Cinnamon Rolls!!!

I really wanted to eat cinnamon rolls the other week and decided to attempt to bake some. I found a recipe called "Clone of a Cinnabon" on Allrecipes.com and made a modified version of that recipe. My changes can be seen in blue.  I did not have whole milk at the time, so I used skim milk and added a bit more butter.

Ingredients

• 1 cup warm milk (110 degrees F/45 degrees C) 1 c. skim milk + 1 T butter
• 2 eggs, room temperature
• 1/3 cup margarine, butter melted
• 4 1/2 cups bread flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 1/2 teaspoons bread machine yeast 1 packet instant yeast

Filling

• 1 cup brown sugar packed
• 2 1/2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
• 1/3 cup butter, softened

Frosting

• 3 ounces lowfat cream cheese, softened
• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
  

  Directions

  1. Place ingredients in the pan of the bread machine in the order recommended by the manufacturer. Select dough cycle; press Start. I placed all the ingredients into my KitchenAid mixer and used the dough hook. Started mixing at low speed to incorporate ingredients, then switched to medium speed for about 5 more minutes. 
  2. After the dough has doubled in size turn it out onto a lightly floured surface, cover and let rest for 10 minutes. In a small bowl, combine brown sugar and cinnamon.
  3. Roll dough into a 16x21 inch rectangle. Spread dough with 1/3 cup butter and sprinkle evenly with sugar/cinnamon mixture. Roll up dough and cut into 12 rolls. Place rolls in a lightly greased 9x13 inch baking pan. Cover and let rise until nearly doubled, about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350 F 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
  4. Bake rolls in preheated oven until golden brown, about 15-20 minutes. While rolls are baking, beat together cream cheese, 1/4 cup butter, confectioners' sugar, vanilla extract and salt. Spread frosting on warm rolls before serving.

This is a picture of the cinnamon rolls after the first proof and prior to the second proofing.

Look how much the dough grew in 30 minutes! Here's a tip. It was kind of hot during the afternoon I made these (~90F), so I decided to use my car as a proofer.  My car was partially in the shade, and I cracked a couple o windows open, so the car would not overheat. 

I had a bit of extra end pieces dough, so I placed them in muffin tins.  This was a quick and easy way to maintain the shape of the cinnamon rolls.

Here's a picture of the baked rolls sans cream cheese frosting. This recipe is definitely a keeper! I ate these rolls for breakfast for a couple days in a row.  I just microwaved them for 30 seconds prior to eating them.