It's not Bragging if you Made It: THE BEST CINNAMON ROLLS EVER

I've been neglecting my blog lately. It's really inexcusable. I've been so busy studying calculus that I've forgotten that practical applications are the lifeblood of any academic subject.

Finally, calculus I can use!!!

These are THE BEST CINNAMON ROLLS EVER.

THE BEST CINNAMON ROLLS EVER
Piping, gooey dough entwined with butter and sugar and swimming in two different icings (because we tried each individually and neither quite did the trick. That's how you know these are good. :D )

Each recipe makes about 24 cinnamon rolls. It is very easy to freeze the raw rolls in cake tins or disposable aluminum tins and then pop them immediately in the oven to bake at a later time. I usually make two recipes at a time and stash a bunch in the freezer to warm up later for fresh, piping-hot breakfast.

Ingredients:

Dough
1/2 cup water
3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1 egg
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp salt
4 1/2 cups flour
2 tbsp (2 packages) yeast

Dough Filling:
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1 1/4 cups brown sugar
1/4 cup white granulated sugar
2 tbsp cinnamon

Caramel Sauce:
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup syrup
1/4 tsp cinnamon

Cream Cheese Icing:
4 oz cream cheese
1/4 cup butter
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 tbsp milk
1/2 tsp vanilla

Instructions:

Dough:
1. A) If you have a bread machine, put the ingredients in the machine in the order listed. Using the tip of a knife, make a crater in the flour in which to pour the yeast to keep it from mixing with the wet ingredients until kneading begins. Set the machine to the dough cycle, let it run, and then let the dough rise for about 1/2 an hour to an hour. It can reach 2 to 3 times its size!
B) You can also knead the dough by hand. Warm the water and dissolve the yeast. Mix together the milk, melted butter, egg, sugar, and salt. Knead in the flour. Finally, add the water and yeast until the mixture becomes smooth and homogeneous. Let rise.

Dough filling and shaping:
1. After the dough has risen, remove it from the bread machine/bowl. Using a rolling pin, roll out the dough into a large rectangle of approximately one foot by two feet. Try to make the shape of the rectangle as uniform as possible, otherwise the ends of the roll might be chintzy.
2. Melt the 1/2 cup butter. Pour/brush it over the flattened dough until it reaches the depth of a shallow birdbath.
3. Mix together the two sugars and the cinnamon. Sprinkle the mixture evenly over the butter. (Thought the butter was excessive? This sugar will absorb it all and then heap on top. :D)
4. Create a log by rolling the dough along the long edge.
5. Slice the log into about 24 spiral-shaped slices of about a 1-inch diameter. An efficient way to get slices of even thickness is to start by making a mark in the middle of the log, then dividing each of the halves in half, and keep marking the log until you have a clear plan of how you are going to slice it.
6. Prepare several cake pans, disposable oven-safe tins, or casserole dishes by buttering them. Place your cinnamon rolls inside, leaving some room for them to rise and spread. (I usually fit 6 rolls per 9-inch round cake pan.)
7. Let rise for about an hour before baking; otherwise at this point you can wrap the extra tins in plastic wrap and store them indefinitely in the freezer.

Caramel Sauce:
1. Melt the butter in a small saucepan. Add the brown sugar, syrup, and cinnamon and whisk together.
2. Taste. This sauce tastes like heaven.

Cream Cheese Icing:
1. Cream the cream cheese and butter; add the other ingredients.

Baking:
1. Bake at 325 degrees for 15-20 minutes, until they become golden and hardened on top.
2. Spoon the caramel sauce over the top.
3. Using a knife, spread the cream cheese icing on top (this will be easy once it starts melting.)
4. Relish.