I sacrificed so very much for these cinnamon rolls.  Read all about it.

Never commit to serving a particular dish before you read the entire recipe.  If I had known these would take 4 1/2 hours, I probably would have picked up a can of Pillsbury cinnamon rolls, and I doubt he would have cared.  He just seemed so impressed by the fact that they would be “homemade”.  So am I, now that I know that means getting up at 7 am on a holiday morning.

But there I was.  7 am.  Mixing up the dough for cinnamon rolls.  And in my sleepy state, I might have forgotten to warm the buttermilk, which probably affected the way they didn’t rise all that much until it was time to bake.  Bah!

This recipe is taken from my favorite cookbook ever.  I changed it up just a bit, though, because the filling is a bit much otherwise.

The dough:

• 3/4 cup buttermilk, warm (oh… whoops!)
• 6 Tablespoons butter, melted and cooled until warm
• 3 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 4 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 envelope (2 1/4 teaspoons) instant or rapid-rise yeast
• 1 1/4 teaspoons salt

Whisk the wet ingredients together.  Separately, mix the dry ingredients.  Mix them all together.  Knead until the dough is smooth.  Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and let rise for a couple hours (until doubled in size).

Roll the dough out into a huge rectangle.  Then mix the filling…

• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon

Brush the dough with 1 Tablespoon melted butter.  Sprinkle the filling over this.  Really rub the filling into the dough, otherwise it’ll be a big mess later.  This is bad.

Roll the dough up.  Seal off the ends and turn them under.  Cut the cylinder into 12 equal pieces.  Place in greased pan.  Cover with plastic wrap.  Let rise for about an hour to an hour and a half (until nearly doubled in size).  You’ll bake these in an over preheated to 350 for 25-30 minutes.

In the meantime, make the icing…

• 3 tablespoons cream cheese, softened
• 3 tablespoons buttermilk or milk
• 1 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar

Mix this.  Real good.  Until smooth, it says.  Yup, keep mixing.  Maybe you should use a whisk?

Then wha-bam!  Ice the golden brown suckers!  Then eat them.  ’Cause they’re real good.  See?

Photo by Nathan Clendenin

Do you see that yummy fruit dip?