Yummy-Licious Easy Peasy Cream Cheese Frosted Cinnamon Rolls

 Happy Attitude of Gratitude Friday, everyone! Nope, not a holiday but an every day mindset we should all start with! We can intentionally be grateful and make that our main focus before we even begin each day. It will have a huge impact on EVERYTHING else we encounter in our day. Having a rough day or week? Take a moment to focus on what you are grateful for. Play a favorite song. Recite some positive affirmations. No matter how hard things get, there will always be someone that would trade places with us in a heartbeat. #foodforthought

 

Today, I wanted to share something positive that has kept me going (and growing) during the lockdown. I rediscovered my love of baking and was able to reconnect with one of my loves for it from the past.

 

It started with cookies, then grew. Every ingredient in my house was looked at as, what can I create with this? I am a creative by nature so it has not been hard to do. Bananas became banana nut bread, banana cupcakes, banana nut muffins. Apples, peaches and pears became cobblers. Lemons because lemon cupcakes. Bottom line, I found it relaxed me. I quickly discovered that the freezer is my friend and even my cookies could be frozen and thawed within in minutes so I no longer had the guilt of tossing items, or (just being honest) eating them all myself over the course of a few days. We are all family here, right?

 

If you try these out, let me know. Even if you don't consider yourself a baker, give this recipe a try! Remember, flour is your friend and you don't want to skimp when you are working with and rolling that dough! Cool thing about this recipe is you don't need to "knead" the dough.

 

Hope everyone has a great weekend and rest of your day!

 

Yummy-Licious Easy Peasy Cream Cheese Frosted Cinnamon Rolls

 

INGREDIENTS:

 

Dough

 1/3 cup water warm

 2 1/4 tsp instant yeast (1 pkg)

 1 tsp sugar

 2 eggs

 1 cup milk, lukewarm

 1/2 cup sugar,  granulated

 1/3 cup butter unsalted, melted  

 4 cups all-purpose flour

 1 tsp salt

 

FILLING

 1 cup brown sugar dark, packed

 3 TBSP cinnamon ground

 1/2 cup butter unsalted, softened

 

CREAM CHEESE ICING

 8 oz cream cheese, room temp so its nice and soft

 6 TBSP butter unsalted, softened

 2 cup powdered sugar

 1 tsp vanilla extract

 1/8 tsp salt

 

DIRECTIONS:

In a medium size bowl whisk together the water with the instant yeast and 1 tsp of sugar. Let it rest for 5 minutes.

 

Add the eggs, milk, sugar and melted butter to the yeast mixture and whisk until well combined.

In a large bowl combine the flour with the salt. Pour the yeast mixture and using a wooden spoon stir until well combined. Dough will be sticky. Cover with plastic wrap and let it rest for 10 minutes.

 

Preheat your oven to 350 F degrees. Line a 9x13 inch baking pan with parchment paper. Spray some cooking spray over the bottom to help the parchment paper stick to the baking pan.

 

Roll the dough out onto a well floured surface, until it's approximately 16 inches long by 12 inches wide and about 1/4 inch in thickness.

 

In a small bowl whisk together the brown sugar with the cinnamon.

 

Spread the 1/2 cup of butter over the entire surface of the dough, then sprinkle with the cinnamon sugar evenly over the surface of the dough.

 

Starting at the long edge, away from you, roll the dough down to the bottom edge. Cut the dough into 2 inch slices. Place the rolls into the prepared baking pan, 3 x 4.

 

Let the rolls rest for another 10 minutes, allowing them to rise until there is no space between them.

 

Place the baking pan in the oven and bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown.

 

Prepare the cream cheese icing. Add the cream cheese and butter to a mixing bowl and mix until smooth. Add the remaining ingredients and mix until smooth.  

 

Ice the rolls once you remove them from the oven. Enjoy!!!