Truly the Best Cinnamon Rolls~ Ever

Often I don't think of posting a recipe I find on another blog if I don't alter it noticably, especially if it is quite popular or has been seen many other places. But I am making an exception because I think everyone is in need of the absolutely best cinnamon roll recipe. And this is it!

In my quest for the best cinnamon roll from scratch, I happened upon a post on Pinterest that claimed to be the recipe for the best cinnamon roll. Thankfully there were many comments from those who had actually used the recipe. They weren't necessarily negative comments but they were enough to push me to continue my search. Yay for me! And thank you Kaitlyn for posting the recipe that really wowed me.

It isn't as if this is a hidden recipe. Actually the original source is allrecipes.com.  I have probably even seen it before since it is highly rated and reviewed on that site.  But for some reason, I had not tried it before.  I have made cinnamon rolls a few times but was never wowed. I even gave up and decided to make a cinnamon roll bread that is no knead.  I like it. It is good.  It's texture is nice.  But I enjoy the satisfaction of actually make a cinnamon roll.

I did make a few changes to the recipe.  Some are very slight changes such as the amount of flour and yeast.  The most noticeable change is simply that I doubled the amount of frosting.  I like more than a slight slather of frosting with my cinnamon rolls.  If you like yours lighter, just half the frosting ingredients.

The filling alone in these is soooo good {you can't go wrong with butter, brown sugar and cinnamon}, it's almost too difficult to decide whether to have them frosted or not.

The Best Cinnamon Rolls Ever
from Kaitlyn Cooks, original from allrecipes.com
1 c milk
1/2 c white sugar
3 tsp yeast
1/3 c butter, melted
2 lg eggs, room temperature
1 tsp salt
4 1/2 ~ 5 1/2 c flour

For Filling
1/3 cup butter, softened
1 c brown sugar*
3 tsp cinnamon

For Frosting
8 oz cream cheese
2 c powdered sugar
2 tsp vanilla
3 tbsp milk

Warm 1 cup of milk to about 115~120F. Place 1/2 cup sugar in bowl of mixer and add milk; stir. Sprinkle yeast on top and stir lightly. Let sit for 5 minutes til foamy {yeast is now activated}. Add butter, eggs and salt to yeast mixture; stir.  Add 2 cups of flour; stir with paddle attachment.  Add another cup of flour and stir.  Switch to dough hook and add the fourth cup of flour.  Knead for a minute; continue to add dough, 1/2 cup at a time, and knead until dough is smooth and not sticky {about 10 minutes of kneading with dough hook}.  Shape dough into a ball and place in a greased glass bowl.  Cover with plastic wrap and place in warm place to rise for 1 hour and 30 minutes.

Roll dough out to about 16x20 inches.  Spread 1/3 c softened butter onto dough.  Combine brown sugar and cinnamon; top buttered dough with cinnamon and brown sugar mix.  Roll from the long edge.  Cut dough into twelve equal pieces.  Transfer to a greased 9x13" baking dish.  Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for 45 minutes.

Preheat oven to 400F.  Bake rolls for 18~20 minutes {unless you like a bit more gooey on the inside, then cut time to 15 minutes}, until golden brown.  While baking, make frosting.  Place softened cream cheese in bowl of stand mixer; blend til smooth.  Add powdered sugar, vanilla and milk.  Mix well, til no lumps are found.  Spoon over warm rolls.

*I suggest light brown sugar, though either dark or light may be used.  Dark brown sugar has a more intense molasses flavor.

The filling is so plentiful that it overflows its spiral housing while it's baked.

Tips and Tricks~
*Have all your ingredients ready~ eggs cracked and ready to use {at room temperature}, butter melted, and sugar in mixing bowl. As the milk and sugar and yeast sit, the temperature will quickly decrease. In order for the yeast to work well in the whole recipe, you want the ingredients to stay warm.
*The original recipe calls for 4 1/2 cups of flour.  I found that each time I have made these, I really need 5 ~ 5 1/2 cups of flour.  Once you have added 4 cups, just watch the dough as you add more, only 1/2 cup at a time.
*The dough doesn't rise a bunch like bread dough, so just let it rise for 1 hour and 30 minutes.  It will be noticeable, but I wouldn't say that it really doubles in size.
*Use very soft butter, almost melted, for spreading on the dough for the filling.  You want it to spread easily.
*Use floss to cut the rolls.  Slide the floss under the rolled dough, bring the strings to the top and cross, then pull quickly to cut through the dough smoothly and without smooshing it.
*When rolling dough out, place the 9x13" baking dish next to it.  You want your dough to roll out a bit larger than the dish.
*To make these ahead, follow directions to the point of rolling, slicing and placing in baking dish.  Instead of letting rise again, cover dish with plastic wrap and put in the refrigerator.  Take out and let sit on counter for 15 minutes.  Place dish in oven and preheat {while the dish is in it}.  Once the oven is preheated, bake for 18 ~ 20 minutes.
*For a less intense cream cheese flavor, add 1/2 cup of softened butter to the softened cream cheese.  Blend til smooth.  Add an additional 1/2 cup powdered sugar to the frosting and mix as directed.  I actually prefer this frosting; it is superb.

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