Cinnamon Rolls with Maple Frosting

Okay. Drop what you're doing and make these cinnamon rolls. Now. I stumbled upon these on the Pioneer Woman's website. Bless that woman! These are phenomenal. Now, I'm sure there are ladies everywhere that claim to have the best cinnamon roll ever, and I'm sure that they do! All I'm saying is that these are really, really good. My husband, who sometimes has a tough time eating cinnamon rolls because they are too "starchy" was eating these and said, "I am thoroughly enjoying these right now." Wow! That's really saying something.

The original recipe makes about 12 pans of rolls! If you have a family of 12, you'll be set for the morning. ;) I honestly could have taken a pan (all mission:impossible-like, doing military rolls and everything) to hide out in my room to eat the entire pan. I think my kids would have taken a pan each and done the same thing. Me: Here is a cinnamon roll for each of you! Now, I'm going to go respond to an e-mail. 30 seconds later... Me: How do you like the- Where did they go? I glanced over at the kids at there was frosting all over their faces and their plate was all but licked clean. This is definitely a recipe to try. I halved the recipe here, and it made 5 pans of rolls. It can be anywhere from 4-6 pans, depending on how big you cut the rolls.

Cinnamon Rolls with Maple Frosting:

source: thepioneerwoman.com

Ingredients:

2 c milk

1/2 c vegetable oil

1/2 c sugar

1 pkg yeast (2 1/4 t)

4 c + 1/2 c flour, divided

1/2 heaping t baking powder

1/2 scant t baking soda

1/2 heaping T of salt

2 sticks melted butter

1 c sugar

cinnamon

frosting:

1/2 bag powdered sugar

1 t maple flavoring

1/4 c milk

2 T melted butter

dash of salt

Put the milk, vegetable oil, and sugar in a large pot over medium heat. Watch it closely, and once it is almost to a boil, turn off the heat. Cool for 45 minutes in the pot.
After the 45 minutes, sprinkle in the yeast. Stir it and let it sit for 1 minute. You will start to see the yeast turn frothy and bubbly in the middle. Add the four cups of flour. Mix it together with a wooden spoon. Cover it and let it rise for an hour.
Before....
After... The difference isn't that noticeable in the picture, but it doesn't double in size.
Take off the lid and pour in the remaining 1/2 c flour, the baking powder, and the baking soda. A heaping teaspoon is just what it sounds like... a heaping scoop. A scant teaspoon is not quite full.
See heaping?
Mix up the dough after you've added those things and you can either start making the rolls now or refrigerate the dough and wait until morning.
I waited until morning, and it looked wonderful.
Roll the dough out onto a floured surface to a long rectangle. You can see here that it is more than double the length of the rolling pin. It is some of the softest dough ever, too. It was so easy to handle and roll out.
Get your melted butter and pour it onto the dough. I used all but about 3 T of it. I did reserve that for the remainder of the recipe though.
Sprinkle the 1/2 c sugar onto the dough. It seems like a lot, but lay it on there! The butter and the sugar are what makes this recipe so good.
Spread the sugar out evenly across the dough. The right side is spread out here, but the left, clearly, is not. :)
Do a generous sprinkling of sinnamon (haha) over the sugar. Sometimes think devouring these things should be a sin.
Roll up the dough as tightly as you can without stretching it.

Look at the size of this thing! It is forever long! Nice anaconda rolls. Cut the dough into 3/4-1 inch slices. Prepare the round pans by spreading some of the left over melted butter in the bottom of the pan. You can spread it around with a plastic bag.
Place seven rolls in each pan.
Place them in a warm place to rise for 30 minutes or until double in size. Once they are double, bake at 375 for 14-18 minutes.

Combine the frosting ingredients and whisk together until smooth.
It's some thick frosting! I actually added a tad bit more milk to the recipe because the original one called for a little coffee in the frosting, and I don't drink coffee.
When they come out, they will be golden, brown, and delicious looking. Do you see that glow? That's not from a nearby kitchen window. It's the light of heaven shining down on these glorious rolls.
While they are hot, pour some frosting on top of them. Drench those puppies! The frosting should cover 'em all over! Cover them with foil and deliver to soon-to-be-very-ecstatic neighbors or eat them all yourself. However, if you choose the second option, you may need to go buy a pair of bigger pants. You can't say I didn't warn you.