Homemade Cinnabon Cinnamon Rolls

This turned out way better than I was expecting. I have been experimenting recently with homemade yeast rolls, so I wasn't so worried about the yeast part as much as I was about how soft the dough would come out. I am NOT a fan of hard rolls or any hard dough of any kind. So, when I saw this recipe had Jello pudding incorporated into it, I knew it had to be a slightly softer dough. And it WAS! YUM! The dough itself has a slight sweetness to it minus the yummy cream cheese icing, so even if you don't want a ton of icing, they are still really good by themselves.

Here I am below adding the butter, cinnamon and brown sugar to the dough.

Here they are on the pan about to rise again one last time before being tossed into the oven. You can see in this photo that the dough is not very tightly wound together. I would say that is one thing I would do different next time is make sure the dough is tightly wound as much as possible. I think that would have helped them not to spread as much in the cooking process. So, now you have a heads up for when you bake them!

The finished product! A soft, sweet dough with a thick cream cheese icing on top. Made for a large appetite! Here is the recipe below if you are brave enough! =0)

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup warm water
• 2 pkg. dry yeast
• 2 tablespoon sugar
• 3 1/2 oz. pkg vanilla pudding mix
• 1/2 cup margarine, melted
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 6 cups flour

Filling:
• 1 cup butter, softened
• 2 cups light brown sugar
• 4 teaspoons cinnamon

Preparation:

Mix water, yeast, and sugar together until yeast and sugar are dissolved. Set aside. In a large bowl prepare pudding mix according to package directions. Add margarine, eggs and salt; mix to blend well. Add yeast mixture and blend well. Gradually add flour; transfer to a lightly floured surface and knead dough until smooth. Place in a greased bowl; cover and let rise until doubled. Punch down dough and let rise again.

Roll out on a floured surface. Take 1 cup soft butter and spread over surface. In a bowl mix 2 cups brown sugar and 4 teaspoons Cinnamon; sprinkle over the top. Roll up tightly. Put a notch every 2 inches. Cut with thread or a sharp knife. Place cinnamon rolls on lightly greased cookie sheet 2 inches apart; lightly press each roll down. Cover and let rise to double again.

Bake at 350° for 15 to 20 minutes. Remove when they start to turn golden - don't overbake. Frost warm rolls with a cream cheese frosting. Makes about 20 large Cinnabon-like Cinnamon Rolls.

Cream Cheese Frosting:

• 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
• ½ cup margarine, softened
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 3 cups confectioners’ sugar
• 1 tablespoon milk

Mix all ingredients together with a mixer until smooth. Spread over warm cinnamon rolls.