Cinnamon Rolls

I made these for Christmas morning! I did most of the work on Christmas Eve, and then put them in the fridge overnight. Then, on Christmas morning, while we went out for an early morning run with our dog, I left them out to warm up. Heated the oven while I showered, and then popped them in! Absolutely divine.

I froze half of these after shaping and cutting them, and we'll have them later. I think they'll be fine, and a full batch of these is way too many for two people (I even gave some away from the Christmas batch).

I took a few shortcuts because I'm lazy and they seemed to have worked, so I'll use those. You can click the link for the original recipe.

Cinnamon Rolls, adapted closely from The Way the Cookie Crumbles
Oven: 350 F, 25-30 minutes

Rolls:
1/2 cup milk
7 tbsp unsalted butter
1/2 cup warm water
2 1/4 tsp yeast
1/4 cup white sugar
1 large egg, plus 2 large egg yolks
1 tsp salt
4 - 4 1/2 cups AP flour (I used 4)

Filling:
3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
2 tbsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp salt

Glaze:
1 cup confectioners sugar
1 ounce cream cheese, softened
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
1-2 tbsp milk

For the dough:
Heat the milk and butter separately in the microwave, and then combine (or heat them on the stove). Let cool for a minute while you combine the warm water, yeast, sugar and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer.  Whisk in the eggs, and then the milk and butter. With the dough hook attachment on, add the flour and knead until the dough forms a ball and pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Grease another bowl, deposit the dough ball into it, cover with plastic wrap and let rise for an hour or until doubled in bulk.

After the rise, punch down the dough and flour a surface and a rolling pin. Roll the dough out into roughly a 12 x 16 inch rectangle, with the long side perpendicular to you. Mix together the filling ingredients, and then spread it onto the dough rectangle, keeping an inch border from the ends. Then, starting with the end closest to you, tightly roll the dough into a log, using water to seal the end. Using a serrated knife, cut the dough into rounds - I got roughly 16 or so, but I made mine fairly thin - about an inch and a half wide. Place them in a greased pan (I used a 9-inch round).

If you are going to freeze some, now would be a good time. I placed some on a plastic wrap, wrapped them tightly (all in one layer, not stacked), and then slid them into a freezer bag and placed it in the freezer.

Now, you can do two things - proceed onward with the second rise and then bake them, or you can put them in the fridge overnight for a slow second rise. I did the latter. To continue onward, cover with plastic wrap and let rise again for another hour. Then preheat the oven to 350 F, and bake for 25- 30 minutes or until puffed and golden. If you'd rather wait, then cover them with plastic and put in the fridge overnight. They'll do a nice slow rise. Then take them out about 30-60 minutes before baking, to let them warm up a bit. And then bake at 350 F for 25-30 minutes.

To make the glaze, whisk together all of the ingredients and pour over the warm buns. Divine!