Christmas Cinnamon Rolls

It was our third annual Christmas cinnamon rolls and they get better every year. There is nothing better than a cozy home decorated for the holidays and the smell of cinnamon rolls baking. I again followed the Paula Deen cinnamon roll recipe and the dough turned out nicely. I again rolled them using brown sugar instead of white sugar. I did try a lighter cream cheese frosting recipe this year though that turned out even better.

Recipe for Cream Cheese Frosting:

2 oz. cream cheese

7 T. unsalted butter, softened

1/2 t. vanilla extract

2 T. milk

1 1/2 C. powdered sugar

1/4 t. salt

Beat together the cream cheese and butter with a mixer until creamy. Mix in vanilla and milk and gradually stir in the powdered sugar and salt until smooth. 

Chewy Ginger Molasses Cookies

I tasted the best ginger molasses cookie at a cider mill a few years back and have sought the perfect recipe since. As a Christmas gift, a colleague left me a 1/2 dozen cookies in my office and the perfect recipe was found. I profusely thanked them for the cookies and nicely asked for the recipe so I could recreate the gingery goodness myself. I was so appreciative and happy when they simply sent me the link to this amazing recipe. If you want a perfectly balanced ginger molasses cookie with a little spice, a crunch on the outside and chewy on the inside, this Epicurious recipe is the one. It's even worth chopping up the candied ginger into tiny little pieces to get this taste.

Within a few days, I went home to my nice new kitchen to make them prior to Christmas and gifted some to my colleagues at the office so I wouldn't eat them all myself. I don't know about serving them with apples and cheddar as the recipe mentions, but a cold glass of milk or a hot cup of coffee is perfect.