In your bread machine or stand mixer add in all your dough ingredients in the order listed. If using a bread machine, set the machine to a dough cycle which will work to knead and rise the dough a few times during its cycle. I use the KBS bread machine and for me it is cycle 14 titled “Leaven Dough”.

If using a stand mixer, add in your wet ingredients, give it a good stir and follow up by adding in your dry ingredients and incorporating them using a dough hook. I personally prefer using a bread machine because of its multi knead and rise cycles, but if you are just using a stand mixer, you may have to let the dough knead for quite awhile to achieve that elastic dough texture. If the dough seems too sticky, add in a tablespoon of flour until coming together nicely. When finished, cover with a wet tea towel and let it sit in a warm place for at least an hour or until dough has visibly increased in size.

During that time, add your filling ingredients to a bowl and using a hand blender, combine the mixture until is it a uniform product.

Also, this is a good time to grab your cooking pan or cast iron and grease it with a little bit of butter. I use a 13x9 glass pan or 10" deep cast iron pan for baking my rolls.

Flour your surface and place your dough onto it and using a rolling pin, roll your dough into a large rectangle (mine is usually about 13x9). Flour the top as well if you feel the dough is sticking to your rolling pin. Sprinkle or spread your filling over the dough. Sometimes I spread it when my butter is soft enough, other times I can only sprinkle it when the butter is quite firm. It turns out great either way!

Now it is time to roll your dough. Taking the short end, start tightly rolling your dough until it is a log. Work to tuck the dough under itself and don't be shy to stretch it out a bit as you go to yield a multi layer swirl bun. Looks like a rose instead of a large swirl once baked this way! Take a sharpe knife and cut the log in half and each half into 6 pieces, yielding you 12 pieces total. Place each one prettiest side up on your pan and if you want to, unwind the first part of your dough roll and tuck it under the roll. This will help keep the filling in better during cooking but isn't necessary.

Cover your cinnamon rolls with a damp cloth and let rise for at least an hour or until puffing up.

Bake your cinnamon rolls at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes. Check them at the 35 minute mark or even sooner to ensure you are not over baking them as we want soft rolls that are golden on the tops.

While these are cooling down a bit, use a hand beater to whip your glaze/frosting together in a medium bowl. This will not be a fluffy icing but a creamy glaze for the buns. If you want a more icing texture, add in more icing sugar. If you want more of a glaze, add more milk. When the rolls have cooled down, pour the glaze over all the rolls and spread. This glaze does not cause the buns to get soft and can easily be reheated to get that soft texture back.

You are ready to eat these delish cinnamon rolls!