Cake Batter Cinnamon Rolls

If you know me I am a true lover of cinnamon rolls, and this cinnamon rolls are so pretty, with the  color inside the fluffy dough and on the outside with the delicious creamy and simple glaze. The  beautiful breakfast cinnamon rolls are perfect for a brunch or Sunday morning. Who am I kidding, I can bake and eat these any day of the week. The dough puffs up perfectly and is so soft. This dough is one of the fluffiest and tender rolls you will ever eat. They are not difficult to make, after I came across this recipe and followed it exactly, they were perfect. Even though they are called cake batter cinnamon rolls, you do not use cake box mix. You eat with your eyes first, after you bake these and see how beautiful they look, this will be one that will impress everyone..

Ingredients For The Dough:

• 1 cup milk
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1 and 1/2 tablespoons Red Star active dry yeast (2 standard size packets)*
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 4 and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling 

Ingredients For The Filling:

• ½ cup sugar
• ¾ cup all-purpose flour
• 2 Tablespoons nonfat dry milk powder (or dry coffee creamer )
• ¼ tsp salt
• ¼ cup unsalted butter (1/2 stick), cold & cut into 4 pieces
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ½ cup sprinkles, not nonpareils
• 6 Tablespoons unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
• 1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 
  

For The Glaze:

• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 3 Tablespoons heavy cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Make The Dough: In a small saucepan, warm the milk over low heat until lukewarm ( to about 95 degrees F). Pour the warm milk into the bowl of a stand electric mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment and manually stir in the sugar and yeast. Cover with a towel and let stand until the yeast is foamy, about 5-10 minutes. Add the softened butter, eggs, and salt. Scrape down the sides and manually stir as needed. Chunks of butter will remain and that is okay. Then gradually add the flour and beat at medium speed until a soft dough forms. Increase speed to medium-high and beat until the dough is soft about 6 minutes longer. *If you do not have a hook attachment, you can knead the dough by hand for this step.
2. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and knead it with your hands for about 2 minutes. Form the dough into a ball and transfer it to a lightly greased bowl. Cover the dough and let sit in a warm place until doubled in size, can take up to 1-2 hours.
3. Line the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish with parchment paper, leaving an overhang.  Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and, using a rolling pin, roll into a 10x24 inch rectangle.  Make sure the dough is smooth and evenly thick throughout entire dough.
4. Make The Filling: In a food processor, combine the sugar, flour, milk powder, and salt. Process for 10 seconds. Add the pieces of butter and pulse for 10 more seconds. Add the vanilla over the top and pulse until the mixture is crumbly, for about 10-15 seconds, then fold  in the sprinkles using a fork.
5. Spread dough with 6 Tablespoons of softened butter and top with cinnamon. Sprinkle 3/4 cup of the cake mix filling overtop. There will be some leftover. Tightly roll up the dough to form a 24-inch-long log. Cut into 15 even rolls (about 1.5 inches in width each). Arrange them in the prepared baking pan, cut sides up. Cover the rolls with a tea towel and let them rise in a warm place until they are puffy, for about 2 hours.
6. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Cover the rolls with aluminum foil and bake for about 25 minutes, until they are golden. Transfer the pan to a rack to cool for about 15 minutes.
7. Make The Glaze: In a small bowl, whisk the confectioner’s sugar, heavy cream, and vanilla until smooth. Depending on how thick or thin you like, you can add more cream or sugar, whisk until smooth and no lumps. Pour glaze over the rolls and serve warm. Store in a airtight container, if needed you can warm up for the next few days in the microwave for 10 seconds.

recipe from:http://sallysbakingaddiction.com/2013/03/25/cake-batter-cinnamon-rolls-without-cake-mix/