Cinnamon Rolls to mark the end of 2012

The last post for the last day of this year.
A roller coaster year that this has been, it's had its Ups and Downs and Happiness and Sorrows....Its cold and warmth...Its surprises and disappointments..... overall an eventful year !!
A year of realisations and learnings.....a year of growing up......a little more !! A year of promises kept and promises broken....
A year in a lifetime and year of a life well lived......
So what better way to celebrate life lived in this year, than with a batch of warm freshly baked Cinnamon Rolls.

A perfect tea-time enhancer, these aromatic cinnamon rolls fill the atmosphere with their sweet, spicy aroma bringing smiles to anyone's face.

I've been putting baking these rolls on a back-burner for a while..another one of those dishes that intimidate me, but finally I mustered all my courage yet again and dug deep into my flour sacks to bake this aromatic yeasty dough !!

Cinnamon Rolls

Ingredients

1 cup warm milk (45 degrees C)

2 eggs, room temperature

1/3 cup butter, melted

4 ½ cups all purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

½ cup white sugar

2 ½ teaspoons dry active yeast

1 cup brown sugar, packed

3 tablespoons ground cinnamon

1/3 cup butter, softened

1 (3 ounce) package cream cheese, softened

¼ cup butter, softened

1 ½ cups confectioners' sugar

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

1/8 teaspoon salt

Directions

1. Place flour, yeast, salt and white sugar into your mixer or bowl. Mix together.

2. Add milk, eggs and butter to mixture and mix until combined. If you are using a regular bowl, remove the dough from the bowl and knead it on a floured surface for 5 minutes. 

3. Place dough under a large bowl and let it rise for about 20 minutes, or until it has doubled in size.

4. While dough is rising, in a small bowl, combine brown sugar and cinnamon.

5. On a floured surface, roll dough into a 16x21 inch rectangle.

6. Spread dough with 1/3 cup butter and sprinkle evenly with sugar/cinnamon mixture. Roll up dough and cut into 12 rolls.

7. Place rolls in a lightly greased 9x13 inch baking pan.

8. Cover and let rise until nearly doubled, about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

9. Bake rolls in preheated oven until golden brown, about 12-15 minutes. 

10. While rolls are baking, beat together cream cheese, ¼ cup butter, confectioners' sugar, vanilla extract and salt.

11. Spread frosting on warm rolls before serving.

Happy Baking !!!