The Clone Wars er I Mean The Cinnabon Clones

I?m home for a day! Just long enough to wash clothes, repack the motor home, and leave you with the cinnamon roll recipe I made for my younger brother Steve and his wife Dorian this weekend.

When Steve or I visit anyone we always bring food. There?s some powerful genetic pull that makes us overfeed anyone around us. We get it from our father, who will throw together eight dishes at once for a crowd of six. This time I brought homemade marshmallows, and the recipe to make these heavenly Cinnabon clones I found on AllRecipes.com.

We started off early Saturday morning with our rafts and tubes, meeting up with the Knutson?s Chevrolet crew to float down the Coeur d?Alene River. The river is wide, slow, and shallow, which makes it perfect for a lazy afternoon float. We brought beer and food of course, stopping off several times to snack and swim. The kids had a blast, although I think at the end of the four hour float they were ready to get off the rafts.

Later that night we roasted the homemade marshmallows and made smores. I also spent a few minutes prepping the dough for these cinnamon rolls (the bread machine did most of the work), then oiled a large bowl, tossed in the dough and coated it in the oil, covered it in plastic wrap, and stuck it in the refrigerator for Sunday?s breakfast. I took the dough out of the fridge when I woke up, and let it warm to room temperature before rolling it out.

I have lots to do so I better get started this morning. I?m heading out tomorrow to pick blackberries and explore my own state some more. Idaho is beautiful in the summer and I don?t want to miss it.

See you next week.

Dough
1 cup warm milk (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
2 eggs, room temperature
1/3 cup margarine, melted and cooled
4 1/2 cups bread flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup white sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons bread machine yeast

Filling
1 cup brown sugar, packed
2 1/2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
1/3 cup butter, softened

Icing
1 (3 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt

Directions
1. Place the dough ingredients in the pan of the bread machine in the order recommended by the manufacturer. Select dough cycle; press Start.

2. After the dough has doubled in size turn it out onto a lightly floured surface, cover and let rest for 10 minutes. In a small bowl, combine brown sugar and cinnamon.

3. Roll dough into a 16x21 inch rectangle. Spread dough with 1/3 cup butter and sprinkle evenly with sugar/cinnamon mixture. Roll up dough and cut into 12 rolls. Place rolls in a lightly greased 9x13 inch baking pan. Cover and let rise until nearly doubled, about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).

4. Bake rolls in preheated oven until golden brown, about 15 minutes (Mine took 18 minutes, I like them a little more well done). While rolls are baking, beat together cream cheese, 1/4 cup butter, confectioners' sugar, vanilla extract and salt. Spread frosting on warm rolls before serving.

Cinnabon clone recipe from AllRecipes.com. Picture by Laura Flowers.