Cinnabon Cinnamon Rolls

We had a blast celebrating Dad yesterday!

We started out with a scavenger hunt to find Jake’s gift from the kiddos, with clues totally thought of and constructed by the boy:

the crazies got Jake a new football, and the boys enjoyed teaching Bella how to be the holder so they can practice their kicking skills:

then for breakfast, we had THE BEST cinnamon rolls!! the recipe is a knock-off of Cinnabon’s, and i have to say…it tastes just like them!

there is a massive amount of butter in this recipe, so be forewarned…they are anything but good for you. but its worth it to blow a day’s worth of calories on one!

the ingredients list is all jumbled, but it’ll make sense in the steps below!

Cinnamon Buns like Cinnabon’s:

1 1/2 cups sugar

3 TBSP ground cinnamon

2 (.25 oz) packets of active dry yeast

1 tsp sugar

1 cup 110 degree water

1 cup warm milk

2/3 cup sugar

2/3 cup melted butter

2 tsp salt

2 eggs

up to 8 cups of all purpose flour

1/2 cup melted butter

1 1/2 cups walnuts or pecans (i did not use these, but you can!)

1/2 cup melted butter

1/3 cup sugar

4 cups powdered sugar

1 stick butter, softened

2 tsp vanilla

milk

Mix together 1 1/2 cups sugar and cinnamon. Set aside.

In a small bowl, dissolve yeast and 1 tsp sugar in warm water. Set aside. (let me interject here. i actually did not do this. i just ended up adding in my Instaferm Instant Yeast that i use to bake bread into my mixer with the flour. I still added the water in too, but with Instant yeast, you don’t have to let it dissolve in perfect temperature water first…you can just add it in! i get mine through www.breadbeckers.com, but you can certainly follow this recipe and use the active dry yeast too.)

In a mixer, mix milk, 2/3 cup sugar, 2/3 cup melted butter, salt, and eggs. Add in the yeast mixture (or just instant yeast and 1 cup water) and 4 cups flour. Mix well. Keep adding flour until you get a slightly stiff dough (when it stays together, pulls away from the sides of the bowl, and is elastic). Put on dough hook and let knead for 8 minutes, or knead by hand.

Place dough in large greased bowl, cover, and let rise until double, about 1-1 1/2 hours.

Punch down and let rest for 5 minutes.

Roll out dough on a floured surface to a 15 x 20 inch rectangle.

Brush with 1/2 cup melted butter and sprinkle the cinnamon sugar mixture evenly over dough. (Sprinkle nuts at this point, if using).

Tightly roll up dough and pinch edges together to seal. (note: wish i had rolled tighter, so roll as tight as you can!)

Cut into 12-15 slices. (i got 13.) Use either a pastry cutter, dental floss, or thread for this. a knife squishes them too much.

Coat the bottom of a 13 x 9 baking pan with 1/2 cup melted butter and 1/3 cup sugar. (this part is important in keeping the rolls moist, so don’t skip. just use the butter and don’t eat them everyday!!)

Place roll slices close together in pan.

Cover and let rise in warm place for 45 minutes. (another note: i ran out of time the night i made these, so at this point, i put them in the fridge on Friday evening and then took them out Sunday morning, let them sit for a while on the counter, and then baked them. worked great!)

Bake rolls at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes (mine took more like 35 minutes…make sure you check the bottoms to see if they are baked all the way through, even if the tops look okay.)

for the frosting, whip a stick of softened butter in your mixer. add in some powdered sugar, 2 tsp vanilla, and a splash of milk until you get a thick but spreadable consistency. you can also add in a bar of cream cheese…which would be excellent with these rolls!!

Enjoy every yummy, buttery, sugary bite!!

we capped off the day with a fun dinner with 3 generations of Dads from my family, and then with Jake’s family, we played a bit of this:

and made a very special dessert, Homemade Funnel Cakes:

so be looking for that recipe tomorrow or the next day!!

and Happy Official First Day of Summer!! Hope you are enjoying it as much as we are!!