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. 

Christmas Cinnamon Rolls

We have started a new tradition with my new family of having fresh homemade cinnamon rolls each year for Christmas. They turned out so well this year, I think we need to do this more often than just annually. 

Here they are all nicely rolled with butter, brown sugar and fresh ground cinnamon all ready to be baked for our Christmas morning pleasure.

 Fresh out of the oven and smothered with icing. 

My cinnamon roll all ready to enjoy on my favorite Christmas plate with a hot mug of coffee. 

Merry Christmas! 

Recipe for Cinnamon Rolls

Follow Paula Deen's Food Network recipe, but substitute brown sugar and fresh ground cinnamon for the filling

Cinnamon Rolls on a Winter Day

This past Christmas, we discussed traditions - both in the things we do to celebrate the holiday and also the special foods we make. We decided to start a new tradition of making homemade cinnamon rolls. I asked my mother-in-law for her recipe. However, it wasn't as exact and scientific as I like with baking.  So, since I'm not a practiced baker of breads, I decided to research other recipes to try.

I really need to do this more - baking that requires kneading. It's quite like a form of meditation. Once everything is measured with precision, you can lose yourself in the dough and knead to your heart's desire.

I followed the Cinnamon Roll 101 recipe by The Pioneer Woman.  However, I used brown sugar in the filling for some extra sticky and sugary goodness. One mistake I made though was putting them in a baking dish that was too small.

It all worked out though. They baked just fine, the sugar got nice and gooey and they were lovely and doughy on the inside and golden on top.

Because, when it looks like this outside....

You just want to be inside your warm cozy candlelit home...

...enjoying one of these with a mug of coffee or tea on a cold winter day.

The other change I made from The Pioneer Woman's recipe was to choose a different frosting. I made a cream cheese frosting instead of the maple frosting that she used.

Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe

Ingredients:

4 oz. cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup butter, softened

1 1/2 teaspoons milk

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:

In a mixing bowl, beat frosting ingredients until well mixed. Frost warm cinnamon rolls and serve.