Quick Cinnamon Rolls

Our normal Saturday routine lately is a 5 AM wake up call to get the kids up and out the door by 5:30 for a Cross Country meet.  It's actually only an hour earlier than I get up on most weekdays but for some reason it seems REALLY early on a Saturday morning.

I could just wake the kids up and send them off to the meet with a granola bar but my mommy guilt kicks in and I feel the need to make a nice, warm, hearty meal to start their busy day. 

Courtney normally requests breakfast burritos on the days that they have Cross Country meets.  I've also been known to make oatmeal or waffles before they head out the door.  The Saturday morning varies quite a bit depending on how much time I want to dedicate to breakfast preparation. 

I love that Ryan can drive them to meet the bus at school so Ben and I can have a few extra minutes to get ourselves ready on Saturday morning.  It would be great if we could crawl back in bed after they leave to meet the bus and get a few extra minutes of sleep but that almost never happens.

 
The other morning, after the kids left, I used my extra time to bake up some cinnamon rolls for the runners.  My plan was to take them to the meet with me so the team could eat them after the race.  I made the rolls the night before and proofed them in the refrigerator overnight.  All I had to do on Saturday morning was to take them out of the frig and let them rise and then pop them into the oven for a few minutes.  Nothing to it. 

I found this recipe for "Quicker Cinnamon Buns" in my Cook's Country magazine and the recipe only made 8 rolls so I decided to triple the recipe.  I figured if I was going to be taking these rolls to the team, I needed enough to feed them all.  What I ended up with was WAY more than 24 rolls.  I think I had somewhere around 40 cinnamon rolls when all was said and done. 

Quicker Cinnamon Rolls
Filling
3/4 cup light brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar
1 Tablespoon cinnamon
2 Tablespoons butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla

Dough
1 1/4 cups whole milk
4 teaspoons yeast
2 Tablespoons sugar
2 3/4 cups flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoons salt
4 Tablespoons butter, melted

Glaze
3 ounces cream cheese
2 Tablespoons butter, melted
2 Tablespoon whole milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup powdered sugar

For filling, combine brown sugar, sugar cinnamon and salt in a bowl.  Stir in melted butter and vanilla.
Grease 9" pan.  Pour 1/4 cup warm milk into a bowl and stir in yeast and 1 teaspoon sugar.  Let sit 5 minutes.

Whisk flour, baking powder, salt and 5 teaspoons sugar together.  Stir in 2 Tablespoons butter, yeast mixture and 1 cup milk.  Knead 2 minutes.

Roll dough into a 12x9" rectangle. 

Brush dough with 2 Tablespoons melted butter.

Sprinkle dough with filling and spread evenly.

Roll dough, starting with long side. 

Cut into 1 inch pieces.

Lay onto silpat lined baking sheets.

Cover tray and refrigerate overnight OR cover and let rise in a warm place for 30 minutes.
Bake 25 minutes at 350.

Combine glaze ingredients in mixer and blend until smooth.  Drizzle over warm buns.

Do you know what Cross Country runners like to do after they run a race?  Eat!  Cinnamon rolls apparently.

Ciao!