I've been using this recipe since I got it at a Tupperware party in the 70's! LOL

Cinnamon Rolls

2 pkg yeast
2 cups warm water
Box of white cake mix
4 cups flour

Filling

1 stick butter or margarine (melted)
Sugar to your taste *
Cinnamon to your taste *
Walnuts (optional)

Vanilla Frosting

* I keep a big shaker bottle of sugar/cinnamon mixture in the cupboard for toast, cereal, etc., not sure of the exact ratio.

Dissolve 2 pkgs yeast in 2 cups of warm water in large bowl. Add box of cake mix and 4 cups of flour. Mix well. Let rise to double, about one hour (in my oven, just barely turned on).
Roll flour mixture into large rectangle on a floured surface, to about 1/4 to ½ inch thick. Pour melted butter along center of rectangle and spread to edges until entire surface is covered with butter. Sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon (I spread it on pretty thick) and add nuts if desired. Very gently roll the rectangle into one (lengthwise) log. I use a floured spatula to lift and roll, lift and roll, etc. Cut roll into 3/4 inch slices. Let your rolls rise for another 45 minutes and bake 20 minutes at 350 degrees. Frost with vanilla frosting while still warm.

You can't go wrong with Ann T's recipe.....

Cinnamon Rolls (Buns) - Ann T
=====================
From Joy of Baking

Dough:
4-1/2 to 5 cups all-purpose " flour
1 Package active dry yeast
1 Cup milk
1/3 Cup "" butter
1/3 Cup sugar
1/2 Teaspoon salt
"3 eggs
Filling:
3/4 Cup packed brown"sugar
1/4 Cup all-purpose " flour
1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon
1/2 Cup" butter
1/2 Cup light raisins (optional)
1 Tablespoon half-and-half
1 recipe Powdered Sugar Glaze
In a large mixing bowl combine 2 1/4 cups of the flour and the yeast. In a
small saucepan heat the milk, the 1/3 cup butter, 1/3 cup sugar, and salt
just till warm (120 degrees to 130 degrees)and butter is almost melted,
stirring constantly. Add to flour mixture. Add eggs. Beat on low speed for
30 seconds, scraping sides of bowl. Beat on high speed for 3 minutes. Using
a wooden spoon, stir in as much of the remaining 2 1/4 to 2 3/4 cups flour
as you can. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead in enough
of the remaining flour to make a moderately soft dough that is smooth and
elastic (3 to 5 minutes). Shape into a ball. Place in a greased bowl,
turning once. Cover; let rise in a warm place till double (about 1 - 1 1/2
hours). For filling, combine brown sugar, the 1/4 cup flour, and cinnamon.
Cut in remaining butter with a pastry blender until mixture is crumbly. Set
aside. Punch dough down. Turn onto a lightly floured surface. Cover and let
rest for 10 minutes. Roll the dough into a 12 inch square. Sprinkle filling
over dough square; top with raisins (if desired). Roll up jelly-roll style;
pinch edges to seal. Slice roll into eight 1 1/2 inch pieces. Arrange dough
pieces, cut side up, in a greased 12 x 9 x 2 inch baking pan. Cover dough
loosely with clear plastic wrap, leaving room for rolls to rise. Refrigerate
dough for 2 to 24 hours. Uncover and let stand at room temperature for 30
minutes. (If you are making the cinnamon rolls immediately, don’t chill
dough. Instead, cover loosely, let dough rise in a warm place till nearly
double, about 45 minutes.) Break any surface bubbles with a greased
toothpick. Brush dough with a half-and-half. Bake in a 375 degree oven to 25
to 30 minutes or till light brown. If necessary to prevent over-browning.,
cover rolls loosely with foil the last 5 to 10 minutes of baking. Remove
rolls from oven. Brush again with half-and-half. Cool 5 minutes. Invert onto
a baking rack and invert again onto a plate. Can drizzle with Powdered Sugar
Glaze. Serve warm. Makes 8 rolls.
Note: I prefer a Cream Cheese icing.
1/4 cup butter
1 cup cream cheese
Vanilla
Cream together and add enough icing/powder sugar to make a creamy icing.
Powdered Sugar Glaze:
In a bowl stir together 1 1/4 cups sifted powdered sugar, 1 teaspoon light corn syrup, 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract and enough half-and-half (1 to 2 tablespoons) to make the glaze thin enough to drizzle over cinnamon rolls.

You can't go wrong with Linda's recipe either.

posted by: lindac on 11.16.2009
Mrs. Avery’s Rolls

2C Scalded Milk, cooled to warm temperature
3T Shortening or Butter, Melted
½ C Sugar
1 t salt
2 eggs, beaten
2 pkgs yeast (or 1T bulk yeast)
1/3 warm water
4-5 cups flour

Dissolve the yeast in the warm water (about 105 degrees) with a teaspoon of the sugar, wait until it foams. While waiting for the yeast to foam, mix the milk, butter, remaining sugar and salt. After the yeast foams, add the yeast mixture to it, and the two beaten eggs to the mixture. Either by hand or in a stand mixer, blend in flour a cup at a time until the dough is soft and fairly sticky. Turn onto a floured board and knead just until the dough is no longer sticky, but is smooth and satiny.

Let rise until doubled, punch down, knead a little, then shape into rolls. Bake at 350 until golden. May brush with egg wash or butter and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Also good rolled in butter and cinnamon sugar. Dough is a good base dough for a variety of sweet breads like cinnamon rolls or brioche.

For sticky buns:
Have about 1/2 a pound of soft butter handy before you begin
For sticky buns, let the dough rest about 20 minutes, divide into 3 pieces and roll or pat out 1/3 into a rectangle abut 1/3 of an inch thick...spread thickly with soft butter, and sprinkle generously with brown sugar and cinnamon...some add pecans here and raisins but my family prefers them without.
Roll up the dough starting with the long side and seal the edges.
Take one of the pans and spread thickly with butter (do you sense a trend here??), cover with brown sugar and drizzle with honey in a zig zag pattern using about 1 1/2 tablespoons. You can use syrup if you choose...the object is to keep the bottom of the buns sticky after baking.
Cut your dough roll into 1 1/4 inch pieces (about 12 pieces) and set into the prepared pan, cut side up. Cover with Saran and proceed with the other pieces of dough in like manner.
Preheat oven to 350....remove saran and bake rolls (bake the first pan first as it should have risen by now) for 20 to 25 minutes until nicely browned....
Turn out onto serving plate as soon as you remove from the oven.
I like to leave those pans of rolls that I won't be using immediately in the pans, cool about 20 minutes, wrap very well with foil and freeze.
When ready to use them, place in a 300 oven (still frozen) for about 45 minutes. Place in the middle of the oven so they don't scorch on the bottom.
Turn out on to a serving plate and they are almost as good as the first time.

My favorite are the Pioneer Woman's cinnamon rolls. They are one of my most popular baked goods that I sell.

Is this the one Chi? This is the one my niece uses.

Here is a link that might be useful: Pioneer Woman's Cinammon Rolls

Just got back online this afternoon after our computer's power cord self-destructed the end of last week to add my favorite - Pioneer Woman also. I switched 2-3 years ago to her recipe and haven't looked back. Beautiful every time and so ridiculously easy.

/tricia

Yes, thanks Teresa! People pay $80 for a batch of these so they are beloved. :)

angelaid-that is an interesting recipe. Does the cake mix give them a texture like a restaurant mix cinnamon roll dough or is it like a "from scratch roll dough"

caliloo:thanks for the ann t's recipe-her food pictures always look mouthwatering!

ann t: thanks for lindac's recipe. I thought of her when I posted this.

chi,teresa &tricia: with three of you recommending these, they must be good. I just read some of the reviews. Do you like the caramel icing or do you use confectioners sugar/cream cheese icing? and why is there baking powder and baking soda as well as yeast? just curious.

Thanks for all of your replies- now for some time to experiment!

I usually just use Grandma's bread recipe for my cinnamon rolls because that's what I grew up eating and what I like. No frosting, just some butter, please, and no gooey sticky stuff or pecans either. (shrug) Hey, I'm a purist when it comes to my cinnamon rolls.

I made this one for a forum get together, though, and it was very well liked, and I've made it several times since. I actually made it ahead of time for the forum, froze the unbaked rolls, then took them out of the freezer in the morning, let them thaw and rise a bit more, then baked and it worked very well.

I always use butter because I like the flavor better, I always have it on hand and I try to avoid the hydrogenated stuff. I like milk in my cinnamon roll dough, it makes a lighter "fluffier" roll and helps keep the crust softer and if you don't have milk on hand you can use dry milk. I like brown sugar in the filling, but not in the dough itself as much. It does give the filling a "caramel-ly" flavor.

CINNABON CINNAMON ROLLS

*********Rolls**********
1 package active dry yeast (I used 3 tsp of bulk yeast)
1 cup warm milk -- (105 to 110)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1/3 cup butter -- melted
4 cups all purpose flour
**********Filling************
1 Cup packed brown sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons Cinnamon
1/3 cup butter -- softened
*********Icing************
8 tablespoons (1) butter -- softened
1 1/2 cups powered sugar
1/4 cup (2 oz) cream cheese
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 salt

1. For the rolls, dissolve the yeast in the warm milk in a large bowl.
2. Add the sugar, margarine, salt, eggs, and flour, and mix well
3. Knead the dough into a large ball, using your hands dusted lightly with flour.
Put in bowl, cover and let rise in a warm place about 1 hour, or until the dough has doubled.
4. Roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface. Roll dough flat until it is approximately 21 inches long and 16 inches wide. It should be about 1/4 inch thick.
5. Preheat oven to 400 degrees
6. For the filling, combine the brown sugar and cinnamon in a bowl. Spread the softened margarine evenly over the surface of the dough, and then sprinkle the cinnamon and sugar evenly over the surface.
7. Working carefully from the top ( a21-inch side), roll the dough in the bottom edge.
8. Cut the rolled dough into 1 3/4-inch slices and place 6 at a time evenly spaced in a lightly greased baking pan. Bake for 10 minutes or until light brown on top
9. While the rolls bake, combine the icing ingredients. Beat well with an electric mixer until fluffy.
10. When the rolls come out of the oven, coat each generously with icing.

Annie

I use the same recipe as Ann T. Luscious, big and yummy!

The good news, nearly any enriched bread dough can be used for cinnamon rolls. Enriching ingredients include fats, dairy, sweeteners, eggs, and occasionally mashed potatoes. Mashed potatoes help to maintain the moisture in the dough when in the dry environment of the refrigerator when you make overnight cinnamon rolls. The classic "Potato Refrigerator Dough" recipe from Betty Crocker is an excellent dough for Overnight Caramel-Pecan Rolls. Betty Crocker recipe for Sweet Roll Dough is another great recipe shared since the late 1930's. Each enriching ingredient brings something different to the taste, texture and browning.

Two tablespoons of sugar per cup of flour in the recipe is about the maximum you can add without gluten damage. If you are using honey in the recipe, two tablespoons per cup is the maximum. Too much honey can actually kill yeast because it's anti-microbial, and just like too much sugar it will affect gluten development.

If there is a large amount of milk in the recipe be sure to scald it and cool before adding it to your recipe to alter the whey protein that can affect the dough. Too much milk in the dough can affect the cellular structure and texture if you don't scald it first.

Another good choice as a sweet bread recipe is Classic Challah Egg Bread. The recipe linked below is one I first tried out of Beth Hensperger's "Bread Made Easy" book and is great for beginners since it's easy to handle. The eggs give some extra leavening power and it is a very forgiving dough for forming. Because it's sweetened with honey it's also a good recipe to freeze.

The sweet dough recipe for Classic Challah Egg Bread has many uses as loaves, braids, cinnamon swirl bread, cinnamon rolls, rum raisin-cinnamon breakfast sweet rolls, dinner knots (rolls) and even hamburger buns (the high amount of sugar in commercial burger buns is what makes the crust so dark). The recipe makes a lot of dough so you can make a number of things from the same recipe. Any day-old bread from this recipe makes great French Toast or bread pudding.

Two tips....
1. Form your dough on a Silpat and you won't need any bench flour and the dough won't stick.

2. Roll the dough into a log. I use the Silpat as a guide for a 12-inch log using 1-1/2# of dough (or approx. 3-cups of flour in the recipe). Using a ruler as a guide and a sharp knife or kitchen scissors, score the dough every inch on the top of the dough log to mark it. Cut the dough with a 12-inch piece of dental floss. Slide the floss under the first 1-inch of dough. Crisscross the floss on top. Now pull the ends of the floss until it cuts through the dough.

-Grainlady

Here is a link that might be useful: Classic Challah Egg Bread

angelaid-that is an interesting recipe. Does the cake mix give them a texture like a restaurant mix cinnamon roll dough or is it like a "from scratch roll dough"

Not sure. I haven't had any other roll since I started making these. They seem a little heavier than those I've seen at the donut shops. (Where you can grab an end and start unrolling it to the center)

Dang, now I want a cinnamon roll ... lol

annie:sounds like a great recipe-thanks!

beachlily: good to have a second "yes" vote for ann t's recipe.

grainlady: thanks for all of that info. I love to know the theory behind why we do things in cooking. Still don't understand why pioneerlady's recipe needs/uses yeast, baking soda and baking powder. I must try challah bread sometime just to be able to make french toast and bread pudding, have heard it is so good.

When chemical leaveners (baking powder and baking soda) are added to a yeast bread they serve the same purpose - produce carbon dioxide gas - as when we add it to help leaven cakes, quick breads, muffins, pancakes, etc.... to give more lift. The baking powder will give you a very light roll, normally because the dough has more sugar in it than you can normally use in a yeast bread, which I explained above.

In the recipe that uses a white cake mix, that contains flour milled from low-protein soft wheat, and when combined with high-protein bread flour (which is milled from hard wheat) it will make a nice soft crumb like commercial bread has. This is also why using all-purpose flour for soft dinner rolls and cinnamon rolls is generally the flour of choice - it's milled from both soft and hard wheat varieties. If you want hard rolls, which are so great with soup, use high-protein bread flour.

-Grainlady

Here is "my" recipe and I just adore them:

Sarah Keck's Cinnamon Buns

1 egg
3/4 cup of milk, scalded
4 T margarine
1/3 cup white sugar
1/4 t. salt
1 package of dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water
3 - 31/2 c flour

soft butter
cinnamon
1/4 cup sugar

Melt the margarine, sugar and salt in the scalded milk. Let cool. Beat the egg and stir into the milk mixture. Dissove the yeast in the warm water and add to milk.

Add two cups of the flour and beat smooth. Add 1 - 1 and a half cups more flour and beat until batter becomes stiff.

Turn the batter out on a floured wax paper, cover it with a bowl and let it rest 10 minutes. Then knead with floured hands, adding small amounts of flour until the dough becomes smooth and not sticky.

Place the dough in a large (6 quart) bowl (not plastic) or stainless steel pan and cover it with greased wax paper. Let it rise two hours in a warm place (about 85 degrees) until it is double its bulk. Then let it rise another hour.

Take half the dough and hand knead it into a rough 12 by 8 inch oblong. Spread with soft butter and sprinkle generously with cinnamon and 1/4 cup sugar. Roll it up and cut into 12 equal segments and place in either two 9-inch or 3 8-inch cake pans which have been prepared as follows:

1 T butter
3T dark Karo
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup sliced pecans or raisins

Melt the butter and add the other ingredients. Spread the mixture on the bottoms of the pans and then arrange buns so that they do not touch each other.

Let the buns rise in a warm place for 45 minutes. They should touch each other. Bake 20 - 25 minutes at 350 degrees, until they are golden brown. Turn pans over onto large plates or heavy foil that has been lightly greased with margarine. Remove pan after 30 seconds. Makes two dozen buns.

Yum yum. This has been a sure fire hit every time I've made them. Its an old-timey recipe that I have had for years. The woman whose recipe it is asked that people make a donation to the Church World Service if they use her recipe. I'll let you decide about that.

Here is a link that might be useful: Church World Servcie of Lancaster, PA

I know the next time I make cinnamon rolls, I'll be using AnnT's recipe, even though I've never tried it.

I tried many different scone recipes... but always go back to Ann's. Bagels too. Tried many different ones, and then made Ann's and have never looked back.

Ann's blog should really be my first stop when I'm looking for T&T recipes. It would save me a lot of time and energy.... :-)

I usually make them with the caramel and pecans baked on the bottom so when you turn them out it is on the top. However, I love love love Annie's recipe. I was at that forum get-together and ate them. Yummy.
Sherry

Sherry, good morning! Got the kids off to school and now you NEED a cinnamon roll? (grin)

Annie

Thanks Susy.

~Ann

Sherry, I remember those-amazing. Bless you for being there for those kids.

I made the Cinnabon recipe and shared it with the neighbors since I'm the only one in the house who eats them (although I absolutely should NOT). The neighbors were deliriously happy with them as there aren't any from scratch cooks in my neighborhood. Shhhhhh, don't ever tell them that I am average at best amongst my cooking friends.

Can any of these large recipes be cut in half?

You can definitely cut the recipes in half, but I used to multiply them when I made them at the restaurant where I used to work in San Francisco. I made a more or less regular bread dough with a small amount of sugar added, and after the first rise, I would roll the dough out into a long rectangle, add butter to two thirds of the rectangle, and the fold the dough over as in making a puff pastry, and then I followed the methods for making puff pastry in order to get many layers of butter and dough. Then I would roll the layered dough into a long rectangle (like Pioneer Woman) and add brown sugar, cinnamon, and chopped walnuts and roll the rectangle like Pioneer Woman and cut into rounds. Instead of putting these into one pan, I put them into muffin pans, so that they would make nice individual servings. I didn't bother to glaze mine, but that might have been a good idea, although I think they might have been too sweet if I did that. I added the walnuts because the restaurant always had barrels of walnuts (and other nuts), and so I thought I might as well use them.

I think it is difficult to make a bad cinnamon roll. I worked graveyard at the restaurant (11 PM to 7 AM - later when I made yeast dough), and so my rolls were ready for breakfast when the restaurant opened. The restaurant was owned by a commune of hippies, and so the staff ate many of the rolls before customers had a chance to buy them. I could physically only make so many in one night, and I had to make three different recipes each night - generally of the coffee cake or dessert variety - something to have with coffee in the morning or afternoon.

Lars

Lars - I've always said "never leave a commune of hippies with munchies around a batch of cinnamon rolls."

:)

I've even made some _really_ good vegan cinnamon rolls as a thankyou gift for our vegan veterinary. They were so good, and you wouldn't pick them as anything but normal rolls.

Yo publickman - I can show you how easy it is to make a bad cinnamon roll! Have been a basic cook for years, but just learning to bake - while trying not to envy your abilities.

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