Is there anything better??

Than the smell of Cinnamon Rolls? And this time, I'm not even talking about that Cinnabon you walk past in the mall or the kind that you crack open the can for! I decided that since I'd never made Cinnamon Rolls from scratch, that today would be the perfect day to try! It was rainy out, Paul was gone to hang out with his brother and I had the whole day ahead of me and nothing but time! Heaven...

I found this recipe on Allrecipes.com. It had over 600 reviews and got 5 stars, so that's what sold me...I had to run out and get the Instant Vanilla Pudding, but that's about it! Everything about this recipe was outstanding. The rolls came out light and fluffy, the frosting was as good as any old Cinnamon Roll chain booth you can think of! I'll definitely be making these again, I have one pan of them in the freezer to pull out one weekend and have fresh rolls!
Homemade Cinnamon Rolls
Recipe adapted from Allrecipes.com

Ingredients for dough

• 1/4 cup warm water
• 1/4 cup butter, melted
• 1/2 (3.4 ounce) package instant vanilla pudding mix (Based on Allrecipe.com reviews, I used the whole package)
  
• 1 cup warm milk
• 1 egg, room temperature
• 1 tablespoon white sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 4 cups bread flour (I used regular flour)
  
• 1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast (I used 2.5 tsp. of bulk yeast)
  

Ingredients for Filling

• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 3/4 cup chopped pecans (I omitted)
  

Ingredients for Frosting

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

Directions

1. In the pan of your bread machine, combine water, melted butter, vanilla pudding, warm milk, egg, 1 tablespoon sugar, salt, bread flour and yeast. Set machine to Dough cycle; press Start. (I don't have a bread maker. I put all the ingredients into my stand mixer, the warm water, sugar, butter, warm milk then yeast, let it sit for a minute or so, then added the rest of the ingredients, mixed it until it was a ball shape, covered & let it rest for 1 hour. Then I turned it out onto the floured surface, kneeded it for about 5 minutes and proceeded with the next step...)
   
2. When Dough cycle has finished, 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.
3. Roll up dough, beginning with long side. Slice into 16 one inch slices and place in 9x13 buttered pan (I used 2 9" round cake pans, 8 rolls in each). Let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 45 minutes. (At this point, I froze one of the two pans for use later.) Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
4. 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.