Best Cinnamon Rolls Ever

Okay, okay, that might sound like a bold statement, but these truly are the best tasting cinnamon rolls I have had since Cinnabon entered our malls. I have been working on this recipe for a while now, and have blogged about it before when I posted a teaser about this recipe. Well, no more waiting. The recipe is here for you.

Do you have plans for your Sunday morning breakfast yet? These are totally worth the time, and really not too much work. I have found a way to use the food processor for the dough, which eliminates the kneading time, and it's a recipe you can make the night before and put it in the refrigerator or make a few days before and put the dough in the freezer until you're ready to use it. Whatever works best for you, but I'm telling you these rolls are totally worth it! Melt in your mouth, your taste buds will love you, can't get enough kind of rolls.

This recipe is actually a combination of a couple different recipes (Pillsbury Cookbook and food.com) along with some adjustments so it would work for me. You can also add different ingredients to the rolls, such as raisins, nuts, or chocolate. I am a purist and prefer having just the cinnamon sugar, but raisins with walnuts does sound good. For now, I think I need to go make another batch; for practice. Truly, it's for practice. ;)



Best Cinnamon Rolls

Dough (makes 2 batches):

6-7 c flour

½ c sugar

2 t salt

2 pkg rapid rise yeast

1 c water

1 c milk

1/2 c butter or margarine

1 egg

Filling (per batch):

3/4 c packed brown sugar

2 T cinnamon

1/3 c butter, softened

Icing (per batch):

¼ c butter

1 c powdered sugar

¼ c cream cheese

¼ t vanilla

1/8 t salt (optional-I don’t use it)

In a food processor, mix 5 cups flour, sugar, salt, and yeast. Meanwhile, heat water, milk, and butter to 120-130 degrees. Add heated liquid to the flour mix with the processor running. Add the egg and blend. Once well combined, add flour to make a dough-ball consistency.  Have a buttered bowl ready. Knead the dough on the counter for a couple minutes to make sure it’s well blended and place it into the buttered bowl. Cover and leave until it doubles in size, about one hour. Once ready, punch dough down to remove air bubbles and divide it into 2 pieces.  Wrap one up and place it in the refrigerator or the freezer, or double the filling and icing recipes to make the full recipe.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Roll the dough out in the shape of a square that’s about 25 in x 16 in.; the dough should be about ¼ in thick. For the filling, spread the softened butter over the dough, keeping about 1 inch on the bottom end clean (that will be your seam to hold the rolls together). Mix together the brown sugar and cinnamon and spread it evenly across the buttered dough, again not on the 1 inch area that will be used as a seam.

Roll the dough carefully from the top down to the clean bottom edge. Pinch the bottom edge with the side of the roll to hold it together. Trim the ends of the roll and then cut the dough into ~2 inch slices (should be 12 pieces), and place in a lightly greased baking pan so they are not touching. Allow the dough to rise for about 20 minutes. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until barely golden on the edges. While the rolls are baking, combine the icing ingredients. When the rolls are done, pull them from the oven and allow them to cool for about 5 minutes. Then, smear the icing on top generously.  Reserve some to be used while they’re being eaten. I hope you enjoy them as much as we do.