Cinnamon Rolls

Every Christmas, (or the two we've had together) Seth and I make cinnamon rolls for breakfast! They're gooey and wonderful, and they're perfect for a special breakfast. The best part is that we usually make them on Christmas Eve, so they just need to be reheated that morning. It saves us from slaving in the kitchen rather than enjoying the holiday :) 

Ingredients:

1 pkg dry yeast

1 C warm milk

1/2 C sugar

1/3 C margarine

1 tsp salt

2 eggs

4 C flour

1 C packed brown sugar

2 1/2 tbsp cinnamon

1/3 C margarine

2 tbsp flour

Icing:

8 tbsp margarine

1 1/2 C powdered sugar

1/4 C cream cheese

1/2 tsp vanilla

1/8 tsp salt

Dissolve the yeast in the warm milk in the bowl of a standing mixer. Let sit for about five minutes so the yeast can fully dissolve. (A good trick to see if your yeast is actually active is to throw a pinch of sugar in the bowl. If the yeast bubbles, it means it's eating the sugar and will actually work for your rolls.)

Add sugar, 1/3 C margarine, salt, eggs and flour. Mix well.

Scrape the dough out of the bowl and onto a well floured surface. Knead the dough into a large ball. Put into a bowl, cover and let rise in a warm place for about an hour or until the dough has doubled in size.

Before:

After:

Roll the dough onto a floured surface into a 1/4 inch rectangle.

Melt down 1/3 C margarine and spread all over the dough. It's going to seem like a lot of butter, but it's what makes the filling so gooey! 

Mix together brown sugar and cinnamon in a bowl. Sprinkle all over the dough until completely covered. Next, sprinkle the 2 tbsp flour until it's in a pretty even layer on top. This is so the insides don't seep out all over the place in the oven.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Roll the dough into a log, and cut into 1 3/4 inch slices.

Put the rolls in a greased pan. We usually get twelve or thirteen rolls. Give each roll room to move as they will rise a little and puff in the oven.

Let the rolls sit for about 15 minutes and let the rolls rise a little. Put them in the oven for 10-12 minutes or until the edges are slightly browned. 

Beat the icing ingredients together. We usually one and a half the icing because Seth likes a LOT of icing! Spread the icing all over the rolls, and Voila! Enjoy :)