'Cinnabon' Cinnamon Buns

I had the biggest craving for Cinnabons last Sunday, but with the nearest Cinnabon shop 45 minutes away, I opted to find a recipe and make it instead. Now this is just an inkling, but I think I don't actually like the Cinnabon cinnamon buns themselves, although they are very good. I mean, I've tried many recipes before, and all cinnamon rolls - at it core "dough and cinnamon" foundation - tastes about the same. I think what I actually like is the Cinnabon frosting, which is sort of the traditional butter, cream cheese, and confectioners sugar frosting. But I feel that tiny bit of tang from the cream cheese really cuts the sweetness, making for an absolutely addictive cinnamon roll.

I thought this recipe was very similar to the real Cinnabons, but the dough could have been a bit softer. I know Cinnabon probably slathers on a ton more butter that this recipe calls for, so that might be something you can do at home. However, I also used King Arthur Bread Flour because bread flour was what the recipe called for. King Arthur is known to have a lot more protein/gluten content in their flour, so that definitely made for a tougher dough. I would maybe try to either do this entirely with all purpose flour next time or maybe do a half and half combination. It's just that with the bread flour, I felt the dough hardly rose because of the tougher structure, and rolling it out became a pain because of the bread dough's tendency to retract. The directions call for a bread machine, but if you don't have that, make sure to knead the dough for at least 5 minutes until everything is combined before letting it rest.

A note is that I cut this recipe in half to make 6 cinnamon rolls, but you can always double to make more. However, when you do roll out the dough, make sure that the length stays at around 21 inches. It is the width that changes since that will be what you use to divide up the cinnamon rolls.

Warm half cup of milk slightly before adding yeast

Instant dry yeast

Mix dry ingredients in bowl: salt, sugar, bread flour, and yeast

Mix wet ingredients in mixer: milk, eggs, and butter

Combine dry ingredients until dough comes together on dough hook

Dough ball resting

Make cinnamon sugar for filling

Make sure surface is well floured before rolling out dough

Roll dough 21 inches long and 8 inches wide (for 6 cinnamon rolls)

Slather with butter

Sprinkle on cinnamon sugar

Using a ruler, divide up buns evenly

Cut using a sharp knife

Arrange buns in pan making sure to leave sufficient room for expansion

While cinnamon buns are baking, prepare the cream cheese frosting by creaming the butter and cream cheese with sugar, salt, and some vanilla

Baked cinnamon buns

Slather with frosting and they're ready to eat!

INGREDIENTS

For Dough - 1/2 cup warm milk - 1 eggs - 2 tablespoons and 2 teaspoons margarine, melted - 2 1/4 cups bread flour - 1/2 teaspoon salt - 1/4 cup white sugar - 1 1/4 teaspoons bread machine yeast For Cinnamon Sugar - 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed - 1 tablespoon and 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon - 2 tablespoons and 2 teaspoons butter softened For Cream Cheese Frosting - 1/2 package cream cheese, softened - 2 tablespoons butter, softened - 3/4 cup confectioners' sugar - 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract - 1/8 teaspoon salt

DIRECTIONS 1. Place ingredients in the pan of the bread machine in the order recommended by the manufacturer. Select dough cycle. 2. After the dough has doubled in size turn it out onto a lightly floured surface, cover and let rest for 10 minutes. In a small bowl, combine brown sugar and cinnamon. 3. Roll dough into a 16x21-inch rectangle. Spread dough with 1/3 cup butter and sprinkle evenly with sugar/cinnamon mixture. Roll up dough and cut into 12 rolls. Place rolls in a lightly greased 9x13 inch baking pan. Cover and let rise until nearly doubled, about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400 degrees F. 4. Bake rolls in preheated oven until golden brown, about 15 minutes. While rolls are baking, beat together cream cheese, 1/4 cup butter, confectioners' sugar, vanilla extract and salt. Spread frosting on warm rolls before serving.