Cinnabons Cinnamon Rolls

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MAKE AHEAD CINNAMON ROLLS

These cinnamon rolls are great because they could be made ahead. Prepare everything as stated in the recipe up until step 10 where you place the rolls in the baking pan. Simply cover them up tightly with plastic wrap and store them in the fridge overnight.

The rolls should continue to rise in the fridge but if by morning they have not doubled in size, turn your oven on to 200 F degrees until it warms up, then turn it off. Place the pan in the oven for about 30 to 45 minutes until the rolls double in size. Then you can bake them as instructed.
CAN YOU FREEZE CINNAMON ROLLS

Absolutely! Prepare everything as stated in the recipe up until step 10 where you place the rolls in the baking pan. Wrap the pan in two layers of plastic wrap. Freeze for 8 hours up to 6 weeks. The night before you want to bake the rolls, thaw them out in the refrigerator, still wrapped. They will thaw overnight. Finish the rest of the steps to bake them.

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Ingredients

  • Dough
  • 2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast or instant yeast
  • 1 cup milk lukewarm
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/3 cup butter unsalted, softened, or margarine
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 2 eggs
  • 4 cups all-purpose flour
  • Filling
  • 1 cup brown sugar packed
  • 3 tbsp cinnamon
  • 1/3 cup butter unsalted, softened, or margarine
  • Cream cheese icing
  • 6 tbsp butter unsalted, softened, or margarine
  • 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar also known as icing sugar, or confectioner's sugar
  • 1/4 cup cream cheese at room temperature
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/8 tsp salt

Preparation

Step 1

For the rolls, dissolve the yeast in the warm milk with a tsp of sugar (you can take a tsp out of the 1/2 cup of sugar) in a large bowl. Let it sit for about 5 minutes. If the yeast is good, it will start to froth up.
To the bowl of your mixer add the sugar, butter or margarine, salt, eggs, and flour and mix until well incorporated.
Pour the milk/yeast mixture over the flour mixture and using the dough hook, mix well until well incorporated.
Place the dough into an oiled bowl, cover and let rise in a warm place about 1 hour or until the dough has doubled in size.
Combine the brown sugar and cinnamon in a bowl.
Grease a 9x13 inch baking dish with cooking spray or butter.
Roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface, until it is approximately 16 inches long by 12 inches wide. It should be approximately 1/4 inch in thickness.
Spread the 1/3 cup of butter evenly over the dough, then sprinkle with the sugar evenly over the surface of the dough.
Working carefully, from the long edge, roll the dough down to the bottom edge.
Cut the dough into 1 1/2 inch slices, and place in a lightly greased baking pan. You can also use floss to cut into slices, as seen in the video. Place the cut rolls in the prepared pan. Cover with a clean kitchen towel or plastic wrap and let them rise for another 30 minutes, or until doubled in size.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Place the baking pan in the oven and bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Cooking time can vary greatly!
While the rolls are baking make the icing by mixing all the icing ingredients and beat well with an electric mixer until fluffy and smooth.
When the rolls are done, spread generously with icing.

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