Cinnabon Cinnamon Rolls & Bake Sale!

These cinnamon rolls are amazing! I'm not sure if they're actually "Cinnabon" cinnamon rolls, but to me they're just as good and I would rather make a batch of these than spend the money on one from Cinnabon. I first made this recipe back in 8th grade home-ec and i've made it many times since then. I made these really huge this time since it was for a bake sale we did for the activities fair at Matt's school. I also made chocolate chip ice cream cookies but this time I used Ben & Jerry's Cookies & Milk ice cream (I loveee that ice cream!) instead of vanilla. And I made peanut butter rice krispie topped brownies. The bake sale went great! We sold almost everything I brought. One guy said the brownies were the best dessert he ever had! Then tried to recruit other people to try them and ended up buying one for someone else just so they could experience it.

So I have to tell you about something, it's pretty nasty though..stop reading now if you don't want to hear about it. I have flour in a metal canister I keep on the kitchen counter. It ran out yesterday so I went to refill it and grabbed the flour bag off the shelf and took it to the counter. Opened it and looked inside to find a bunch of little bugs! Gross!! I checked the rest of the bags of flour I had on the shelf and they had bugs in them too! I looked it up on the internet and they're called Weevils. I've never heard of them or had this happen before.. I guess they're pantry bugs that like to live in things like flour, cereal and pasta. My cereal and pasta was fine, thankfully. But I learned that they can already be in your flour when you buy it. The larvae and bug parts are allowed in small amounts. So it's best to keep the flour in the freezer or the fridge or atleast freeze it for 4-5 days after buying before using (to kill any eggs that might be in it). Also I guess they don't like the smell of bay leaves, so I layed some of those around the area where I keep my flour on the shelf. So I hope there's no more bugs or eggs still around! I bought new flour and have it in the freezer now. And don't worry, these were made with the 'good flour.'

Cinnabon Cinnamon Rolls

For the rolls:

1 1/4 oz. active dry yeast

1 c. warm milk

1/2 c. granulated sugar

1/3 c. margarine, melted

1 t. salt

4 c. all-purpose flour

2 eggs

For the filling:

1 c. packed brown sugar

2 1/2 Tbls. cinnamon

1/3 c. margarine, softened

For the icing:

1 stick (8 T.) margarine, softened

1 1/2 c. powdered sugar

1/2 c. (2 oz.) cream cheese

1/2 t. vanilla extract

1/8 t. salt

Directions:

For the rolls, dissolve the yeast in warm milk in a large mixing bowl with a wooden spoon.

Add the sugar, margarine, salt eggs and flour. Mix well.

Knead dough into a large ball, using your hands lightly dusted with flour. Put in bowl, cover and let rise until doubled, about 1 hr.

Roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface until approx. 21 inches long and 16 in. wide. It should be about 1/4 in. thick.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

For the filling, combine the brown sugar and cinnamon in a bowl. Spread softened margarine evenly over the surface of the dough, and then sprinkle the cinnamon and sugar evenly over the surface.

Working carefully from the top (21 in. side) roll the dough down to the bottom edge. Pinch edges to keep seam closed. (May need to wet fingers)

Cut the rolled dough with a thread into 1 3/4 in. slices and place 6 at a time on a lightly greased baking sheet. Bake for 10 min. or until lightly brown on top.

While rolls bake, combine the icing ingredients in a bowl. Beat well with an electric mixer until fluffy.

When the rolls come out of the oven, coat each generously with icing.

Yield: 12 rolls

*When cutting cinnamon rolls, use a piece of thread. Place it under dough and cross over top to slice. Using a knife will squish them, this will prevent that from happening.