Easy Cinnamon Rolls

"Cinnamon bites and kisses simultaneously."
- Vanna Bonta

I love homemade cinnamon buns, but I don't always have time to spend making The Best Ever Cinnamon Rolls, which truly are the best but take a really really long time to make.  I'm talking overnight.  These take relatively little time when compared to that, and they taste so much better than what you can get in a can - no offense Poppin' Fresh!  You will need to check out the recipe for Blue Ribbon Buttermilk Biscuits, since that is the base for these cinnamon rolls.  After you get the dough mixed and rolled out (I do recommend rolling rather than patting the dough for this), you could top it in any way you want - orange zest, cranberries, and pecans; raisins, cranberries, pecans; apples and walnuts; marshmallows, graham cracker crumbs and chocolate chunks - mmmmm!  I may have to try that - S'mores Rolls.  This is very versatile, it just all depends on what you like.

Easy Cinnamon Rolls

Biscuit dough

1 cup brown sugar, loosely scooped

6-8 Tb butter
1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 cup flour

2/3 to 1 cup: baking raisins, Craisins, or broken pecan pieces (or up to 1 cup of each!)

1 cup powdered sugar

2-4 Tb milk

1 tsp vanilla

A note about "baking" raisins:  I did not know such a thing existed until a couple years ago.  They are packed in a small amount of liquid so they stay soft and a little more plump than their boxed/bagged counterpart.  Either version will work with this recipe.  Regular raisins will plump up when you add heat and a little moisture, so if you don't have "baking" raisins, don't fret, just use whatcha got.

1. Make biscuit dough.  You can't make these without it!

2. Turn dough out onto lightly floured surface.  Gently pat it into a ball.  Roll dough out to large rectangle (18" x 12" roughly).  I prefer to use a silicone pastry mat for a couple of reasons - it keeps my table from having bits of stuck-on dough all over it, and it helps me to be able to roll everything up later on.  I also use a Wilton fondant rolling pin with the 3/16" guides on it - that way the thickness is consistent.

3. Cut butter into chunks and use a pastry blender, two forks, or two knives to "cut" butter into sugar and cinnamon until it is almost paste-like.  Basically you just mash it all up.  It will have large clumps, that is perfect.

4. Evenly sprinkle sugar mixture on dough - I suppose if you were careful you could actually spread it, but sprinkling works just fine - leaving a 1/2" border around the edges.  Top with raisins, Craisins, and broken pecan pieces.  *I wrote out the recipe long ago, and when I made it recently I did NOT use the flour.  Actually I can't even remember now what I used it for, but I suspect it was to keep the dried fruit and nuts from clumping together.  So, if you want, you can toss the dried fruit and nuts (if using) in the 1/4 cup flour before you sprinkle them.  Makes them a bit easier to work with, and it may help to thicken the syrupy sugar and butter.*

5. Starting on the long edge of the dough, roll the dough carefully to the other side.  Make sure you keep the roll tight so it is round instead of flattish.  This is where I use the silicone mat to help me roll.  It is easier to lift the entire edge of dough at once if you have something under it.  If any of your stuffing falls out, just pick it up and poke it back in (or you could eat it).

6. Trim the excess dough from both ends - this more-or-less just makes it look nice and even but is an unnecessary step.  Cut filled, rolled dough into 1 1/2" portions - I don't actually measure this, I just divide my dough in half and each half into 4 pieces so I have 8 servings (check out my knife score-marks).  Place them in a lightly greased deep dish pie plate or casserole dish.  Make sure the sides either touch slightly or are very close together - in other words do NOT space them out in a 9x13 like I did in this photo, I usually use the deep dish pie plate and it works fantastically - otherwise the rolls flatten out and all the stuff runs out and gets stuck all over the dish instead of being inside the yummy-scrummy rolls.

7. Bake in a preheated 450º oven for 10-15 minutes, or until tops are golden brown.

8. In a small bowl, mix powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla to make a thick glaze - 2 Tb will make a considerably thicker glaze than 4 Tb, so start with 2 and adjust until you have the consistency you like.  Spread or spoon glaze on tops of cinnamon rolls.