Vanilla Pudding Cinnamon Rolls with Cream Cheese Icing

I really enjoy cinnamon rolls, but I'm picky. I don't enjoy them if they're overly bread-y, or if the dough is tough or too thick. I also simply can't understand a recipe that calls for white sugar in the filling. No. I'll say it again...No. For me, the perfect cinnamon roll has a tender, sweet dough, spread with real, softened butter, and in perfect proportion with a brown sugar/cinnamon filling.

Well, I'm forever indebted to Melanie at My Kitchen Cafe...because this recipe is everything I want in a cinnamon roll. I've seen other recipes that call for pudding mix incorporated into the dry ingredients, but prepared vanilla pudding mixed right into the dough? Um...yes please! It yields a super-soft, nicely sweet dough, filled to perfection and (just to push the whole experience over the edge) topped with an amazing cream cheese icing.

This is the link to Melanie's post, and I'd encourage you to check out her blog for a whole bunch of other incredible recipes. I've never been disappointed with anything I've tried from her site.

I've also put my very, very slightly adapted version below. I've found that I need to add a decent amount more flour than what she calls for, I upped the cinnamon just slightly, and I also scaled it to 12 rolls. (I'm not a fan of freezing these, although I know some people have great success with that.)

Enjoy! (And sorry for the lack of picture...they were consumed too fast this time around!)


Vanilla Pudding Cinnamon Rolls with Cream Cheese Icing.

Rolls:
1/4 cup warm water
1 tablespoons active dry yeast
1 tablespoons sugar
2 oz. instant vanilla pudding mix, prepared with milk as directed on the box...you have to guesstimate a bit
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 1/2 + cups flour

Filling:
1/2 cup butter, softened to room temperature
1 cup brown sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

Frosting:
4 ounces cream cheese
1/4 cup butter, softened to room temperature
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups confectioner’s sugar
1 - 1 1/2 tablespoons milk

In a small bowl combine water, yeast and sugar. Stir until dissolved. Set aside. In large bowl, take pudding mix and add milk to prepare according to package directions (You'll have to guesstimate a bit). Add butter, egg and salt. Mix well. Then add yeast mixture. Blend. Gradually add flour; knead until smooth. Do not overflour the dough! It should be very soft but not sticky. Place in a greased bowl. Cover and let rise until doubled. Then roll out on floured board. Take 1/2 cup soft butter and spread over surface. In bowl, mix 1 cup brown sugar and 2 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon. Sprinkle over the top. Roll up very tightly. With knife put a notch every 1 1/2 inches. Cut with thread or serrated knife. Place on lightly greased cookie sheet 1 inch apart, or in greased 9 x 13 pan. Cover and let rise until double again. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes. Remove when they start to turn golden (don’t overbake). Frost warm rolls with cream cheese frosting (combine butter and cream cheese and mix well, then add vanilla and sugar and mix again, then add milk for desired consistency). Makes about 12 very large rolls.