Homemade Cinnamon Rolls

Last night on his way home from work, I explained to Hubby that I planned to make homemade cinnamon rolls but had a problem with the yeast.  He very willingly volunteered to detour to the grocery store to pick up more yeast.  So even though it was very late at night, I got my cinnamon rolls!  I hadn't made them in years and didn't remember them being so wonderfully delicious!  You are in luck today because I am sharing this prized recipe.  It's a bit of work and somewhat time consuming.  But the result is well worth the effort!  Enjoy!

She's Cinnamon Rolls
1/2 C warm water
2 pkg. active dry yeast
2 T sugar
3.4 oz. pkg. instant vanilla pudding
2 C butter
2 eggs
1 t salt
7 C + flour
2 C + 1 T milk
8 oz. cream cheese
1 t vanilla
3 C powdered sugar
2 C brown sugar
4 t cinnamon

In a small bowl, combine water and sugar; stir until dissolved.  Add yeast; set aside.

In large bowl, prepare pudding mix according to package directions.  Add 1 stick softened butter, eggs, and salt.  Mix well.  Add yeast mixture; mix well.  Gradually add flour; knead until smooth.

Place in a greased bowl.  Cover and let rise until doubled.

Punch down and let rise again.

Roll out to 34" x 21".  Spread 1 C melted butter over surface of dough.  Mix the cinnamon and brown sugar together and sprinkle over top.  Roll up tightly.  Cut rolls every 2".

Place on a greased cookie sheet 2" apart.  Press down on each roll lightly.  Cover and let rise until doubled.

Bake at 350 for 20 minutes or until golden.  Do not over bake.

Mix together softened cream cheese, 1 stick softened butter, vanilla, powdered sugar, and 1 T milk.  Use to frost warm rolls.

*Tips:

The temperature of the water when adding the yeast should be about 80 degrees.  It should feel like a baby's bottle, slightly warm to the touch.  If yeast does not bubble up, you probably used the wrong temperature of water or the yeast was too old.

I used cheesecake flavored pudding instead of vanilla pudding and it was awesome!  You could experiment with pumpkin, lemon, or butterscotch flavors.

When adding butter to pudding, make sure the butter is very soft.  It will chunk up when added to the cold milk and become difficult to mix in.

If the dough feels too sticky after 7 cups of flour, you may need more.  I probably used an additional 1/2 C of flour.  I kneaded the dough for quite a while ('til my arms hurt).

I think I expected my dough to rise up huge.  It might have in the summertime but I don't think it completely doubled this time.  The rolls still turned out great!

I sanitize my countertop or kitchen table to roll out the dough.  This recipe yields about 20 large rolls.  If you want smaller rolls, only roll out half your dough at a time. 

To cut the rolls evenly, I measure from the center of my knuckle to the end of my index finger.  Use a sharp, non-serrated knife.

Make sure you roll the dough up very tightly or all the good cinnamon and butter will ooze out.

Make sure you eat a roll straight from the oven after it has been frosted.  Plan to die with a short trip to heaven afterward!