Cinnabon Recipe

I've made home made cinnamon rolls many times before but decided to try to make a mock Cinnabon recipe. They were fantastic. I brought an unexpected pan of them to our breakfast on the 4th and all but one and a half rolls were devoured by eight adults who also ate belgian waffles and an egg cassarole. I made a pan for the kids Saturday morning and all of them were gone again. If they weren't so tempting, I'd make them every day. I altered the recipe a bit for my own (and your) convenience. Forget mixing them with your own arm power. I placed the whole batter business in my bread machine the night before. Yes, by morning it has risen to the top...but...it doesn't go anywhere...it is still there when you get up.


THE Cinnabon Recipe

Rolls:

Place following ingredients in pan of bread machine the night before you plan to bake the rolls.
1¼ oz. pckg. yeast
1 c. warm milk
½ c. granulated sugar
1/3 c. melted butter (do not subsititue margarine)
1 t. salt
2 eggs
4 c. all-purpose flour

Program bread machine to do a first rise only. Go to bed and enjoy your rest. Next morning, pull bread pan out of the machine to reprogram the cycle and push start again to punch down the risen dough and let it knead for a few minutes. Pull the dough out and place on a flour dusted cabinet top. With a rolling pin, roll the dough into a large rectangle approximately 16 by 21 inches. Heat oven to 400 degrees.

Filling:
1 c. packed brown sugar
2½ TBS. cinnamon
1/3 c. butter
Mix sugar and cinnamon together with a fork. Take the softened butter and spread all over the dough, every inch of it. Then sprinkle the sugar mixture over the entire thing.
Carefully roll the dough from the long side until it is a large log. Pinch the roll together where it ends so that it doesn't fall apart as you lift the pieces into the pan. With a sharp serrated knife, slice the log into fifteen pieces which should each be about an inch and a half wide. Place each pinwheel side down into a glass bowl, greased. There will be three rows of five pinwheels. Let the rolls rise till double their original size or approximately an hour to an hour and a half. I wait until they get good and puffed up, filling all of the bowl. Bake for about 12 minutes or until the tops are golden brown. Take out of the oven and cool.

Icing:
7 TBS. butter, softened
1½ c. confectioners sugar
¼ c. (2 oz.) cream cheese
½ t. real vanilla extract (or almond extract)

Cream it all together with an electric mixer. Spread on rolls. I like to wait until the rolls have cooled enough so the frosting doesn't melt into transparency. Some like to put the frosting on while they are hot. Your choice. I can testify to the yumminess of beautiful rolls with white icing covering the whole pan. My rolls are still warm on the bottom and are served easier when cooled a bit. You have to serve these things with a fork....they are a little bit of ecstasy. Enjoy! But not too often.