Cinnabon - Cinnamon Rolls

Perfection!

Look at the center how moist and gooey

"Cinnabon" is known for its delicious and downright incredible cinnamon rolls, which are extremely moist and gooey on the inside and topped off with their special addictive white as snow frosting.  I can recall every visit to the mall with my three children, especially with my oldest daughter, who was 16 at the time, who made Cinnabon a mandatory stop. What sweet memories of her teenage years, where an entire meal for three, would be consumed by her and her alone, and then topped off with a Cinnabon, with not a care in the world about calories.

My daughter and I would sit in the food court at the mall eating our cherished Cinnabon.  Looking back, I will cherish those times we shared, as the Cinnabon gave us a chance to take a few minutes out of our day, and just talk and bond.  My daughter is now 29 years old, recently married, so I set out recreate the ultimate Cinnabon for her, so we could once again take a few moments out of our day, to just enjoy each other's company over a Cinnabon.

I performed a considerable amount  of research and combined a couple of recipes until I achieved the desired result I was looking for a moist, chewy, gooey center, filled with a rich combination of butter and cinnamon.

This recipe was given the stamp of approval by my daughter, so I hope you enjoy.

The sites I used for the recipe are:  The Gordon Family recipe at www.thefreshloaf.com and www.johsuakennon.com.

YieldL  12 large Cinnabon Rolls

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

For the Dough:
1 cup (237 mL) whole warm milk 

2 eggs, room temperature

1/3 cup (76 grams) butter or margarine, melted 

4 1/2 cups all purpose flour (I use King Arthur All Purpose)

1 teaspoon salt (8g)

1/2 cup (100g) white sugar

1 package Active Dry Yeast (1/4 ounce)

For the Filling:

1 cup (220g) dark brown sugar, packed

3 tablespoons (36g) ground cinnamon (I use Vietnemese Cinammon by King Arthur)

1/4  cup (57g) butter or margerine, softened

Spread for the Dough:

1/2 cup (113g) of softened butter or margarine to spread on the dough

For the Icing:

3 oz (85g)  cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup (57g) butter or margarrine, softened

1 1/2 cups (180g) confectioners’ sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/8 teaspoon salt 

dash of lemon extract (optional)  It is claimed that Cinnabon uses lemon extract in their icing, but just a dash.

PROCEDURE:

Microwave the milk for 45 to 60 seconds. Then, dissolve yeast in warm milk in a large bowl. Add sugar, butter, salt, eggs, and flour. Mix well.   Knead the cinnamon roll dough into a large ball. The dough will form a ball quickly, don't overmix.

Put the ball of dough into a bowl that is sprayed with cooking spray.  Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place for roughly 1 hour or until dough has doubled in size.  

Once your dough has risen, it’s time to move on to the next step.  In a new, small bowl, combine brown sugar, cinnamon, and butter.  Mix them well.  Spray a flat surface with cooking spray or sprinkled flour.  Roll out your dough ball into a 16″ x 21″ rectangle roughly 1/4 inches thick then spread a 1/2 cup of softened butter on the dough.  Next, sprinkle the rolled, buttered dough evenly with the sugar/cinnamon/butter mixture you prepared in your small bowl.

Roll up the dough starting with the longer side and cut with a bench scraper or sharp knife cut into twelve (12) cinnamon rolls (or more smaller rolls, if you prefer). Place the cinnamon rolls in a lightly greased 11″ x 15″ glass baking dish. Cover the dish with aluminum foil and let the cinnamon rolls rise until nearly doubled, which should take around 30 minutes.  

Once your cinnamon rolls have risen, bake them in the preheated oven until golden brown, approximately 18 to 20 minutes.  Trust me it is done, don't over bake it, you want a nice gooey, soft center.

The dough should still be soft, though fully cooked, especially toward the center of the rolls. 

Prepare Icing as your cinnamon rolls are baking......

beat together cream cheese, butter, confectioners’ sugar, vanilla extract, and salt for the Cinnabon cinnamon roll icing.  

The icing should be spread on your cinnamon rolls when they are still warm, shortly after being taken out of the oven so that the frosting melts into the cinnamon rolls.  

Enjoy!