Homemade. Cinnamon. Rolls.

Mornings are a heck of a lot easier to handle when you have a warm, gooey plate of cinnamon rolls waiting for you.  I made these tasty bites one Sunday morning with the leftover half of my bread dough.  They were so good that I had to invite my friend Lindsay over to help me marvel at their deliciousness.  I then proceeded to eat SIX of them throughout the day.  And then three the next day. 

The cinnamon roll recipe is from "Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone" and I super snagged the recipe for the glaze from "Joy of Cooking."  The original recipe did not call for a sugary glaze, but I grew up eating the admittedly delicious Pillsbury cinnamon rolls from a can, so in my mind, all cinnamon rolls gots to have a glaze on top!  Now back to the cinnamon rolls! 

Ingredients
Half of the recipe for Classic Sandwich Bread (either divide everything in half or save half of the dough to make a regular loaf of bread per those instructions)
1 tbls ground cinnamon
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts
1/2 cup raisins or currants
2 tbls melted butter

For the glaze:
2 tbls hot milk
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/4 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions
Mix the cinnamon, brown sugar, nuts, and raisins in a small bowl.

Roll your risen/punched down bread dough into a 12x16 inch rectangle on a well floured surface.*  Brush the dough with the melted butter and sprinkle the sugar mixture over the surface.  Tightly roll up the dough lengthwise.  Slice into 1-inch rounds and set them in a buttered pan, cut side up, you should get about 16 rolls.  Really cram those babies into that pan -- no space between them is necessary!  Let rise for 30 minutes.

all squished in the pan, ready to bake!

Preheat your oven to 375.  Bake the rolls until well risen and browned, about 30 minutes. 

Mix together the ingredients for the glaze in a small bowl with a fork until creamy.  Pour the glaze over the warm cinnamon rolls. 

EAT AND ENJOY! 

*Food Tip: Be sure to roll out your dough instead of stretching it.  If you stretch the dough (i.e. pull on it) it will not retain its shape.  Instead, it'll shrink right back to it's original size.  So get out your rolling pin and get to to work!  Start in the middle of the dough and roll out from you; turn the dough a quarter turn and repeat.