perfect cinnamon rolls

i’ve been truly madly deeply craving these for months…

when i was in az a few weeks ago, i dragged my mom and husband {in jammies} to the bread store around the corner to grab some fresh-made cinnamon rolls for breakfast.

it was good…

and though i have an allegiance to my first place of work at 16,
nothing compares to the bake it in your kitchen, soft and fluffy stuff that i make at my own house.
i was just too lazy then to do it…

over the weekend, when at my aunts house, i just went for it.
{it’s amazing how much energy i gain from a little more counter space}

i saw my girl ashton‘s recipe for her perfect cinnamon rolls a while ago and have had the window open since, just waiting for the day…

i used her perfect white bread recipe to try it out this time, and it didn’t disappoint!
the perfect amount of fluffy to dense ratio, in my opinion. and not too sweet, so it’s great for things like this.

{i was going to use my own roll recipe here, but my aunt reminded me that those are very light and airy, so they might not hold all the goodies… good point. and almost too much butter and liquid for something that plans to take a dive again in more sugar and butter… though i might still try it just to know…}

i also used a different icing recipe to rich it up even more, and i tell you what,
the icing is the key here.

perfectly iced cinnamon rolls
adapted from something swanky and allrecipes

1 recipe Basic Bread Dough, risen once
1/2 cup butter
1 1/2-2 cups brown sugar
4 tsp cinnamon
6 tbsp sugar

the perfect icing
{for 2 pans}

6 oz cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter, softened
3 cups confectioners’ sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt

what to do:

after your bread dough has risen once {double it’s size}, beat it down and cut it into 2. roll into 2 large rectangle, about 1/4 inch thick. melt 1/2 cup butter and spread over both. {i like to use my hands to make sure they each get buttered up good.}

mix your sugars n cinnamon in a separate bowl, then spread evenly over your dough. roll both up {long ways like a jelly roll} and cut into 12. {to make 24} and place close together in a greased 9×13. {i think they bake better in glass, myself.} cover and let em rise double their size again. preheat your oven to 365 degrees.

once nice and fat, they bake for about 25-30 minutes, or until lightly golden {you know the drill.}

in the mean time, mix your cream cheese, butter, and powdered sugar in your electric mixer. then add your vanilla and salt. should mix up nice n creamy.

spread that goodness all over those rolls while they are still pretty warm. eat immediately.

{ps, this batch shown here, i actually refrigerated the dough overnight in the 9×13, ready to go, and got up and baked em fresh in the morning… they turned out amazing! and there are few things better than a fresh one for breakfast…}

enjoy!