cinnamon roll revelations

I've always been intimidated by cinnamon rolls. I thought I had to have the perfect recipe, and without it, I was lost. It was really quite dramatic, and so, sadly, I hardly ever made them. Think of the cinnamon rolls I have been missing all this time! But last week I had a revelation: cinnamon rolls aren't complicated. All you need is a good solid roll recipe + lots and lots of butter, sugar, and cinnamon.

I like to use Virginia Light Rolls. They are not too sweet, and are just the right texture to hold up to the gooey-ness inside. You can find the recipe down below.

For the Cinnamon Rolls:
Make your favorite roll dough. Once it is ready, divide the dough in half and roll it into two thin rectangles. Onto each rectangle, pour about 1/4 cup melted butter, about 1/2 cup sugar, and enough cinnamon to make the rectangle evenly brown. Then roll them up and cut into 1 inch slices. Place them in a pan (I use two 9 inch cake rounds), cover, and either let them rise for 45 minutes more, or stick them in the fridge overnight. In the morning, let them rest on the counter while you heat the oven to 375 degrees. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until they are slightly golden on top. Then slather them with icing.

Don't worry too much about having exact butter, sugar, and cinnamon amounts. Just keep drizzling and sprinkling until you think you've gone too far.

Virginia Light Rolls
1 cup plus 1 tablespoon milk
3 tablespoons honey
2 large eggs
6 tablespoons butter, cut into pieces
4 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons SAF yeast or 2 1/2 teaspoons bread machine yeast

Place all ingredients into your bread machine and use the dough setting. When dough is complete, shape and let rise again for 45 minutes. Bake at 375 for 20-25 minutes. (If you're not turning these into cinnamon rolls, brush the tops with melted butter before baking.)

Icing
1/2 bag of powdered sugar
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup melted butter
dash salt
1 teaspoon vanilla

Mix all ingredients until it's the consistency you like. (You might need to add more or less milk.)

**Best when shared with a bunch of cousins after an epic sleepover.