Cinnamon Rolls

I am very fond of warm cinnamon rolls.  This recipe is great for batch cooking and the frozen batches reheat well enough that you'll never guess that they spent time on ice.  Topped with cream cheese frosting, these delectable pastries are great on a brunch menu or on their own.  Along with the recipe below I've included some tricks and time savers for you as well so be sure to read through and the printable recipe is at the bottom of this post.

Cinnamon Rolls

Ingredients


Dough:

2 packages Yeast

1c. Warm Water

2/3 c. + 1 tsp. Sugar

1 c. Warm Milk

2/3 c. Butter

2 Tsp. Salt

2 Eggs, beaten

7-8 c. Flour

Filling:

1 c. melted Butter

1 c. Brown Sugar

1/2 c. Sugar

3 Tbs. Cinnamon

Directions

1. Place yeast  and 1 teaspoon of sugar into warm water.  Stir to dissolve and let it sit.
2. Warm milk, 2/3 cup butter and remaining sugar in saucepan over low heat until butter is melted and let cool.
3.  Place 6 cups of flour in large bowl.  Place yeast and milk mixtures and beaten eggs in bowl with flour.  Mix thoroughly.
4.  Add remaining flour a bit at a time until dough is workable.  It should be very soft and slightly sticky.  Knead 5-10 minutes or until smooth.
5.  Allow dough to rise until at least double in bulk.  Punch down and let rest for 5 minutes. Combine dry filling ingredients.  Time Saver: dough can be mixed up and put in the refrigerator to rise overnight, cutting down prep time in the morning.  Just allow dough to warm a bit before trying to roll it.



6.  Separate dough into 6-8 sections to work with.
7.  Roll each section, one at at time, out into a large rectangle.  Keep in mind that the dough will double again when it bakes, and gauge your thickness accordingly.
8.  Brush dough with melted butter and sprinkle the filling on top of the butter.


9.  Roll dough into a long log, making sure to keep dough tight and slice off cinnamon rolls.  Make sure to use a very sharp, thin knife or Cool Trick: use a piece of thread.  Bring thread under the roll, cross the ends over the top of the roll and pull tight - perfect cut every time - no mashing and mangling!



10.  placed on greased baking pans or sheet.  Allow room for the dough to rise and let rise 30 minutes before baking.


11.  Bake 25-30 minutes at 350* or until golden brown. Another Cool Trick:  immediatly after you take your cinnamon rolls out of the oven, dump them upside down on platter or cookie sheet to cool.  This allows the filling to cool in your cinnamon roll instead of melting all over the bottom of your pan.




12.  Frost with your favorite vanilla or cream cheese frosting. (I use 1 package of cream cheese, 1 stick of margarine (both softened) and 2 cups of powdered sugar add milk 1 teaspoon at a time for desired consistency if necessary).

Click here for a printable version of this recipe.