Irresistable Homemade Cinnamon Rolls (and a Winner)

Twice a year, my church has an event called General Conference. This is an opportunity for us to listen to the words of a living prophet and apostles (more information here). It is a spiritual feast and honestly, it has become one of my favorite times of the year. When our kids were little we started watching from home via the internet rather than going to church to watch the satellite broadcast there. We found that with young kids we could just get more out of it at home than we would if we were trying to keep our kids quiet so as to not disturb those around us. We have fun activities like "Conference Squares" (like BINGO), coloring, puzzles and other quiet games to get the kids listening and involved but still entertained.

And we have treats. Lots of treats. Treats for the October sessions usually include m&ms, apple slices, fresh vegetables and dip, Rotel dip and chips, my mother-in-law's famous caramel corn and those little Hershey's miniatures that have Special Dark, Hershey's, Mr. Goodbars and Krackels in the mix (the Mr. Goodbars are always the first to go with the Krackels not far behind). I typically make breakfast casserole on Saturday night so we can enjoy it for brunch Sunday morning, and this year we added a new treat to our repertoire: homemade cinnamon rolls, for the win! I think we have our newest tradition, folks.

I had a few requests for the recipe so I'm posting it here. These are the cinnamon rolls my mom made when I was growing up and I have lots of happy memories of Christmas mornings and other special occasions made even more special by the presence of these cinnamon rolls. They are melt-in-your-mouth delicious. The recipe makes two dozen good sized rolls and my family of six devoured them faster than you can say "the diet starts tomorrow".

Here's the recipe.
The Rolls:
--2 cakes yeast (Do they even make cakes of yeast any more? I just use 2 packets or the equivalent thereof).
--1 Tablespoon sugar
--Warm water to dissolve yeast
--1 cup milk (I used powdered since I was out of regular milk and it worked great--I honestly couldn't taste the difference in the finished product)
--1/2 cup Mazola or Wesson oil (I just use Canola or whatever I have)
--1/2 cup white sugar
--3 eggs
--1 teaspoon salt (I use Kosher)
--4 to 5 cups flour, sifted

The Filling:
--Softened butter
--Brown sugar
--Cinnamon
--Chopped pecans (optional)
--Raisins (optional)

Place the yeast in a cup. Add one tablespoon of sugar. Barely cover the yeast and the sugar with warm water. Scald the milk (I just do this in the microwave for a minute or two until a skin forms--very easy). Add the oil and sugar to the scalded milk. Place the mixture into a large mixing bowl. Add the eggs and salt. Mix until smooth; add 2 cups of flour. Add the yeast mixture. Beat 4-5 minutes on medium speed. Add 2 more cups of flour. Knead the flour into the mixture with a dough hook. Add the last bit of flour, if needed and mix well. Put the entire mixture into a large greased bowl. Cover it with a clean cloth, and let the dough rise until doubled in bulk. Divide the dough in half. Roll one half the dough into a 1/2 inch thick rectangle (about 12 inches long). Spread with 1 stick of softened butter (I actually used a little less and used some of the butter to grease my baking sheet and some to make the cream cheese frosting), sprinkle liberally with brown sugar and cinnamon and nuts or raisins, if desired. Roll from the long side of the rectangle into a roll. Mark rolls (about an inch thick) and cut with thread. Repeat the process with the other half of the dough. Let the rolls rise on a greased cookie sheets until doubled (I covered them with a clean dish towel). Bake at 375 to 400 degrees for 10 minutes or until golden (I did mine at 375 for 12 minutes and they were just how I like them). While they are still warm, frost with cream cheese icing or a simple glaze made of butter, milk, vanilla and powdered sugar. Yield: 24 rolls.

The Cream Cheese Icing:
--4 ounces cream cheese, softened
--3 tablespoons butter, softened
--1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
--1 teaspoon vanilla
--a couple tablespoons of milk (you can just kind of tell how much)
Blend the cream cheese and butter until fluffy. Add the vanilla. Add powdered sugar alternating with milk until the icing is a pretty thin consistency. You want it to kind of melt and run over the rolls and seep down in the cracks to make

them extra gooey and delicious.
My first batch had thicker frosting, the second batch I thinned it out a bit more. Both were equally delicious, the thinner icing just kind of gets in the nooks and crannies a little bit better, in my opinion

First batch: thicker icing. Really tasty but I prefer the icing a little thinner.

Second batch thinner icing--this is how I like it. It just depends on your personal preference.

I love these with pecans, but personally I wouldn't ruin them with raisins. ;) I did one batch with nuts and one without since my husband is allergic to tree nuts.
Autumn is the perfect time for cinnamon rolls. Try some soon. If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment and I'll answer to the best of my ability.

 Also, I did choose a winner last Friday for my 100,000 views giveaway, I just never got around to posting it. I still have boxes to unpack. This is my life right now. Sorry to any who have been waiting on pins and needles. So, without further ado, the winner is . . .

TANYA!

Woohoo! So happy for you, girl. Tanya has been a faithful reader of my blog for a while now and we have become virtual buddies so I'm glad her name was picked by random.org. Of course her odds were pretty good with only five people entering. :/
Message me your address, Tanya, and I'll get a little care package in the mail for you some time in the next six months. Ha ha. I promise I'll do my best to make it sooner than that. ;)