Easier Homemade Cinnamon Rolls

I love to make a big batch of cinnamon rolls. It’s a treat that I don’t often take the time to prepare, but when I do, I have a “cheat” that I use. I make the dough in my bread machine and then I pull it out and finish it off in the traditional way. 

Since the recipe was not developed with my bread machine in mind, I watch the dough and if it starts getting close to hitting the lid of my machine, I prop the lid open with a wooden spoon.

Cinnamon Rolls

Ingredients for dough:

*1 cup milk
*3 tablespoons butter, melted
*3 1/2 tablespoons sugar (white or raw sugar)
*1 teaspoon salt
*3 cups all-purpose flour
*2 teaspoons active dry yeast

Ingredients for topping:
 
*1/3 cup sugar, (white, brown, or raw sugar)
*1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
 
*3 tablespoons butter, melted

*optional raisins

1. Put the ingredients in the order recommended by your guide – milk, melted butter, salt, flour, and yeast. Run the machine on it’s 90-minute “dough” cycle.
2. Prepare topping by mixing sugar and cinnamon (don’t add butter yet). Set to the side.
3. Prepare a 9×13 pan, by oiling with butter or spraying with cooking spray.
4. Remove the dough from the machine and lay it on a flat, floured surface.
5. Divide into two balls.
6. Roll each ball into a rectangle about 1/2 inch thick.
7. Spread the rectangles with the 3 tablespoons melted butter, then sprinkle with the sugar and cinnamon mixture. Add raisins if using.
8. Roll the dough upward, short end to short end.
9. Cut each roll into pieces about 3/4 of an inch wide.
10.Place the rolls into your prepared pan. Leave a little wiggle room between them.
11.Cover with a towel, and let the rolls rise until doubled. This takes about 30 to 60 minutes.
12.  Bake the rolls in the preheated oven at 375 degrees (190 C) until browned for 15 to 20 minutes.

Can be topped with Powdered Sugar Frosting

Powdered Sugar Icing

*1 cup sifted powdered confectioner’s sugar
*1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
*milk

1. Add the vanilla to the sugar in a bowl.
2. Add the milk one tablespoon at a time until it reaches the required consistency for spreading or drizzling over the rolls.

Image credit: Michelle Smith