Eat A Dozen in One Sitting Cinnamon Rolls

Well, maybe not a dozen, but I made 32 of these for our small congregation last week, and I came home with two empty pans. (Pastor Jones polished off a fair share, and I unsuccessfully struggled against doing likewise.)

This is the best cinnamon roll recipe I've yet come across, bar none. I'll have to post a yummy sticky bun recipe sometime, too, now that the weather outdoors calls for warm bellies.

First things first, you MUST make the cream cheese topping.  I highly recommend you double it.  The rolls would not be the same without it.

1 cup warm milk
2 eggs, room temperature
1/3 cup margerine, melted
4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (bread flour can also be used)
1 tsp. salt
1/2 cup sugar
2 1/2 tsp yeast

In a small bowl, dissolve the yeast, salt, and a few tablespoons of the sugar with the milk. Let sit until foamy. Sift remaining sugar into the flour and lightly mix the eggs and melted margerine. Mix all ingredients together and knead until smooth and elastic. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled. Turn onto a lightly floured surface, cover, and let rest for ten minutes.

Meanwhile, combine 1 cup brown sugar and 2 1/2 tablespoons cinnamon in a small bowl.

Roll dough into a 16" by 21" rectangle and spread with 1/3 cup softened butter. Sprinkle evenly with the brown sugar mixture. Roll up the dough, pinch the seam shut with your fingers, and cut into 16 rolls. (I use a small length of dental floss to easily cut the dough into rolls. Simply wrap the floss around the roll and pull the floss ends together. This cleanly cuts the dough without any fuss.) Place the rolls in a lightly greased 9x13 pan. Cover and let rise until nearly doubled (@ 30 minutest) while preheating oven to 400 degrees. Bake about 15 minutes, until golden brown on top.

Topping:
Mix 3 oz. cream cheese, softened, 1/4 cup softened buter, 1 1/2 cups confectioner's sugar, 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla, and 1/8 teaspoon salt together until a smooth consistency is reached. After taking the rolls out of the oven, slather them.
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TIPS:
1. I usually make these rolls the night before and, after shaping them and placing them in the pan, I let them finish their second rising overnight in the refrigerator. The next morning, I pull the rolls out of the refrigerator about 15-30 minutes before I need to pop them in the oven. Voila! Sleeping in and fresh cinnamon rolls for breakfast can be achieved.

2. DON'T OVERBAKE THESE. The first three times I made them, I thought that they looked too gooey in the middle even though they were golden brown. I ended up with dry rolls. If you don't overbake them, they have a similar texture (and taste) to Cinnabons.

3. The frosting for these is so darn tasty that I usually at least double the amount it calls for. Then I top the rolls with as much as I deem appropriate and save the rest for people to slather on their individual rolls.
Soooooooo good.