Sweet Sundays

Today was one of the days for the 179th Semiannual General Conference for the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. As a family we typically watch the conference sessions at home on television, which includes some fun traditions. A newly added, and highly anticipated tradition, is making Cinnamon Rolls for Sunday Morning breakfast! Some close friends of ours shared this wonderful idea with us, and of course the children loved the idea, and it was quickly adopted :) The first time we made cinnamon rolls, we tried a couple different recipes, but all agreed that this recipe is our favorite!

Sous Chef: Megan (who begged to stay up late Saturday night to help, in exchange for rubbing her mother's tired feet!)

Recipe: Cinnabon Cinnamon Rolls (Young Women Online Recipe Book)

Dough:

1 1/4 pkg active dry yeast or 1 T.

1 cup warm milk, 100 to 105 degrees

1/2 cup sugar

1/3 cup butter, melted

2 eggs

4 cups flour

1 tsp. salt

Filling:

1 cup packed brown sugar

2 1/2 T. cinnamon (I think that is too much, so I only ever add 1 1/2 T.)

1/3 c. butter, softened

Icing:

1/2 cup butter, softened

2 oz. cream cheese
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1/8 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. vanilla

Dissolve yeast in warm milk in large bowl. Add sugar, butter, salt, eggs and 1/2 the flour. Mix well (I use my Kitchen-aid and kneading attachment) for a few minutes to build elasticity. Add remaining flour a little at a time until dough is tacky to the touch. Continue kneading for a few more minutes. Put in a greased bowl, cover and let rise in a warm place for about 1 hour or until dough is doubled in size. (Since we were out late Saturday night, I put my dough in the fridge and let part of the rising process take place over night, and in the morning I put it in a warm place to come to room temperature).

Pre-heat oven to 400. Roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface. Roll until flat and approximately 21 inches long and 16 inches wide and 1/4 inch thick. For the filling combine the brown sugar and cinnamon in a bowl. Spread the softened butter evenly over the surface, and sprinkle the brown sugar and cinnamon mixture over the buttered dough. Working carefully roll the dough into a tight "log".

Cut the rolled dough into 1 to 1 1/2 inch slices (trying to keep them all the same size, so they bake evenly). Place the pieces in a lightly greased 9x13 pan. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until light brown on top. Pre-baked picture....

While the rolls bake, combine the icing ingredients. Beat well with a hand mixer. When the rolls come out of the oven, coat each roll generously with icing. Makes 12 (I actually cut ours smaller, so we had 15). Just out of the oven (I squeezed the rolls in tight, so as they baked they expanded up; spacing them apart a bit, will help next time, although it didn't effect the taste at all!)....

Critiques: We think they taste pretty close to the real Cinnabon Bun! ;) They were loved by all, and the children kept requesting them throughout the day even though they were all eaten at breakfast time! :)