Easy Homemade Cinnamon Rolls

There is nothing more cozy for the bleak, cold days ahead than a cinnamon roll. I have been trying out recipes, and this is the one I really like. It takes about an hour, and they turn out fantastic! 

I have all the ingredients on hand in the pantry. The dough rolls out easily and is no trouble to make.

Here I am measuring out the size of the dough with my husband's tape measure. You will want the rectangle to be 14 inches by 18 inches and 1/4 inch thick.

After spreading the cinnamon-sugar mixture, I made the log shape to form the rolls.

In this step, I am marking my cutting points on the dough with dental floss. 

Using dental floss to cut the dough makes the rolls come out really nice.

I got one roll too tall, so I ended up with 13 rolls instead of 12, but no one complained. 

Here are the finished rolls right out of the oven; they only cook for 20-25 minutes, and they smell so good! 

Now for the fun part: ice them hot! 

Cinnabon® couldn't do it better! They have cream cheese icing, of course. 

Easy Homemade Cinnamon Rolls: Yields 12

Ingredients:

Dough

1 cup whole milk

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, melted and cooled slightly

2 1/4 teaspoons (or  1-0.25 oz. packet) of active dry yeast

1/4 cup granualted sugar

1 large egg

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

Cinnamon Sugar Filling:

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened

1/2 cup light brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 1/2 tablespoons cinnamon

Cream Cheese Icing:

4 ounces of cream cheese, softened

2 cups of powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2-4 tablespoons milk (add 1 tbsp. at a time)

Instructions:

Dough: melt butter in a small microwave safe plate or bowl for 40 seconds, or until melted and pour into a medium size bowl and set aside. Heat milk in a microwave safe bowl for 45 seconds. Add to butter mixture, and stir in sugar and yeast until dissolved. Cover with a tea towel/cloth or plastic wrap and let sit for 10 minutes to make sure yeast will activate. 

Preheat your oven on lowest setting (around 160-170°F). Instead of doing this I use a toaster oven on proof and warm it up. 

After 10 minutes, remove towel and add in egg, salt, and vanilla extract. Then begin adding in the flour 1/2 cup at a time. Fold it in with a spatula until combined. The dough will be soft and slightly tacky, but not too sticky. 

Form dough into round ball and place back in the bowl, and cover with a tea cloth. Place it in the oven to proof. Turn your oven off when you place your bowl in the oven, the heat will make the dough rise.

While your dough is proofing , make the cinnamon sugar filling. In a medium-size bowl, combine the butter, brown sugar, sugar, and cinnamon. Mix until well combined with spatula. Set aside.

Once the dough has proofed for 10 minutes, remove the towel  and place the dough onto a pastry mat or cloth that has been lightly floured. Roll it out to form a 14-inch x 18-inch rectangle at 1/4 inch thick. 

Preheat the oven to 350°F. 

Use a spatula to spread the cinnamon, sugar, and butter mixture almost to the edges of the dough rectangle.

Start with the short side of the rectangle and tightly roll it vertically away from you to form a log. See picture above. 

Once rolled, use dental floss to mark your cut lines for the size of the rolls, as above in pictures, and then use the dental floss wrapped around the log to actually cut the rolls. It works great and doesn't flatten out the rolls for baking.

Place the rolls with swirl design up in a 13-inch x 9-inch baking dish that has been sprayed with cooking spray. Bake in oven at 350°F for 20-25 minutes or until they are light golden brown. 

Let cool on wire rack 10 minutes once they are done.

While cooling make the icing. Use an electric hand mixer in a medium sized bowl, combine softened cream cheese, powdered sugar, vanilla, and milk (adding 1 tablespoon at a time). Whip until reaching desired consistancy. Add more milk or less for thicker icing. 

Spread cream cheese icing over warm cinnamon rolls and serve.

Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from: Kindly Unspoken 

In Victory!

Sherry