Cream Cheese Cinnamon Rolls with Cream Cheese Icing -- Need I say more?

Mmmmmm. The smell of hot cinnamon rolls. Nothing quite like it. The other day my husband came home from the mall and said he wanted cinnamon rolls. 

This is quite startling because he is not a sweets person. He loves crunchy salty stuff. 

Of course I jumped on this chance to make them. What better reason? He asked for them! HA! I will use any reason to bake something yummy like cinnamon rolls. 

Yeast, the Bane of my Existence

Those of you that have read my blog from the beginning know that yeast doesn't like me. For the life of me, I cannot make it activate on my own no matter what I do. I have used thermometers to make sure the temperature is right, sugar, scalded milk, heated milk, water, etc. Nothing works for me. I even had my Mom try to help me to no avail. 

I have given up and purchased a bread machine. I use it to make my sweet bread. If, however, yeast likes you, you can use any sweet bread recipe. Here is a good one. You can substitute some spelt flour for half of the white and sucanut instead of the sugar. Use your favorite healthy substitutes. 

When you start to make your dough, pull a stick of butter or tub container and n 8 oz package of cream cheese out of the refrigerator so they can come to room temperature. 

Cream Cheese Cinnamon Rolls with Cream Cheese Frosting

• 1 Batch sweet dough
• 1/2 Stick butter (you might not use the whole thing)
• 1 8oz package cream cheese (or lower fat Neufchâtel) divided
• 1/2 - 3/4 Cup brown sugar or sucanat
• 2-4 Tablespoons cinnamon
• 1 Cup Powdered Sugar
• 2 Tablespoons Milk
• 1 teaspoon almond or vanilla extract

After the dough has finished it's first rise, punch it down and roll it out. I wipe my counter off and while it's damp cover with 2 large pieces of saran wrap. The moisture makes the wrap stick to the counter top and the wrap makes cleanup so much easier. You can dust the surface with a little flour if the dough seems sticky. Otherwise, just roll until the dough is in a rectangle, about 10" x 18".  

Filling

Use the room temperature butter and spread butter on the rolled out dough. It

doesn't need to be consistent or evenly spread. Just don't leave large un-buttered spots as those will be drier when they cook. 

Cut small chunks of cream cheese (about a teaspoon) and drop the chunks onto the dough. See the picture for what it will look like. I used about 3 ounces of cream cheese in the filling. The rest is used to make the frosting.

After you have dropped dollops of cream cheese all over the rolled out dough it's time to sprinkle the brown sugar or sucanat. Cover the entire surface of the dough all the way to the edges. If you like your cinnamon rolls sweet, use 3/4 cup. If you like them less sweet, use 1/2 cup.


Sprinkle the cinnamon over the brown sugar or sucanat all the way to the edges. If you like cinnamon, use 3 or 4 Tablespoons. If you like less cinnamon flavor, use 2 Tablespoons. If you aren't sure, start with 3 Tablespoons and adjust the recipe the next time you make them. 

Roll it up

Start on the long end and roll it up. If you start on a short end you will have fewer but fatter rolls. Just start slowly and keep the roll even. When you get it to the end, pinch the dough so that the end seals to the roll. You are ready to cut it. 

Use a serrated knife and cut the end off. The end will be oddly shaped but don't worry about that. It will still taste good. If you are using these for a party, consider the ends your tasters. 

Slice the rolls about ever 1 1/2 inches and gently place them in a greased pan. I used a 9" x 13" pan. Leave space between the rolls so that they can rise. 

When you cut the rolls you can see the white chunks of cream cheese. YUM.

Put the pan of rolls in a warm place to rise for about 45 minutes. I used my oven. I turned it on to warm for just a couple of minutes while I sliced the rolls then turned it off and put the rolls in. You don't want it too hot (if the oven feels hot when you open the door, it's too hot). 

After about 45 minutes, your rolls will double in size and fill the pan.

Pull the pan out of the oven and turn the oven on to preheat. Set the heat at 350'. 


When you oven is preheated, pop the pan into the oven and cook for 20 minutes or until light golden brown on the top. If you tap on the top of a roll, it should sound a little hollow. 

Cream Cheese Frosting

Put the remainder of the cream cheese in a bowl. Add in 2/3 of the powdered sugar and stir. If the frosting gets too thick, add in a tablespoon of milk. If it is thin or not sweet enough, add in more powdered sugar. Beat until all ingredients are combined. Add in a teaspoon of either almond extract or vanilla extract depending on your preference. 


 
Your rolls should now be cool enough to frost. My husband doesn't like frosting (I know! More for me!) so I frosted them as I plated mine and left the pan unfrosted. You can see I mixed my frosting in a bowl with lid for easy storage. If you have leftover frosting or are not frosting the whole pan, store the frosting in the refrigerator.  


Hope you enjoy cinnamon rolls as much as I do. Time for me to have a snack! 

Laureen