Cinnamon and Cream Cheese Frosting - Powers Combined - Perfection

So by now - you know I'm a cinnamon junkie.  Why yes, yes I will have that cinnamon anything.  Cream cheese frosting covered - even better.  Opportunity to host my sister-in-laws birthday dinner?  Jumped at the chance to do it - why?  I was going to make breakfast for dinner.  Dessert? Cinnamon rolls!  What else?

By now you've seen a bunch of recipes back and forth from me for cinnamon rolls, this is my combined winner.  They are awesome.  The frosting whips up so fluffy and amazing but melts perfectly into the rolls.

Since we had our brinner, dekfast, brunch - whatever you want to call it, on a Friday night - I knew I'd be making the dough on Thursday - so I left them to rise all day in the oven.  WOW did they rise!  And wow were they awesome.  It was one of those moments where I was not hungry one bit (SO full from all the other good food) but those cinnamon rolls called out to me!  EAT ME!  We even added a candle on top so it was a real cake.

Thankful for Krista and thankful for cinnamon rolls!

Awesome Cinnamon Rolls with Amazing Frosting

for the dough-

 3/4 cup warm water

 2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast

 1/2 cup granulated sugar

 1 teaspoon salt

 1/4 cup buttermilk, at room temperature (or powdered buttermilk - follow directions on can)

 1 egg

 1/3 cup canola or vegetable oil

 4 1/2-5 cups all purpose unbleached flour

for the filling-

 1/2 cup softened margarine

 1 1/4 cups packed light brown sugar

 2 1/2 tablespoons ground cinnamon

 2 tablespoons cornstarch

Cream Cheese Icing Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/4 cup cream cheese, softened

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1-2 Tbsp. milk (if needed)

Directions:

Making the Dough- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, pour in water, yeast and 1 tablespoon of the granulated sugar. Stir and proof 5 minutes. Once mixture looks bubbly and frothy, pour in remaining sugar and salt. Stir on low for 15-20 seconds. In a small bowl, measure buttermilk, oil and egg. Whisk ingredients together until egg is incorporated to other two ingredients. Pour contents into the water and yeast mixture. Stir another 20 seconds in the mixer. Pour 2 cups of flour into mixer and stir on low until incorporated. Sprinkle flour in by 1/4 cup increments until dough cleans the sides and bottom of the bowl. Dough should be sticky but not sticky enough to stick to your hands when touched. Once it has reached this stage, turn mixer on and knead for 5 minutes. Remove dough from bowl, grease and replace back into same mixing bowl {since it's practically clean anyways.} Cover with plastic wrap and a dish towel. Rise 1-2 hours or until dough has doubled in size.

Filling and Cutting Rolls- In a medium size bowl, stir brown sugar, cinnamon and cornstarch together until combined. Set aside. Punch down dough. Flour a large clean table liberally with flour. Lightly flour dough as well. Roll dough out to be a 20x30 rectangle {or as close to that as possible} while moving dough around to ensure it's not sticking to your work surface. If it's a little short or uneven, feel free to cut off the edges to even it all out. {FYI-I cut off some dough on one side and filled in a spot that needed more dough on the other side to make a more even rectangle.} Spread softened margarine over dough, being sure to go right to the edges leaving a 1-inch strip untouched on one of the longer sides of dough. Dump brown sugar mixture onto the middle of the dough and spread with your hands, creating an even layer over top of the margarine, still leaving that 1-inch strip of dough untouched. If you have any filling that falls off the sides of the dough, use a bench scraper to replace. Lightly press the sugar mixture into the margarine using a rolling pin. Roll the dough up into a tight log, finishing with the plain dough on the bottom to seal the entire thing together. Cut off the uneven ends to even out the log. Score log every 2 inches and then slice your rolls using those marks. Place into parchment paper lined, margarine greased pans. 12 into a 9x13, 3 remaining into a loaf pan, or 8x8 with the small ends. Cover pans with plastic wrap and dish towels. Let rolls rise another 1-2 hours or until they are touching and have risen almost double. My rolls always spread out more than up, so just be aware that they will most likely spread out more than up. Bake in a preheated 350 degree for 17 minutes, or until tops start to brown. Watch them carefully!!

To Make The Cream Cheese Icing:

Either in the bowl of an electric stand mixer, or a mixing bowl, whisk softened butter and cream cheese together until combined. Then whisk in powdered sugar until combined. If the icing is too thick, add a tablespoon or two of milk to thin.