Rolling with the Cinnamon Rolls

(Sorry TWD fans, I have no Caramel-Peanut-Topped Brownie Cake to share today. I've got some other baking to do this week, plus we just had 2 birthday cakes recently and I just did not want all the sweets around. Be sure to check out the blogroll for this beautiful looking cake, made by other TWDers! I'll be back with a TWD in a couple of weeks.)


I posted not too long ago about finding the perfect cinnamon roll recipe. I have tried many before, including a family recipe of mine. They weren't what I was looking for so I went on a search. Well that did not take long, and I have to say that I was lucky to have found not one but two great recipes! They are from other fellow food bloggers, so I knew they had to be good, right?

The first one I tried out came from The Sister's Cafe: Perfectly wonderful Cinnamon Rolls. I made these to take to our camp out for breakfast the next morning. These were pretty good, the recipe reminded me of my mom's . I liked that you lay them on a tray and not in a pan. They look more like danishes this way, I think. However, they spread out more and became a little flat, but that's ok.












Then after making these, I came across another recipe, using vanilla pudding!
Melanie at My Kitchen Cafe posted these: Vanilla Pudding Cinnamon Rolls with Cream Cheese Frosting. Gosh I knew I had to try them, they sounded like they'd be really moist with the pudding in them. These were really messy to work with, you made vanilla pudding as directed then combine it with the ingredients for the rolls. During my 1st rise, the dough was really runny, but held together. I had to work in at least 1 Cup more of flour just so I could roll these out. I let them rise a 2nd time and they just practically melted on the tray. I carried on and baked them anyways. They turned out ok, the buttery insides melted, oozed out and caramelized leaving yummy crunchies to nibble on. The frosting is really yummy, my favorite kind. My husband commented on these eing really good, and had himself a 2nd roll! I knew this one was a keeper for sure.

My tips for the next time on these:
* do not leave the oven on warm to do a 2nd rise. I think that's causing my rolls to flatten out.
* and for height, place them in a pan with at least a 2" edge.

yes, vanilla pudding is an ingredient!


ooh, runny mess


working in more flour


still working in more flour


they came out great!


look at that buttery cinnamon crunchie