Sinful Cinnamon Rolls

Here is an amazing recipe for some delicious cinnamon rolls that, though time consuming, are really very easy to make.  One of the beauties of this recipe is that you can make them a day ahead and once they are in their cute little rolled up snail shapes and risen, you can put them in the fridge overnight and bake them the next morning for your breakfast.

The dough is so easy to work with.  It is pliable and wasn't at all sticky.  I didn't have to add one bit of extra flour as the recipe stated might be necessary.  This recipe has the edition of cornstarch in it which I had never seen before and I think that is one of the keys to the ease of rolling and shaping.

I did vary this recipe somewhat in that it stated it made 8 very large rolls and I decided to make 16 sensible sized rolls and I cut the baking time by about 10 minutes.  Let your conscience and waistline be your guide. If you are looking for a showstopper for a brunch or to knock the socks off your co-workers some day, this should do it for you!

Cinnamon Rolls

Dough
3/4 cup whole milk, heated to 110 degrees
1 envelope of rapid rise yeast
3 large eggs at room temperature
4 1/4 cups all purpose white flour
1/2 cup corn starch
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter cut into 12 pieces and softened to room temperature

Heat the oven to 200 degrees.  When preheated turn it off.  Line a 13x9 inch baking pan with foil, leaving an overhang of foil over the pan edges.  Grease the foil and a large bowl and set aside.

Whisk the milk and yeast in a medium bowl until the yeast dissolves then whisk in the eggs.  In a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, mix the dry ingredients until combined.  With the mixer on low, add the liquid mixture in a slow, steady stream and mix until the dough comes together, approximately 1 minute or so.  Increase the speed to medium and add the butter, 1 piece at a time, until well incorporated.  Continue to mix until the dough is smooth and comes away from the sides of the bowl, about 10 minutes.  If the dough is still wet and sticky after 10 minutes, add up to 1/4 cup more flour, 1 Tbsp. at a time until the dough releases from the sides of the bowl. 

Turn the dough onto a clean lightly floured surface and knead to form a smooth, round  ball.  Transfer to the greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap and place in the warm oven.  Let rise until doubled in size, about 2 hours.

Filling

1 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar
1 1/2 Tbsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
4 Tbsp. butter, softened

Combine the sugar, cinnamon and salt in a bowl. 

Turn the risen dough out onto a lightly floured surface and roll the dough into an 18 inch square.  Spread the softened butter over the entire surface of the dough then evenly sprinkle the prepared filling over the dough.  Starting with the nearest edge, roll the dough into a tight cylinder and pinch to seal the seam.  Cut into 8 pieces (or 16 as I did).  Transfer the pieces, cut side up to the prepared pan.  Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm spot until doubled in size, about 1 hour.  After they have risen, the buns can be put in the refrigerator overnight.  When ready to cook, let sit at room temperature for 1 hour.

Glaze

4 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 Tbsp whole milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups confectioners sugar

Heat the oven to 350 degrees.  Beat the cream cheese, milk, vanilla and sugar together until smooth.  Bake the buns until deep golden brown and the filling is melted, about 35-40 minutes.  Transfer to a wire rack and top the buns with 1/2 cup of the glaze; let cool for 30 minutes.  Top with the remaining glaze and serve.