BETTER THAN CINNABON CINNAMON ROLLS

They're easy to make and can be prepared the day before and left to rise overnight in the refrigerator.

Servings 12 Cinnamon Rolls

Ingredients

Cinnamon Roll Dough:

1 cup milk warm (105 degrees F)

½ cup + 1 TBS granulated sugar divided

1 TBS yeast

2 large eggs room temperature

6 TBS butter melted

1 tsp vanilla

4 to 4 ½ cups flour

1 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

Cinnamon Sugar Filling:

1 cup brown sugar, packed

2 ½ TBS cinnamon

6 TBS butter softened

Cream Cheese Frosting:

1 8 oz package cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup butter softened

2 cups powdered sugar

½ tsp vanilla

1/8 tsp salt

Make the Cinnamon Roll Dough:

Warm milk in the microwave milk for 45-60 seconds. It should be warm but not hot to the touch (about 105 degrees F).

Place milk into the bowl of your standing mixer, then add 1 TBS sugar and 1 TBS yeast to the warm milk. Stir and let it sit (proof) for five minutes or until it becomes foamy.

Add the ½ cup sugar, butter, eggs, and vanilla to the mixture in the bowl of your standing mixer. Use a dough hook to stir until combined.

Add 4 cups flour, salt and cinnamon and stir the dough hook, starting on low and increasing to high.

Knead dough in the standing mixer until a large ball is formed. The dough should be smooth and only slightly tacky to the touch. If the dough seems too sticky and is not forming a ball, add more flour 1 TBS at a time until a smooth ball is formed.

Transfer dough to a floured surface and knead with your hands until it is smooth and elastic (about 3-5 minutes). Form it into a ball. OR – KNEAD IN KITCHEN AID ON SPEED 2 FOR 2 MINUTES.

Grease a large bowl and place the dough inside.

Cover the bowl with a warm, damp towel and put the bowl in a warm place to rise.

Let the dough rise in a warm place about 1 hour or until dough has doubled in size.

Make the filling:
While the dough is rising, make the filing. In a small bowl, combine butter, brown sugar and cinnamon until mixture is homogenous (uniform throughout). Set aside.

Assemble Cinnamon Rolls:

Sprinkle a large work surface with flour.

Gently press the gas out of the dough and form it into a rectangle.

Roll the dough into a 24x12” rectangle, about 1/4 inch thick.

Spread the filling all over the dough using greased hands or a greased spatula. This process can seem difficult but it gets easier as you spread it.

Roll up dough & cut into 12 equal sized rolls MEASURE FOR EVEN SIZE ROLLS!!!

Line a 9x13 inch glass baking dish with parchment paper and lightly grease. Then place rolls in 4 rows of three, evenly spaced.

Cover and let rise until nearly doubled, about 30 minutes and preheat the oven to 350 degrees

Bake Cinnamon Rolls:
Once rolls are doubled in size, bake them in the preheated oven until golden brown, about 25-30 minutes. (original recipe said to cook 18-20 minutes but mine were still doughy.  I ended up cooking mine for about 28 minutes).

Make the Cream Cheese Frosting:

While rolls are baking, beat together cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar, vanilla extract and salt. Do NOT chill the frosting. Keep it at room temperature until the cinnamon rolls are baked.

Once the cinnamon rolls have bene removed from the oven, spread the cream cheese frosting on them while they are still warm.

Let cool and serve warm.

TO MAKE AHEAD:

After the cinnamon rolls have been assembled in a baking dish, wrap tightly with plastic wrap and cover with a tea towel or aluminum foil and place them in the refrigerator.

In the morning, remove the baking dish from the refrigerator and let them come to room temperature and finish rising (this takes about 30-40 minutes).

Then bake according to recipe instructions.