I’ve tried several cinnamon roll recipes, and this one seems better than most. I found this one online (see link below) and modified it with some of my own tips. I made them again yesterday and my children sold them at a bake sale - they sold like hotcakes!
Making cinnamon rolls does take some time, but if you like to bake, you probably have most of the ingredients on hand, so they are a fairly low-cost treat, and what a yummy treat they are!
Rolls:
1¼ oz. pkg. yeast
1 C. warm milk
½ C. granulated sugar
1/3 C. melted butter
1 t. salt
2 eggs
4 C. all-purpose flour
1 C. of half and half, to brush on rolls (see Angel’s tips below)
Filling:
1 C. packed brown sugar
2½ Tbsp. cinnamon
1/3 C. butter
½-1 C. walnuts, optional
½-1 C. raisins, optional
Icing:
7 Tbsp. butter, softened
1½ C. confectioners sugar
¼ C. (2 oz.) cream cheese
½ tsp. real vanilla extract (or almond extract, which I prefer and use)
1/8 tsp. salt, optional
Heat oven to 400 degrees F.
1. Dissolve yeast in milk.
2. Mix in sugar, butter, salt, eggs, flour. Mix well.
3. Turn dough out onto lightly floured surface. Knead dough about 3-5 minutes and shape into a ball. Cover; let rise 1 hour.
4. Roll dough into a 21" x 16" wide rectangle. Spread melted butter over dough with a large spoon then sprinkle with filling (see filling directions below).
5. Roll the long side up. Pinch the ends.
6. Cut with knife, or use string or dental floss to cut 1-inch wide rolls by sliding the string under the log roll, lift up on either side of the roll, cross the string and pull apart, making sixteen. For fewer, bigger rolls, cut them wider.
7. Grease (butter) your preferred baking pan (I like mine to be all squished up next to the other)- I generally use an 11"x 15" pan. Then place rolls in pan and into oven. Let the rolls rise for 30 minutes.
8. Bake until the rolls are slightly browned and not doughy, 20-25 minutes. This will vary according to your oven. Just don't overbake.
9. Cool for 1-2 minutes then top with icing.
Filling:
While dough is rising, prepare the filling and the icing.
1. Soften butter, so that it is spreadable.
2. After dough has been rolled out to a rectangle, spread the softened butter all over.
3. Sprinkle brown sugar over entire buttered rectangle.
4. Now sprinkle the cinnamon evenly over that.
Icing:
Cream with an electric mixer, or with a spoon. Spread on hot rolls.
Angel’s tips: I like brushing half and half over the rolls just before they go into the oven and just as they come out of the oven.
To prevent overbrowning, I cover the cinnamon rolls with tin foil during the last 5-10 minutes of baking.
Also, I have another recipe that calls for chilling the cut rolls on the pan for 2-24 hours before baking, then bringing them to room temperature for 30 minutes. I haven’t tried this method yet, but I’m sure it gives the dough a nice quality. I know that chilling pizza dough gives it a nice chewy texture, so I’m sure this works similarly with cinnamon rolls.
Link to online Cinnabon recipe