Cinnamon Rolls Recipe

One of our favorite family treats has always been cinnamon rolls.  For 20+ years, on special occasions, or sometimes just because, we would buy a can of Pillsbury cinnamon rolls and bake them up!!

A few years ago, I wondered how hard they were to make.  I made them from scratch a few times, but in order to have them ready for breakfast I would have to make the dough the night before, put it in the refrigerator, and do the final rise and bake first thing in the morning.

For Christmas, I got a new bread machine and decided to try making the dough that way.  If your family are early risers, you may still need to put the dough in the refrigerator the night before, but total time from putting the ingredients in the machine to pulling hot yummy rolls out of the oven was 2 1/4 hours as compared to almost 3 hours without the machine.

Ingredients:

Directions:

Combine first seven ingredients, in order into bread machine pan.  Select Dough cycle.  Once timer beeps, remove dough from pan immediately.  Gently push fist into dough to deflate.  Roll dough into a 15 x 10 inch rectangle on lightly floured surface (I recommend flouring the rolling pin also – this dough is sticky!!)  Spread with the 2 tablespoons of butter.  Sprinkle with filling.

Filling: Combine 1/4 cup brown sugar with 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon.  I used a restaurant-style cheese shaker, which you can buy for around $2 online or at a restaurant supply store.

Roll rectangle up tightly, from the long end.  Pinch dough under to seal.  Cut into 1 inch slices, using dental floss.

Place slices slightly apart in a jelly roll pan or deep cookie sheet.  Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise until double, about 15 minutes.

Heat oven to 350F.  Bake rolls for 30 minutes or until golden brown.

Remove rolls from pan to wire rack.  Cool for 10 minutes.  Drizzle with vanilla glaze.

Vanilla glaze: Melt 1/3 cup butter in a small saucepan over low heat.  Remove from heat and stir in 2 cups powdered sugar and 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla.  Continue stirring and add hot water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until consistency of thick syrup.

Enjoy!!