Cinnamon Rolls

I was really craving something delicious, warm, gooey, sugary and comforting. What could possibly live up to that craving? Cinnamon rolls! My husband had an early flight to catch this morning, and he will not return home until Thursday night. What better way to send him off on his trip (and to satisfy my craving) than making cinnamon rolls? I prepared these rolls last night (while we watch the movie The Art of the Steal, fantastic by the way, a must see) and let them rise overnight so that I could bake them fresh in the Morning. It was nice to start the week off with a sweet treat usually reserved for lazy Saturday brunches. You can find the original recipe at: http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/fluffy-buttery-cinnamon-rolls.

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Ingredients:
1 cup of Milk, plus 2 tablespoons (I used Skim Milk as that is what we had in the house)
2 envelopes of Active Dry Yeast
1/2 cup, plus a pinch of Granulated Sugar
2 sticks of Butter, softened (just leave these out on the counter for 2 hours or so to soften)
1 teaspoon of Salt
2 large Eggs
4 1/2 cups of All-Purpose Flour
1/2 cup of packed Brown Sugar
1 tablespoon, plus 1/8 of a teaspoon of Cinnamon
1 cup of Confectioners' Sugar

Steps:
1. Warm one cup of the milk in the microwave for about 30 to 45 seconds. You want the milk to be warm but not hot.
2. Add the 2 envelopes of yeast and a pinch of granulated sugar to the warm milk and stir to combine.

3. Wait about 5 minutes until the mixture becomes foamy.

4. Attach the paddle to your standing mixer and beat one stick of butter with 1/2 cup of granulated sugar and a teaspoon of salt.

5. Beat at medium speed until the butter, sugar and salt mixture is fluffy.

6. Beat in 2 eggs, one at a time, until just blended together. You will have a beautiful soft yellow color.

7. At low speed, incorporate 2 cups of flour into the mixture.

8. Still at low speed, add the warm milk mixture to the flour mixture.

9. Take off the paddle and attach the dough hook to your standing mixer. Add the remaining 2 1/2 cups of flour.

10. Mix at a medium speed until and soft and very slightly sticky dough forms. It will not be as solid as a normal bread dough, but also should not be goopy or very sticky. This will take about 5 minutes to achieve.

11. Scrape the dough out and place it in an oiled bowl. Cover and let rise in a warm, draft free spot for about and hour.

12. Prepare 4 pieces of wax paper, each about 15 inches in length.
13. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and divide the dough into 4 equal pieces.

14. Roll each of the four pieces out into a rectangular shape, about 1/4 inch in thickness, on each piece of wax paper.

15. Place the rolled out dough in the freezer for about 15 minutes.
16. While the dough chills, make the cinnamon butter by mixing together one stick of butter, 1 tablespoon of cinnamon, and a dash of salt. I used a fork to combine everything but you can also use your standing mixer and paddle attachment.

17. Remove the dough from the freezer.
18. Spread 1/4 of the cinnamon butter on each of the rolled out pieces of dough, leaving a small margin towards all of the edges.

19. Roll up the dough by taking one of the long edges and tightly roll the dough so that the cinnamon butter is on the inside.

20. Wrap each rolled piece of dough in the wax paper that it was on and return the dough to the freezer for about 20 minutes. Once the dough is chilled, it will be easier to cut into small rolls without smashing the dough.

21. Remove the dough from the freezer and remove the was paper from the rolls of dough. With a sharp knife, slice the dough rolls in 1 to 2 inch intervals to create the cinnamon rolls.

22. Arrange the cut rolls into a large spring form pan that has been oiled.

23. If you want to bake the rolls right away, cover them and let them rise in a warm place for an hour. Then bake them at 350 degrees for about 40 minutes.
24. If you want to bake the rolls the next morning, cover them and put them in your refrigerator overnight. Then in the morning allow them to come to room temperature before you place them in a 350 degree oven for about 40 minutes.
25. While the rolls are baking, make the icing by mixing together 1 cup of confectioner's sugar, 2 tablespoons of milk and 1/8 teaspoon of cinnamon.

26. After removing the rolls from the oven, let them sit for about 5 minutes (if you can!). Remove the ring from the spring form pan and place the rolls on a serving piece.

27. Drizzle the rolls with the icing and enjoy the warm, gooey comfort of freshly baked cinnamon rolls! These roses are from our backyard...my new venture of rose gardening! All Texas Pioneer Roses.

The pups wanted to say hi...so...here they are in their sweet beds and out of the rain during this Texas sized storm!