Cinnabon Rolls

Disclaimer: I have not actually made these, but a blogger friend of mine posted this and said they are the closest to Cinnabon she's ever tasted...worth a try to me!

The Cinnabon Recipe

Rolls:

1 1/4 oz package of yeast

1 C warm milk

1/2 C sugar

1/3 C melted butter

1 t salt

2 eggs

4 C flour

Filling:

1 C brown sugar

2 1/2 T cinnamon

1/3 C butter (softened)

Icing:

7 T butter, softened

1 1/2 C confectioners sugar

1/4 C cream cheese

1/2 t vanilla

1/8 t salt

Rolls: 

1. Dissolve yeast in milk

2. Mix in sugar, butter, salt, eggs, and flour. Mix well.

3. Turn dough onto lightly floured surface and knead into a large ball. Cover and let rise one hour.

4. Roll dough out into a 20 X 15 inch rectangle.

Filling: 

1. Spread the softened butter over the entire rectangle of dough. Sprinkle the filling generously over the dough.

2. Roll from long side to short side. Pinch the ends.

3. Using a serrated knife, cut the rolls about one inch wide. I got 12 rolls out of mine. You can cut them wider to make bigger rolls.

Baking: 

1. Preheat oven to 400.

2. Allow rolls to rise for 30 minutes.

3. Bake the rolls until they are slightly brown, but not doughy. I set the timer on my convection oven for 15 minutes, and they were perfect. Depending on your oven though, they may need more time.

Icing: 

1. When done, remove the rolls from the oven and allow to cool for a bit.

2. Cream all of the icing ingredients together and spread on top of the rolls. Enjoy!

Fast Dinner Rolls

I love to make these rolls and they live up to their name - they're fast! I was a little hesitant to make them the first time because anything with yeast listed as an ingredient scares me - well, it used to anyway.  I was pleasantly surprised that these actually came out perfectly the very first time I tried them! I got the recipe from A Bear in the Kitchen and I've used a few of her other recipes as well.  


Fast Dinner Rolls

3/4 cup milk
4 tablespoons butter
3/4 cup hot tap water
4 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
4 cups bread flour (give or take a 1/4 cup)
1 heaping tablespoon instant yeast

Pour milk into a microwave safe bowl or glass measuring cup. Cut butter into pieces and add to milk. Microwave for 1 1/2 minutes and set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer add milk/butter mixture and hot tap water. Add sugar and salt and 2 cups of the flour. Mix for 1 minute. Add yeast and flour 1/2 a cup at a time until dough pulls away from the side of the mixer. Knead dough with dough hook for 5 minutes on medium speed. Place dough in a non-stick sprayed bowl and cover tightly with plastic wrap to trap in heat. Let it sit for 10 minutes.

Grease a 9x13 baking dish. Remove dough from bowl to a non-stick sprayed surface and cut dough into 12 equal pieces. Spray your hands liberally with cooking oil spray and form each piece into a smooth ball and place into the greased 9x13. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise until rolls have doubled in size, about 30 minutes.

Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown on top and bottom. Remove from oven and brush with melted butter if desired.

TIPS:
*I don't cut my dough into 12 equal pieces.  That did NOT work out well for me the first time.  I bought a really inexpensive kitchen scale (like $4 or something) at Bed, Bath and Beyond and now I weigh each bit of dough before I form it into a roll to make sure that all my rolls are the same and everything cooks evenly. I almost always end up with 2 or 3 more rolls than will fit into one 9x13 pan. 
*Even though this recipe says it makes a dozen rolls the rolls are really big and hearty and one is almost too much for my kids.  They are great for little mini sandwiches! 
* I wouldn't double this recipe if you're using a small KitchenAid mixer.  It's just not powerful enough to knead that much dough for 5 minutes.  I thought mine was gonna die or catch on fire!  It'll do one batch pretty well though.