2 Hour Cinnamon Rolls with Buttercream Frosting

I know, I know, another cinnamon roll recipe?? I just can't stop myself from trying new cinnamon rolls, especially if they are suppose to be yummy and faster to make. These cinnamon rolls turned out great and they only took 2 hours to make! That is awesomeness. These are the perfect cinnamon rolls to make on Valentine's morning for your family. What says love like a warm homemade cinnamon roll?! The buttercream frosting is absolutely delicious, but if you are a fan of cream cheese frosting, use the frosting from this cinnamon roll recipe - it's also great.

2 Hour Cinnamon Rolls with Buttercream Frosting

Dough:
1/2 cup warm water
2 heaping tablespoons yeast (I use SAF brand)
2 cups milk
1 cup butter (2 sticks), melted
1 egg
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
7-8 cups bread flour

Filling:
1/4-1/2 cup butter, softened
1/4 - 1/2 cup brown sugar
2-3 teaspoons cinnamon

Frosting:
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
4 cups or a 1 lb box powdered sugar
3-4 tablespoons milk or cream

Directions:
Add 1/2 cup warm water and yeast to the bowl of a heavy-duty stand mixer (I use a Bosch). Let yeast dissolve in water for a few minutes. Warm milk in the microwave for about 1 minute, add to the yeast mixture in the mixer. Add melted butter, egg, 3/4 cup sugar, salt and 3 cups of flour. Mix for a minute. Add in more flour a cup at a time until the dough pulls away from the sides of the mixer, for me it was 7 1/2 cups of flour total. Knead with dough hook on high for 2 minutes. Form dough into a ball and put into a large greased bowl covered with non-stick sprayed plastic wrap and let rise for 45 minutes to 1 hour or until dough has doubled in size.

Punch down dough and roll out on a large floured surface (or if you don't have as large of a surface you can cut the dough in half and then roll out) into a large rectangle. Spread softened butter on the dough (I used about 1/4 cup). Sprinkle with 1/4 to 1/2 cup brown sugar. Sprinkle 2-3 teaspoons of cinnamon over the brown sugar. Roll up the dough, starting on the long side of the rectangle, as tightly as you can. Pinch the seams of the dough together. Slice dough into 1 inch pieces, dental floss works great for this or you can use a sharp knife and place on greased cookie sheets (2 greased cookie sheets with 15 rolls on each works great) or in greased 9x13 baking dishes leaving a little space between the rolls (or a lot of space between if you don't want them to bake together). You end up with 25-30 rolls.

Bake at 350 degrees for 15-25 minutes (no, you do not need to let them rise again!). The time it takes to bake through depends on the kind of pans you used. For a normal cookie sheet it will take closer to 15 minutes, for a glass baking dish it will take closer to 20, and for stoneware pans it will take closer to 24 or 25 minutes. Start checking around 15 minutes and make sure the bottoms are golden. Remove from oven and let cool while you make the frosting.

Frosting:
Beat together softened 1/2 cup of butter, vanilla, powdered sugar, and 3-4 tablespoons of milk or cream. Beat until frosting and smooth and a spreadable consistency. Spread on cinnamon rolls after they have cooled for about 20 minutes.