1993 Cinnabon Cinnamon Rolls

Ingredients:

Dough

• 1/4 ounce package dry yeast
• 1 cup warm milk
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup margarine
• 1 tsp. salt
• 2 eggs
• 4 cups flour

Filling

• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 1/2 tbsp. cinnamon
• 1/3 cup margarine, softened

Icing

• 8 tbsp. margarine
• 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 1/4 cup cream cheese
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1/8 tsp salt

Directions:

1. For the rolls, dissolve the yeast in the warm milk in a large bowl.
2. Add rest of the dough ingredients, mix well.
3. Knead the dough into a large ball, using your hands dusted lightly with flour.
4. Put in a bowl, cover and let rise in a warm place for an hour or until dough has doubled in size.
5. Roll dough out onto lightly floured surface until 21 inches long and 16 inches wide.
6. Should be approximately 1/4 inch thick.
7. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
8. To make filling, combine brown sugar and cinnamon in a bowl.
9. Spread softened margarine over surface of dough then sprinkle the brown sugar and cinnamon mixture over. 
10. Working carefully from the long edge, roll the dough to the bottom edge.
11. Cut the dough into 1 3/4 inch thick slices and place on lightly greased baking pan.
12. Bake for 10 minutes or until lightly golden brown.
13. while rolls are baking, combine icing ingredients.
14. Beat well with an electric mixer until fluffy.
15. When rolls are done, spread generously with icing. 

Preparation Method:

In the directions for the recipe, it says to let the yeast fully dissolve in warm milk. I ended up microwaving the milk and i didn't wait for the yeast to fully dissolve. I was a little nervous, I'll admit, that in me doing so the dough wouldn't fully rise. I also did not have a stand mixer, so i had to mix the dough by hand and it was very crumbly and did not represent dough. I decided to add some milk in certain areas to make it stick together easier then proceeded to dump the dough clumps on the cutting board and knead it. As i was kneading, I was careful as not to over-knead and produce gluten. Once i was finished kneading the dough, I found a tubular tupperware and set the dough inside, covered the tupperware with plastic wrap, and stuck in my oven. To make the oven warm, i boiled some water and placed it in the bottom of my oven. I then went to bed and, eight hours later, I checked on the risen dough. I took the dough out and, although the recipe did not specify to punch down the dough, i did it anyway. I continued to roll out the dough trying to make it as close to the specific measurements of 21 inches long and 16 inches wide as i could. Once i decided i was done rolling the dough, i discovered i did not have brown sugar and I went to the store for about 15 minutes, leaving the dough to sit on my counter. When i returned to it, it was warm and had slightly puffed. I took it as an oppurtunity to roll more and make it longer. Rolling more created air bubbles and wrinkles in the dough. For the filling, it did not specify what type of brown sugar was needed, so i just used light brown sugar. I also cooked the rolls for 12 minutes, instead of 10. The cinnamon rolls were golden and squishy when I took them from the oven. I let them cool for about 10 minutes before i proceeded to add the icing. 

Critique:

The icing, to me, was more on the sweet side than i would have liked and tasted too much of vanilla. The cinnamon filling had melted and become very smooth. The dough was a little salty, which I liked. The center of the roll was very soft. Overall, my cinnamon rolls were not that bad and i would make them again when i have the time. 

Assessment:

From making these cinnamon rolls, and following this recipe, i learned that it would be helpful if recipes were more exact in their instructions.