Enjoy!

Cinnamon Rolls

Adapted from AllRecipes.com and Cinnabon

Ingredients:

Rolls

• 1 cup warm milk
• 2 eggs, room temperature, beaten
• 1/3 cup butter, melted
• 4 1/2 cups bread flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 2 1/2 tsp active dry yeast

Cinnamon center

• 1 cup brown sugar, packed
• 3 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 cup butter, softened

Frosting

• 4-5oz cream cheese, softened (if using whipped, use closer to 6-8oz)
• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/8 tsp salt

Directions:

In a microwave-safe bowl, warm the milk for 1-2 minutes, or until warm to the touch.  You *don’t* want your milk too hot, or it will kill the yeast.  Once warmed, pour the yeast in, and stir to combine.  Let sit for a minute or two.

In a large bowl, combine milk/yeast mixture, butter, and eggs, combine with either whisk or dough hook.  Add in salt and sugar, mix until dissolved.  Slowly add in the flour until a dough forms.

On a floured surface, turn out dough and kneed  for five minutes or so.  Let dough rise in a warm area for an hour, or until doubled.*

While waiting, combine brown sugar and cinnamon, set aside.

When dough has doubled, on a floured surface, roll out dough to approximate 16″ x 20″ rectangle.  Spread softened butter out on the dough evenly.  (This was the fun part, how often do you get to smear softened butter on ANYTHING?!)  Evenly coat the buttered dough with the cinnamon sugar mixture.  Using a pizza cutter, cut 12 even strips.  Roll each strip until you have 12 round rolls.  I found it easiest to cut one, roll, then cut another.

In a well-greased, 13″ x 9″ pan, space each roll giving about an inch or two between each roll.  I ended up putting in 3 per row in the pan.  Let rise another 30 minutes in a warm area.

While the rolls are rising, make the frosting.  Combine butter and cream cheese and beat until light and fluffy.  Add salt and vanilla.  Slowly add in the sugar, beat until thoroughly combined, and no sugar or butter lumps remain.

Once done rising, bake the rolls at 400º for approximately 15 minutes or until golden.**

Don’t they look delicious!!  I almost had to stop myself from scooping them out of the pan right away and just eating them plain….then I remembered…there’s heavenly frosting for these guys…

Notes:

*When letting dough rise, I turn the oven on to 300º and let the dough rise near (not in) the oven.  In this case, you’ll want to put the dough in a well-greased bowl with a towel
over to rise.

**In stead of baking right away, once the rolls are done rising for the second time (you may not notice much difference), refrigerate the rolls and bake the next morning.