Cinnamon Rolls!

I have always been a little intimidated by bread recipes. It is because of the kneading. All that pressing and punching and pinching and rolling and if the bread turns out flat and hard - all those beads of sweat for nothing. That was why I have kept this recipe for a long time and in fact have bought the cinnamon powder ages ago with the intention to make these but have yet to even open the packaging to smell the lovely cinnamon aroma to tempt me into making the rolls.

But somehow, in this holy fasting month, I felt the urge to give it a go, but even then, I was too afraid to face the punching and pressing and rolling alone, so I asked my idle housemate, Kuzco, a Malaysian living in one of our rooms who has nothing to do all day except to look at the pc and apply for jobs, to help me with it. It turned out that he also misses his Cinnabon from the concourse floor at KLCC and so he gladly agreed to help me.

This is my first try at making any sort of real bread and I thank God that it turned out B.E.A.U.T.I.F.U.L.L.Y. (with Kuzco's help at the kneading and measuring - rest assured that you have redeemed yourself, Kuzco, from your mistake of not adding that bit of warm water in the recipe - and letting me proceed to punch holes into the dough when there is 1 ingredient lacking!). And so, I would like to recommend this recipe to anyone out there who is living anywhere where there is no St Cinnamon or Cinnabon - we are in the same boat, my friends! - this recipe is easy and the result is wonderful, even for a first timer like me.

Therefore, I am confident that YOU can do it too.

INGREDIENTS:
1/4 cup warm water
1/4 cup butter, melted
1/2 (47g) package instant vanilla pudding mix
1 cup warm milk
1 egg, room temperature
1 tablespoon white sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 cups bread flour
1 (7g) package active dry yeast

1/4 cup butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar
4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
3/4 cup chopped pecans/ raisins

1/2 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 teaspoons milk

DIRECTIONS:
In a large bowl, combine water, melted butter, vanilla pudding, warm milk, egg, 1 tablespoon sugar, salt, bread flour and yeast. Mix together and knead for 8-10 minutes and leave covered in a warm place for 1 hour.

After 1 hour, the size of the dough will have doubled. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and roll into a 17x10 inch rectangle. Spread with softened butter. In a small bowl, stir together brown sugar, cinnamon and pecans. Sprinkle brown sugar mixture over dough.
Roll up dough, beginning with long side. Slice into 16 one inch slices and place in 9x13 buttered pan - but I used a normal 9" round cake tin. Let rise in a warm place for about 15 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

Bake in preheated oven for 15 to 20 minutes. While rolls bake, stir together cream cheese, softened butter, confectioners' sugar, vanilla and milk. Remove rolls from oven and top with frosting. (I did not prepare the topping because I was confident that the rolls will not turn out nice so why bother. So I missed out on tasting these wonderful rolls with their topping. Next time, I will definitely make the topping.)

Some pics: