Cinnamon Roll Recipe





I've always made cinnamon rolls totally from scratch, but I've been wanting to try another recipe that calls for "hot roll mix."  I've just never had that in my pantry and I had no idea what it was! 

So when John reminded me the night before his last day of work that he needed about 20 cinnamon rolls, hot and fresh, the next morning, I thought it would be the perfect time to use a mix.  I googled it so I knew what to look for at the store and it was only $1.64 - totally worth the savings in time!

I was really wondering how many rolls I would get from one box of hot roll mix (I bought two).  I discovered that if you roll from the long edge (which is not what the box says to do), you will get about 14 rolls.  If you follow the box instructions and roll from the short side, you will probably get 8-10 rolls.  I made two boxes and we ended up with about 28 cinnamon rolls which was more than enough!

 

Here's the recipe:
1 box hot roll mix
1 pck yeast mix (comes in box)
2 T sugar
1 C hot water
2 T butter/margarine, softened
1 egg

Filling (from my "scratch" recipe):

1/4 C butter, softened

1-2 T cinnamon (depends on how "cinnamony" you like them!)

3/4 C packed brown sugar

1/2 - 3/4 C chopped nuts

Frosting (from my "scratch" recipe):
2 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/4 C butter, softened
1 C powdered sugar

1/2 t vanilla

Combine hot roll mix with yeast package and sugar.  Add hot water, butter, and egg.  Mix untill dough pulls away from sides of bowl.  Knead dough for five minutes, until smooth.  (You will probably need to add a couple sprinkles of flour to keep the dough from sticking to the sides of the bowl if you're using a mixer.)

Cover dough and let rest for 5 minutes.  Grease 9x12 inch pan or two 9 inch round cake pans (should fit 7 rolls each)

Roll dough out to a 10x15 rectangle.  Spread about 1/4 cup softened butter over dough.  Combine brown sugar and cinnamon in a bowl.  Sprinkle sugar mixture over buttered dough.  Add chopped nuts, if desired. 

Roll up starting with 15 inch side, pinch seam to seal.  Gently slice the roll into 1-1 1/2 inch sections and place in prepared pan about 1 inch apart.

At this point, you can cover the rolls and refrigerate them overnight.  They will rise slightly overnight in the fridge, but you will probably need about an hour in the morning to let them come to room temperature and rise a bit more before baking. 

Or, cover and let rise in a warm place for about an hour or until doubled in size.  Rolls should be touching or nearly touching each other in the pan.  They will expand a little bit while cooking.

Frosting:  The frosting can be prepared ahead of time and refrigerated until needed, but you will need to let it come to room temperature (or zap it in the microwave for a few seconds) to make it spreadable. 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and bake for 20 -25 minutes or until golden brown on top.   Let the rolls cool slightly. Frost and enjoy!