Cinnabon Knock-Off Cinnamon Rolls

Have you ever been shopping at the local mall when suddenly you smell something overwhelmingly delicious? If you follow the scent of cinnamon and butter you will usually end up at a Cinnabon kiosk with gigantic hot cinnamon rolls covered in gooey icing! That's what these taste like, only better! These are a little more cooked on the inside than the typical Cinnabon and a little less sweet, a little more cinnamon and spice... I pretty much followed the recipe below with the following exceptions:  i added more spices (cardomon and clove) to the the filling and then i mixed it all together to form a paste and spread that onto my rolled dough. The other change i made was to roll up the dough into a log and then cut in half, wrap well in saran wrap and foil and put into zip lock bags so that i could freeze them for a few days. I took the frozen logs out and let thaw in the fridge... then cut the logs into rolls, put into a baking pan and left on the counter to proof for a few hours, then cooked. They turned out just as good as the fresh-dough cinnamon rolls and its great to be able to make the dough in advance and then have cinnamon rolls whenever you feel like them. Next time i think i will actually cut the dough into individual rolls and freeze those in bags of four... then when the urge for buttery cinnamon hits i will be ready!

Cinnabon™ Knock-off Cinnamon Rolls

Rolls:

1 pkg. active dry yeast (1/4 oz. size or 2 1/4 tsp.)
1 c. warm milk (105º to 110º F.)
1/2 c. granulated sugar
1/3 c. margarine, melted (used butter)
1 tsp. salt
2 eggs
4 c. all-purpose flour

Filling:

1 c. packed brown sugar
2 1/2 TBS. cinnamon
1/3 c. margarine, softened (used butter)

Icing:
1/4 c. (1/2 stick) margarine, softened (used butter)
1/4 c. (2 oz.) cream cheese, softened
1 1/2 c. powdered sugar
1 TBS. whole milk
1/4 tsp. vanilla
1/8 tsp. lemon extract

For the rolls, dissolve the yeast in the warm milk in a large bowl
Mix together the sugar, butter, salt & eggs. Add flour and mix well
Knead the dough into a large ball, using your hands lightly dusted with flour (i used the KitchenAid with the dough hook and kneaded for about 10 minutes). Put in a bowl, cover, and let rise in a warm place about an hour or until the dough has doubled in size.
Roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface. Roll the dough flat until it is approximately 21 inches long and 16 inches wide. It should be about ¼ inch thick.
Preheat oven to 400º F.
For the filling, combine the brown sugar and cinnamon in a bowl. Spread the softened butter evenly over the surface of the dough, and then sprinkle the cinnamon-sugar evenly over the surface (i mixed my sugar and spices together with the softened butter to create a spread).
Working carefully from the top (a 21 inch side), roll the dough down to the bottom edge.
Cut the rolled dough into 1 ¾ inch slices and place 6 at a time, evenly spaced, in a lightly greased (i used Pam) baking pan. Let the rolls rise again until doubled in size (about 30 min.). Bake for 10 minutes, or until golden on top (i baked mine for about 15-18 minutes to get them nice and browned on top).

While the rolls bake, make the icing by mixing the butter and cream cheese in a large bowl with an electric mixer on high speed. Add the powdered sugar and mix on low speed until the sugar is incorporated, then add the milk and flavorings. Mix on high speed again until the icing is smooth and fluffy.
When the rolls come out of the oven, let them cool for about 10 minutes. I scooped up the gooey, melted caramelized cinnamon butter mixture from the bottom of the pan and drizzled over the top of the rolls for more flavor and texture.  Then I coated each roll generously with the icing.