Faster Cinnamon Rolls

Homemade cinnamon rolls are never quick to make. The Hubby wanted cinnamon rolls on Saturday and we didn't have any canned cinnamon rolls in the fridge.  I have to admit that cinnamon rolls did sound rather delicious, so I decided to make some, but remember, homemade cinnamon rolls are never quick to make. Luckily, I did remember seeing a recipe on Our Best Bites a while back for  Every Day Cinnamon Rolls. I remembered that they weren't supposed to take as long to make. I read through the recipe and saw that they only needed to rise once, so that definitely reduced the preparation time. I decided to give the recipe a go. It was easy, and it was faster than the average cinnamon roll recipe. I'll admit we still didn't have cinnamon rolls until 11 am, but I didn't start working on them until after 9am. I got a late start and then I needed to clean some dishes before I could actually start the dough.   So, if I would have actually gotten up and started baking at a reasonable time we would have had our cinnamon rolls at a decent time too.  I'll be keeping this recipe in mind in the future. I should add I made some changes to the filling and I used my go to cream cheese icing recipe that my mom got out of a Top Secret recipe book from the Cinnabon recipe.

Faster Cinnamon Rolls

adapted from Our Best Bites
Dough

• 1 cup milk
• 4 Tbs butter, cut into chunks
• 3 1/4 – 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, divided
• 1 (.25 ounce) package instant or ‘rapid rise’ yeast (about 2 1/4 tsp)
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg

Filling

• 3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1 1/2 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 cup butter, softened

Icing

• 1/2  cup (1 Stick) butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 1/4 cup (2oz) cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Dough: 

Place milk and 4 Tbs butter in a microwave safe bowl. Heat on high for 1 minute 30 seconds. Butter should be at least partially melted. Stir and set aside. In a large mixing bowl whisk together 2 C flour, yeast, white sugar, and salt. When milk mixture has cooled to warm (not hot) add it to the flour mixture along with the egg while the beater (paddle attachment for those using a stand mixer) is running. Beat until well combined, about 1 minute. (Switch to the dough hook now) Add remaining flour only until dough barely leaves the sides of the bowl. It should be very soft and slightly sticky. Continue to let the dough knead for 5 minutes. If you are not using a stand mixer, turn dough out onto floured surface and knead for 5 minutes by hand. Turn dough out onto a floured surface and let rest for about 10 minutes while you make the filling.

Filling: 

make sure butter is softened well. Mix with brown sugar and cinnamon.

Assembly:

Roll dough into a rectangle about 12 x 14 inches. Spread brown sugar mixture (it will be slightly thick, you might have to “crumble” it) over the surface and use your fingers or the back of a spoon to gently spread around. Roll up from the longer side of the rectangle and pinch edges closed. Score the roll into 12 equal pieces (about 1" thick) and then cut into rolls. Place rolls in a 9 x 13 pan that has been sprayed with cooking spray. Cover pan with a clean towel and let rise in a warm place for about 30 minutes. In the mean time, preheat oven to 350 degrees.When rolls have finished rising bake for 15-20 minutes or until light golden brown. While rolls are baking mix icing ingredients with electric mixer until fluffy. Generously frost warm cinnamon rolls with icing and enjoy.

Yield: 12  ooey-gooey cinnamon rolls

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