Sunday, January 9, 2011

Cinnamon Buns (Clone of a Cinnabon)

Well it just figures my first post of 2011 would be something like a Cinnamon Bun, especially since my New Year's Resolution was to lose my baby weight! But look at that thing, who could resist it? Cinnamon Buns are one of the only "dessert" type food (aka anything sweet) that my hubs will eat, so I like to indulge him now and then.

I never attempted to make Cinnamon Buns before hubs got me a bread maker for my birthday, not that I thought I couldn't do it, I'm just lazy that way (I've got 3 kids eh!). With a bread maker this recipe is crazy-easy. It does all the kneading and rising and all I have to do is watch!

I found this recipe on allrecipes.com and it claims to be a clone of the Cinnabon Chain Cinnamon Buns, and it totally is. I made a couple of modifications to make it easier and I found the original cream cheese frosting way too cream cheesy tasting. What I got is AH-MAZE-ING.

On a Sunday morning there's nothing better than a warm from the oven Cinnamon Bun to go with my skinny latte (I'm watching my weight yo), but this recipe is so easy you could have them any day of the week!

I made big ones for me and hubs and little ones for the kids
picture taken with my iPhone, excuse the quality!


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Cinnamon Buns (Clone of a Cinnabon)
adapted from allrecipes.com

Dough
1 cup warm milk (110˚F/45˚C)
2 eggs, room temperature
1/3 c margarine, melted
4 1/2 c bread flour
1 tsp salt
1/2 c white sugar
2 1/2 tsp bread machine yeast

Cinnamon Spread
1 c brown sugar, packed
2 1/2 tbsp ground cinnamon
1/3 c butter, softened

Frosting
1/2 (3 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1/4 c butter, softened
1 1/2 c confectioners' sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/8 tsp salt

1. Place ingredients in the pan of the bread machine in the order recommended by the manufacturer. Select dough cycle; press Start.

2. After the dough has doubled in size (when the cycle is done) turn it out onto a lightly floured surface, cover with a tea towel and let rest for 10 minutes.

3. In a stand mixer, beat the softened butter, brown sugar and cinnamon until combined.


4. Roll dough into a 16" x 21" rectangle. Spread dough with the butter/sugar/cinnamon mixture leaving a 1" strip along the edge furthest from you bare.

5. Roll up the dough and cut into 12 rolls.

6. Place rolls in a lightly greased 9x13 inch baking pan. Cover with a tea towel and let rise until nearly doubled, about 30 minutes.

7. Preheat your oven to 400˚F (200˚C).


8. Bake rolls in preheated oven until golden brown, about 15 minutes.

9. While rolls are baking, beat together the cream cheese, butter, confectioners' sugar, vanilla extract and salt. Spread frosting on warm rolls before serving.


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enjoy,

2 comments:

  1. I used to work at Cinnabon for 2 years beginning when I was 16. I think most of the ingredients and procedures you list are correct except for a few things. First, Cinnabon only used margarine for everything. Butter was never used because (they told us) that it burned too easily and didn't make the rolls gooey enough. Second, there was no sugar or milk in the dough, they used regular tap water and it had to be about 85 degrees. They also used equal parts of regular flour and something else called "base mix" that was proprietary to Cinnabon. It was a beige colored powder that smelled strongly of wheat. The frosting used equal parts of margarine and cream cheese and there was no salt added. However, there was a very small amount of pure lemon extract added in addition to the vanilla extract. Your rolls look very close to real Cinnabons but are way too brown -- almost burnt! 400 degrees is too high to cook them. It should be more like 350 and the rolls should be light golden brown.

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  2. I just can't seem to make cinnamon buns no matter what type of yeast I use, however maybe I should try the bread flour to see if that will make the difference. I really don't want to use bread flour but your recipe has convinced me to try making these delicious cinnamon buns one more time. Thanks!

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