Katie's Cinnamon Buns

1/2 Cup Sugar

1 1/2 tsp Salt

2 Cups Warm Water (want it bath water warm, not too hot or it will kill your yeast)

1 1/2 Tbsp Yeast

1/2 Cup Oil

2 Eggs

4-5 Cups Flour

Dissolve Sugar and salt in warm water.

Add yeast and mix together.

While yeast is dissolving, mix oil and eggs in a large mixing bowl.  

Add yeast mixture to oil/egg mixture.

Add flour.  Start with 4 Cups.  Add a little more at a time until it's consistency is good.  You want it to be a workable dough with a little bit of stickiness to it still, but not super sticky. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let dough raise 1 hour.

While dough is raising, make filling.

1 Cube Butter (softened, not melted)

3/4 Cup packed brown sugar (Or 1 Cup white sugar with 1 Tbs molasses)

2 1/2 Tbsp Cinnamon

Combine softened butter, sugar and cinnamon in mixer and mix until smooth.

Roll dough out onto floured surface area about 1/2 inch thick.  (I make a rectangle around the size of 11x9. Spread sugar/cinnamon mixture on top of dough.  Roll up dough into jelly roll shape and cut with large pizza cutter or string into 1 1/2 in pieces.  I make 12 pieces all the same size using a pizza cutter... cut into long strips and roll them up one at a time. 

Grease 11x13 pan or large circle pan with butter or oil spray.  Place dough in pan.  (12 fit perfectly on an 11x13 pan). Let rise another hour until the dough is poofing really big and looks ready to bake.

Bake at 350 for 25 minutes.... they will be browned on top, don't worry they aren't burned.

While baking make frosting.

2 Cups powdered sugar

2 oz butter

4 oz cream cheese

1/2 tsp vanilla

If the frosting is too stiff add a little milk until it's the right consistency to spread easily over of the rolls.  Spread it on right when they come out and are still pretty warm so that it melts down in all the cracks.

Makes 12 rolls. 

RASPBERRY FILLING

Follow the same dough instructions. 

While the dough is raising make the filling. 

4 Tbsp butter softened

1/2 cup brown sugar 

Mix until smooth and set aside.

In a bowl stir to combine

2 cups frozen raspberries (they need to be frozen or mostly frozen.... or it gets too wet)

1/4 cup white sugar

Zest of a small lemon

1tsp corn starch.  

When your dough is rolled out, spread the brown sugar and butter evenly across. Then add the raspberry mixture on top spreading out evenly. 

These ones are a little messier so it’s best to roll up all together and use a string or floss to cut evenly into 12 rolls. 

Continue following the instructions above to finish. 

*For the frosting, I use fresh squeezed lemon juice instead of vanilla and milk. About half a lemon.

ORANGE ROLLS 

Follow the same dough instructions except add the zest of one large orange and 1/4 cup fresh squeezed orange juice. 

While the dough is raising make the filling.

4Tbsp soft butter

1/2 cute white sugar 

Zest of large orange. 

Combine ingredients in the mixer to make a paste.

Roll out your dough and spread the filling on evenly. Follow the directions above for rolling and baking. 

For the frosting you can use the same cream cheese frosting or add a bit of fresh orange juice to it for more orange flavor. 

MAKE AHEAD ROLLS!!!

There are a few methods to making cinnamon rolls ahead of time. My favorite way is to make the rolls the night before all the way up until they are rolled and sitting on the pan. Instead of letting them raise, cover them tightly with plastic wrap that has been sprayed with cooking oil. Put them directly in the fridge. They can stay in the fridge to raise for up to 24 hours. 

When ready to bake them..

Pull out the rolls and remove the plastic wrap. Place the cold pan into the cold oven. Preheat the oven to 350 with the rolls inside. Once the oven is preheated, leave the rolls in and set the timer to bake for 23 minutes. Check them and make sure they look ready or give them a few more minutes if needed. 

This method isn’t fool proof, but I’ve never had any problems with them raising. 

If you don’t want to chance that method.... take the rolls out of the fridge and let them come to room temperature. Takes a little over an hour. Then place them in a preheated oven as normal to bake.