Everyone swears their cinnamon rolls are the best, but they’re deluded. Mine are. (Well, with the possible exception of Brad’s mom.) These cinnamon rolls are the closest thing you’re ever going to make at home to the real deal. I say that with absolute certainty and calm. They. Are. It. I’ve held this recipe close to the bone for a long time, folks, but I will divulge the secret:
Pudding.
That’s right, you make the rolls with vanilla pudding as your primary liquid. (get out your food storage pudding!) That, and a lot of butter. I have no idea what the nutritional breakdown is, but to be on the safe side, and out of kindness to your heart, I suggest making them only 2 or 3 times a year. Without further ado, I give you…
General Conference Cinnamon Rolls!
- 1/2 cup warm water
- 2 packages dry yeast
- 2 Tbsp sugar
Bloom the yeast with the sugar in the warm water, waiting for froth and bubbles.
- 1/2 cup instant vanilla pudding powder
- 1 c milk
- 1/2 cup melted butter
- 2 lightly beaten eggs
- 1 tsp salt
- 5-6 cups all-purpose flour
In a large bowl, with a wire whip, mix the pudding powder with the milk until well combined and smooth. Add the butter, eggs and salt, whisk to combine well.
Add the bloomed yeast/sugar/water mixture and combine well.
Add flour, one cup at a time, until the dough comes together, and is still soft, but not sticky. Knead until smooth. It will feel like fat baby thighs.
Let rise in a warm, covered and lightly oiled bowl until doubled in size. About 2 hours.
Punch down, and knead again.
With a rolling pin and a lightly floured board, roll out the dough to a 34 x 22 inch rectangle. Keep moving the dough as you roll, to keep from sticking to the board.
- 1 cup melted butter
- 2 1/2 cups light brown sugar
- 2 Tbsp cinnamon
Melt the butter and pour the whole cup on your rolled out rectangle of dough. (I told you only a few times a year!) In a separate bowl, combine with your impeccably clean hands, the sugar and cinnamon, then cover the butter-drenched dough rectangle in an even and delectable layer of cinnamon sugar.
Starting at the 22 inch side, roll the entire thing into a nice, long cinnamon tube. Seal the edge with a little bit of water on a pastry brush or your fingers.
With a serrated knife, (or even better, a piece of thread or dental floss) cut the log into 2 inch segments, and carefully move your giant cinnamon treasures to a glass pan. Put no more than 8 in a large glass Pyrex casserole dish. Do not crowd them- they will rise almost double. Whatever baking dish you use, deeper sides give the rolls a softer exterior = better.
Cover in a warm place and let them rise again until fat and happy- about two hours.
Bake at 350* for 15-18 minutes. Really, only that long. Do not over-bake. You want them to be soft, yet set, in the middle. The house will smell divine.
Icing:
- 8 oz. softened cream cheese
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 3 cups confectioners sugar
- 1 Tbsp cream
Whip all ingredients together and smear on top of still warm rolls.
Remember, only a few times a year!! Your taste buds will rejoice, but your heart will need a serious, sweat inducing workout afterwards. Enjoy!!
By Common Consent, a Mormon Blog 
Get thee behind me, Satan.
Ever since I saw these on your blog years ago, they’ve been a part of our family’s General Conference and Christmas mornings. They really are the best I’ve ever tasted!
#1- And push!
Headed to the store for ingredients now.
“fat baby thighs” FTW.
WVS, I know- it’s perfect though!
I’m not sure if there’s enough sugar and butter in this recipe, but I’m willing to give it a try…. ;-)
I believe we have all of these ingredients. If we are watching conference from home tomorrow (instead of at a friend’s place) we will surely be making these. Along with bacon.
Thanks for sharing!
Wow, this looks like a real comfort food! Never heard of the vanilla pudding trick before. Hello, type II diabetes!
My wife makes some pretty killer cinnamon rolls. I’m trying to talk her into waking up early to make them for us tomorrow morning so we can have them hot from the oven for the early session, which starts at 8 AM here in Alaska — 7:30 for Music and the Spoken Word.
Or, Rob, you could make them tonight and toss ’em in the fridge to surprise your wife at your considerate thoughtfulness and excellent cooking skills.
If we made the dough tonight, and refrigerated it, then awoke early to roll em out would they still rise properly again? That’s my biggest fear.
Yes, they will. It may take an extra hour or two, since the dough will be cold, but cover it with a towel and put them in a warm spot. I’ve done it that way before. OR, just make them up to the second rise, then refrigerate covered overnight. Take them out, let them warm up in the morning, then bake. It works.
My wife has just nixed the cinnamon roll plan. She is trying to improve her eating habits, and does not want me tempting her with tasty goodness that exhausts a week’s worth of calories in a single serving, conference or not.
wow. Just wow. They sound really good!
RE my comment #8: you can actually make a pretty decent low-glycemic cinamon roll using whole wheat flour instead of white, and using agave nectar and raw cocanut crystals instead of sugar. You can also replace butter or shortening with a combination of applesauce and olive oil to make it healthier. Doesn’t have the same sugar rush, but it is a very nice and healthful alternative for those who need to keep blood sugar levels down. Not sure how you’d replace the vanilla pudding…
Everyone to Ken’s for whole-wheat olive-oil and coconut crystal cinnamon rolls!
(all joking aside, I’m sure they’re good as an alternative. I prefer to eat less and treat myself to something divine though…)
This rexi
Oops! Stupid smart phone! This recipe is eerily similar to mine–except where mine calls for mashed potatoes, yours calls for vanilla pudding. I see an experiment in the near future. One other difference in recipes, where I think you might want to try mine is using dark brown instead of light brown sugar. It increases the toffee-like flavor of the cinnamon sugar.
And I always make mine the night before (rolled, in the pan & ready to bake) and then just pull
them out, let them warm up for about 30 minutes and bake. Works great, plus the kitchen isn’t a horrible mess. No need to disturb the sugar coma in order to clean up.
Bekah,
I have yet to sample baking of yours that was less than divine.
Well, I am quite the homemaker. You should see the recipes I carry around in my purse…
Gah! That was such a fantastically bad line!
Post experiment verdict: these are all they are cracked up to be. They taste almost exactly like my recipe, but are significantly easier to make, since the dough has a slightly firmer consistency. My family enjoyed them immensely. Thanks!
Oh, and Sunny, flattery will get you everywhere. I managed to hide one solitary cinnamon roll from the ravenous hordes at my house. I’m sending it in to work with Greg tomorrow for you, so you’ll know who to blame if it never materializes.
Yes!
I will attempt to make these sometime in the near future.
Vanilla pudding mix is the secret ingredient in many of my family’s best baked goods as well. Adding it to a cinnamon roll will be fantastic!
Made these this morning. Delicious, thank you.
I am now just waking from the coma they put me in.
Yay! So glad to hear the success stories!