What the morning brings. Cinnamon Rolls

I guess morning means different things to different people.  And as many of us know~ not everyone is a morning person.  Me~ I'm a morning person.  I love the quite morning hours before everyone else in the house is awake, getting the pot of coffee on, the sounds and smells as it brews, that first sip.  Now don't get me wrong, I enjoy an occasional morning of sleeping in, but mostly I am a morning person.

The day of the week and the schedule ahead might play a big part in the morning routine.  I have to confess on most common week days I don't tend to make breakfast and the kids really aren't breakfast eaters, I know I know... breakfast is the most important meal of the day!  We just aren't typically hungry first thing in the morning, (maybe its that we're not big cereal or quick breakfast people) but on weekends it's a whole other story.  We love the weekend breakfast or should I say brunch (just because of the time) it can be anything from pancakes, biscuits & gravy, breakfast casserole the list goes on...

Another confession I have to make is I am notorious for eating non-breakfast food for that first meal of the day, leftovers is big on my list of breakfast foods.  I know I know... with so many wonderful options, but I've always been like this- what can I say!!

With a new week around the corner and  being pretty excited about new beginnings I'm about to venture into, I had to bake something.  I love baking!!  I didn't know what to bake, but than I remembered these delicious looking cinnamon rolls I had seen made on a t.v program a few nights ago.  So I went searching for the recipe, checked my frig and pantry to make sure I had all the ingredients and started the cinnamon rolls. 

This was a perfect recipe for today, while the dough sat to rise for 2 hours, I was able to do a few things around the house & also run a few errands. When I got home I was all excited to see my dough and start on the next steps.  Cinnamon rolls...

All baked up & ready to ice!!

Wow they really did smell good baking in the oven.  Here's a few more pictures:

dough in the mixer

 rising

rolling it out

sprinkling on the sugar & spice

let rise 2nd time

 

in the oven

icing the first time

All done.. yum look at the melted sugar & cinnamon

So what does the morning bring?  Well it's a brand new day!  I know sometimes we get in to a routine and it doesn't seem so... but if you're in one of those moods; I suggest baking up a batch of these delicious cinnamon rolls. (recipe below)  I'm excited for my week... I have a brand new adventure ahead of me and well now I have a batch of delicious cinnamon rolls waiting for me, my coffee pot is prepared to brew my coffee right before my alarm goes off... no left overs for me tomorrow & my whole family is excited for Monday morning & cinnamon rolls!  We only had a 1/4 of one each... we're waiting for morning!  What a great way to start a Monday.

Hope everyone has a wonderful week!!

Ultimate Cinnamon Buns

Recipe from Cook's Country

In step 2, if after mixing for 10 minutes the dough is still wet and sticky, add up to ¼ cup flour (a tablespoon at a time) until the dough releases from the bowl. For smaller cinnamon buns, cut the dough into 12 pieces in step 3.
Makes 8 Buns. 

Ingredients:

Dough
3/4     cup whole milk , heated to 110 degrees
1     envelope (2 1/4 teaspoons) instant or rapid-rise yeast
3     large eggs , room temperature
4 1/4     cups all-purpose flour
1/2     cup cornstarch
1/2     cup granulated sugar
1 1/2     teaspoons salt
12     tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter , cut into 12 pieces and softened
Filling
1 1/2     cups packed light brown sugar
1 1/2     tablespoons ground cinnamon
1/4     teaspoon salt
4     tablespoons unsalted butter , softened
Glaze
4     ounces cream cheese , softened
1     tablespoon whole milk
1     teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2     cups confectioners' sugar

Instructions:

      1. For the dough: Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 200 degrees. When oven reaches 200 degrees, shut off. Line 13- by 9-inch baking pan with foil, allowing excess foil to hang over pan edges. Grease foil and medium bowl.

      2. Whisk milk and yeast in liquid measuring cup until yeast dissolves, then whisk in eggs. In bowl of stand mixer fitted with dough hook, mix flour, cornstarch, sugar, and salt until combined. With mixer on low, add warm milk mixture in steady stream and mix until dough comes together, about 1 minute. Increase speed to medium and add butter, one piece at a time, until incorporated. Continue to mix until dough is smooth and comes away from sides of bowl, about 10 minutes. Turn dough out onto clean surface and knead to form a smooth, round ball. Transfer dough to prepared bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and place in warm oven. Let rise until doubled in size, about 2 hours.
 
      3. For the filling: Combine brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt in small bowl. Turn dough out onto lightly floured surface. Following photos 1 and 2 in the related step-by-step, roll dough into 18-inch square, spread with butter, and sprinkle evenly with filling. Starting with the edge nearest you, roll dough into tight cylinder, pinch lightly to seal seam, and, following photo 3, cut into 8 pieces. Transfer pieces, cut-side up, to prepared pan. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in warm spot until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
 
      4. For the glaze and to bake: Heat oven to 350 degrees. Whisk cream cheese, milk, vanilla, and confectioners’ sugar in medium bowl until smooth. Discard plastic wrap and bake buns until deep golden brown and filling is melted, 35 to 40 minutes. Transfer to wire rack and top buns with ½ cup glaze; cool 30 minutes. Using foil overhang, lift buns from pan and top with remaining glaze. Serve.
 
      Make Ahead: After transferring pieces to prepared pan in step 3, buns can be covered with plastic wrap and refrigerated for 24 hours. When ready to bake, let sit at room temperature for 1 hour. Remove plastic wrap and continue with step 4 as directed.

My personnel suggestion after the 1/4 I had was maybe add a little more of the sugar & spice mixture to the dough before rolling... but that would have to depend on how sweet you like them.  I'll have to see after the morning what I think, I'll let you know.