The Most Amazing Cinnamon Rolls EVER!

You guys, I. CAN’T. EVEN. with these cinnamon rolls! Every time I make them, they are gone just minutes after I pull them out of the oven because they are just too good to be true.

Not only are they absolutely delicious – they are the EASIEST ever to make! This working mama does NOT have all of the time in the world, so I love this recipe because in just a few easy steps I have a homemade delicious treat that everyone enjoys! It gives my my baking fix without a ton of time dedicated to the kitchen.

It’s become a tradition in my house to make these for my family every Christmas Eve Morning when we celebrate with my side of the family. I’m starting to have to make extras because everyone always wants to take 1-2 to go with them as well! HA!

I originally found this recipe on Pinterest, “Life Changing Cinnamon Rolls”, and wanted to post it here as well because after making it time and time again, I have a few more quick tips to add to it.

First of all, I use a bread machine to make this dough – if you don’t have one, it’s worth the investment if you’re a busy mama like me. You literally throw all of the ingredients into the machine, set it, and wait until you hear the heavenly beep that lets you know your dough is ready to roll.

If you don’t have/want a bread machine, hop over to the original recipe and follow the instructions there. I’ve never made them this way, but I’m sure they turn out just as tasty!

Dough Recipe:
– 1 cup milk (I use 2% because it’s what I usually have)
– 1/2 cup butter (melted)
– 2 large eggs
– 4 cups flour
– 1/3 cup white granulated sugar
– 1 tsp salt
– 1 Tbsp instant yeast

1. Add all ingredients into the bread machine, making sure that the wet ingredients go in first, and the yeast is the last thing you put in.

• A couple of notes about the yeast – make sure that you are working with FRESH yeast. I buy a large jar and keep it in my refrigerator. If it’s been more than a few months, I just buy a new one to be sure. There’s nothing worse than your dough not rising!

• I use Fleishmann’s INSTANT Rapid Rising Yeast. If you use this kind, you will not need to “bloom” your yeast. If you DO NOT use an instant yeast, you will need to warm your milk to room temperature and bloom your yeast before incorporating it into the mixture – to do this, add the yeast to room temp milk and wait 5-10 minutes until you can see “activity” or bubbles. I am not an expert on this, and in my experience it’s worth just getting the instant yeast!

• If you purchase the packets of yeast instead of the jar, you’ll need to use approximately 1 1/2 packets to equal 1 Tbsp.

2. Once all of your ingredients have been added, set your Bread Machine to the dough setting and wait for the magic to happen!

3. Once the dough is ready, turn it out onto a floured surface.
Don’t handle it too much, or it will become tough.

4. Roll out to a rectangle, about 1/4″ thick. My rectangle is never perfect, but shhhhh! don’t tell anyone!

Filling Recipe:
– 1/4 cup softened butter
– 1 cup brown sugar
– 3 Tbsp cinnamon

5. For the filling, you can either mix it all together and spread it on, or spread the butter on and then sprinkle on the brown sugar/cinnamon mixture. Either way will get you delicious results, but MAKE SURE your butter is SOFT and spreadable!

6. Once you’ve got an even spread of deliciousness on your dough, roll the dough up lengthwise.

I squeeze and pull the roll until it looks mostly uniform all the way across.

7. Mark the dough with a knife before you cut. I start in the middle and make one mark in the center, then one mark in the center of each half, and then from there each section should be divided into three rolls, giving you 12 total rolls.

If you’re a perfectionist, you can chop off the ends before you start your marking, but don’t you dare throw those ends away! Bake them off and eat them too!

8. Place the rolls in a pre-greased 9×13 dish and cover. Put in the fridge at least 2 hours, or overnight.

9. You will need to proof your rolls one last time before you pop them in the oven, so be sure to remove them an hour before you’re ready to bake! I set mine on the warm stove while I’m preheating my oven. They should grow in size a bit during this process.

10. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.

11. Whip up that frosting! Beat all ingredients in a mixer using the whisk attachment until fluffy. Make sure your butter and cream cheese are room temperature, or you will have lumpy frosting! I always make double the original recipe’s batch, but if you aren’t an icing freak like my family, you can halve the below recipe.

*You can also make this ahead of time and set out while your rolls are proofing/cooking.

Frosting Recipe:
– 1 cup softened butter
– 3 cups powdered sugar
– 2 oz. cream cheese
– 4 Tbsp whipping cream
– 2 tsp madagascar vanilla extract

12. Pull your rolls out of the oven and let cool for 5-10 minutes before you spread the icing over the top. If they are too hot the icing will melt too much, and I like a nice thick layer of the good stuff on my cinnamon rolls! Leave a little bit extra on the side so you can add even more to each roll you serve if desired – I can’t get enough!

That’s it! I hope you enjoy this recipe, and if you do make these AMAZING CINNAMON ROLLS, leave me a comment and let me know how they turn out!