BUT....if bread is available, hot, fresh bread, nobody better stand between me and that delectable morsel straight from heaven.
I tried out a new Italian restaurant yesterday. They served fresh garlic knots while we were waiting for our food. I quickly devoured mine and would've eaten any that was left. Of course, none was.
If I smell bread, I'm a goner. As long as it comes from the grocery store, pre-made, sealed in plastic, there is no temptation for me. Let me walk into the mall and pass a Cinnabon....another story completely.
I have been in the mood lately to cook more and bake. So the when my kids suggested I buy the cinnamon rolls in the packaged tubes at the grocery store, I said NOPE! I will make my own. Years ago, I used to make them all the time so why not do it again?
Yesterday we only had a 2pm church service so it was a perfect morning to make my cinnamon rolls. The only thing I hate about making homemade bread is the kneading but the dough for this is made in my bread machine making this E-A-S-Y. And "easy" is my middle name. Or maybe "bread-lover" is my middle name?? hmmm....
Too bad screens aren't scratch and sniff but this recipe might get you tempted to lick the screen just in case.
Cinnabon-like Cinnamon Rolls
Ingredients:
For the dough:
1 cup warm whole milk
2 eggs (anytime you are baking, it's best to use room temp eggs)
1/3 c. melted margarine, cooled down
1 t. salt
1/2 c. granulated white sugar
4 1/2 c. all purpose (or bread) flour (note: I use bread flour, I think it makes the rolls a little more light and airy)
2 1/2 t. bread machine yeast
Sweet spread to use after dough is rolled out:
1 c. packed down brown sugar
2 1/2 Tbsp. cinnamon
1/4 c. softened butter
For the icing: **note: I make extra icing because I like to use the entire bar of cheese and we like alot of icing on the rolls. The extra icing I just save to put on cinnamon pancakes or whatever**
8 oz. Neufchatel cheese, softened (of course, you can use cream cheese, but the rolls are so sweet that I figured we should cut back on the calories somewhere)
2/3 c. butter softened (NOT melted)
4 c. powdered sugar
2 t. vanilla extract
1/4 t. salt
Put all the ingredients for the dough in your bread machine. The ingredients are listed in the order that I put them in my machine but yours might differ so check your manual. With mine, I do wet, salt, dry and yeast last making sure the yeast does not touch the salt or liquid. Select "Dough" option and let the bread machine do its thing.
When the dough is complete, place it on a floured surface and let it rest for a few minutes. While it is resting, mix the brown sugar and cinnamon together in a bowl. Prepare dough by rolling it out into a big rectangle. Spread the dough with the softened butter. HINT: This seems to be a lot of butter but use it and do not spread the butter to the very edges, you want the dough to be able to "seal". Sprinkle the cinnamon/brown sugar mixture over the buttered dough. Now roll up the dough to make a long roll. Cut it evenly to make about a dozen rolls. Place in a greased baking dish (I used a glass 9x13 pan that I make my big batches of brownies in).
Now, I know you want to bake them and get onto the ooey gooey goodness but let's take a clean towel and cover them to double in size. (If your house is cold, you can turn oven on extreme lowest temp and put the pan in there, crack the door some.) When the rolls have risen to be about doubled in size, set oven to 400 degrees and cook 10-15 minutes.
While the rolls are baking, cream the cheese and butter together until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla and salt. Then turn mixer on lowest speed and gradually add the powdered sugar.
When the rolls are done, remove from oven and immediately turn upside down on a platter. Leave the pan over them. This will allow all the gooey goodness to drizzle back down on the rolls. Once it looks like all the dripping is complete, remove pan and spread on some icing. The warmth of the rolls will allow the icing to melt some and drizzle in between.
