And the winner is Cinnamon Buns!

I guess it's true what they say, Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus - he wants chocolate chip cookies, she wants cinnamon buns and since "she" is the baker cinnamon buns, win by a landslide!

This all started a year or so ago when Will was talking about the Cinnabon company and how good their cinnamon buns are. Since I apparently live under a rock, I have to confess I have never in my 35 years of living had a actual "Cinnabon". But the whole concept of a cinnamon bun being so delicious that one has to rave over it got me curious. At that time we were living in PA and the closest "Cinnabon" was over an hour a way, not really a practical drive to make just for me to sample this urban legend of yumminess, so I did the next best thing, I baked my own!!!

It took me a while to perfect them from unrolling, but I think over time I have found that the tighter you roll them and the closer you put them in the pan the less likely they are to unroll. One other tip that I will give you is to pinch the ends of the dough together after you are done rolling, but prior to slicing.

To my East Coast peeps (also known as friends, family and co-workers) since I left you high and dry where sweets are concerned I know these were one of your favorites! I hope that in my absence the recipe will some how make up for my abandonment of all of your sweet tooth's.

Here is the recipe and I hope that you enjoy them as much as I do!!!

ROLLS:

2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast (I used rapid rise)

1 cup warm milk

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup butter

2 eggs

1 tsp salt

4 cups flour

Combine all of the dry ingredients. Warm the milk in the microwave (I warmed mine for 1 min on regular power) to the warm milk add the yeast and the sugar - stir. Allow to sit for a few minutes until the yeast begins to dissolve and foam at the top of the mixture. Add eggs, butter and milk, yeast, sugar mixture to the dry ingredients. Mix until a smooth ball forms (use extra flour as needed). Place in a bowl, cover with a warm, wet towel and away from drafts. Allow to rise for 1 hour.

FILLING:

1 cup packed brown sugar

2 1/2 TBSP Cinnamon

1/3 cup of butter - I used no salt butter

Combine filling and begin rolling out dough. You will want to roll the dough on a lightly floured surface until it's approx. 20-24 inches long and 16 inches wide. It should be approx. 1/4 inch in thickness.

Spread the butter completely over the dough surface. Top with the brown sugar/cinnamon mixture. Working from the long side roll the dough (remember to try to keep the roll as tight as possible. Once completely rolled, pinch the seam to the roll to form a seal. Cut the roll approx every one inch. Place into a greased pan - I used to use a 13 X 9 inch pan and you certainly can do it, but I found that I have better luck with using round cake pans and placing 6 in each pan (including the center position). This recipes should yield approx 16-18 rolls assuming you cut them every one inch.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F, bake rolls for 15-20 min until they are lightly golden brown, but not doughy. Do not over bake.

While the rolls are baking, I prepare the cream cheese icing.

CREAM CHEESE ICING:

7 TBSP of butter - you should use actual butter - again I used non-salt

1 1/2 cups of powdered sugar

2 oz or 1/4 cup of cream cheese

1/2 tsp vanilla

Mix until creamy and smooth. When the rolls are done, remove from the oven and cool for 5 minutes. Spread icing on tops of rolls (Will and I keep the icing separate and spread icing on each one individually as we eat them. We also just reheat the left overs and spread the icing on after they have been reheated.

ENJOY!!!