Cinnamon Rolls

A while back I made the Cinnabon Clone recipe from allrecipes.com, I remember reading the reviews for that recipe and a couple of people mentioning another recipe that they liked better, also from allrecipes.com. So when I decided that I had to have some Cinnamon rolls this weekend I thought I would try the other recipe. Now that I have tried both recipes I think that I prefer the Cinnabon clone recipe, but I'm still in search for a roll with a nice light tender dough. The dough for this recipe turned out to be pretty tough. I kind of new it would be last night when I went to roll it out. It took a lot of work to get the dough to roll out to the right length. The dough wasn't very elastic at all. In the end to get it to roll out properly I sprayed both sides with a little water and held onto the bottom with one hand while I used my other hand to push the rolling pin away from. Sounds complicated? It was. Then on the last rise the rolls wouldn't quite double in size.

Don't get me wrong, the rolls were still pretty tasty. Just not nearly as light and flaky as I would have liked. But be your own judge. Here is the recipe. I only made a few changes and those will be marked in Italics.


Cinnamon Rolls III
(Source: Allrecipes.com)

INGREDIENTS

* 1/4 cup warm water
* 1/4 cup butter, melted
* 1/2 (3.4 ounce) package instant vanilla pudding mix
* 1 cup warm milk
* 1 egg, room temperature
* 1 tablespoon white sugar
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 4 cups bread flour
* 1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
*
* 1/4 cup butter, softened (I added 1/4 tsp vanilla to the butter before spreading on dough)
* 1 cup brown sugar
* 4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
* 3/4 cup chopped pecans (I omitted these)
*
* 1/2 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
* 1/4 cup butter, softened
* 1 cup confectioners' sugar
* 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract (I also used 1/4 tsp lemon extract)
* 1 1/2 teaspoons milk

In the pan of your bread machine, combine water, melted butter, vanilla pudding, warm milk, egg, 1 tablespoon sugar, salt, bread flour and yeast. Set machine to Dough cycle; press Start.
When Dough cycle has finished, turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and roll into a 17x10 inch rectangle. Spread with softened butter. In a small bowl, stir together brown sugar, cinnamon and pecans. Sprinkle brown sugar mixture over dough. (At this point I placed a sheet of parchment paper over the dough and used my rolling pin to press the butter/filling into the dough)
Roll up dough, beginning with long side. Slice into 16 one inch slices and place in 9x13 buttered pan. Let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 45 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
Bake in preheated oven for 15 to 20 minutes. While rolls bake, stir together cream cheese, softened butter, confectioners' sugar, vanilla and milk. Remove rolls from oven and top with frosting.