Cinnamon Rolls

I baked these cinnamon rolls on Thanksgiving morning. I mix the dough the night before and bake it in the morning. What can be better when your family wakes up in the morning to the freshly smell of bake cinnamon rolls. I prefer the homemade kind than the one we get from the deli’s as I found it’s loaded with sugar and frosting. Baking this myself I get control the amount of sugar and butter that goes in it.

Ingredients for dough:
1 cup of warm milk (slightly warm to the touch)
1 packet of dry yeast (7 grm)
2 large eggs
4 1/2 cups unbleached flour ( I used 4 cups first and then gradually add half more cup to the dough)
1/3 cup sugar
3 tbsp of butter – cut to small pieces
1 teaspoon salt

Filling:
3 tbsp of melted butter
½ cup of dark brown sugar (more if you want it sweeter)
1 cup of raisin
1 cup of chopped pecans
2 tbsp of cinnamon powder

1. Fit the mixer with the dough hook attachment and put all the dough ingredients except the butter into the mixer bowl and work it on medium speed until it comes together and forms a nice ball of dough. Continue to mix for 10 minutes on medium speed.
2. Slowly add in the cut butter and continue to mix until dough comes together again.
3. Remove the dough from the mixing bowl and place it in buttered bowl and cover it with plastic wrap and let it rest and raise at room temperature until double it size.
4. Roll it out to about 1/3” thickness, brush with softened butter and sprinkle it with cinnamon, brown sugar, raisins and pecans.
5. With your palm lightly press the filling ingredients into dough and then roll them up. Secure the roll by pinching both ends of the roll. Cut the rolls into 1” pieces and line them with paper cups and place it on a baking sheet.
6. Place them in a warm spot and let them rise for an hour or until they are doubled in size. Bake them at 350°F for about 15 – 20 minutes or until they are golden
7. Remove them from the oven and let them cool for as long as you can resist them before digging into it.

Note : I used 4 cups of flour first and then gradually add in more until the dough comes together. This is a pretty sticky dough so you might need a bit more of 4 ½ cups of flour or less.