Perfect Cinnamon Rolls

I have made these cinnamon rolls multiple times over the past few months and every time they are a HUGE HIT! Literally, they are probably the perfect cinnamon roll. The roll itself is super light, but not doughy in the middle. That's always the worst part for me about home-made cinnamon rolls (the edges get hard and the middles get doughy). This is so not true with this recipe. The whole roll is perfectly cooked! And the frosting--wow. So yummy!

I actually got the recipe from: MyKitchenCafe (you have to check her out if you haven't already--amazing recipes).

Ingredients:
Rolls:
½ cup warm water
2 tablespoons active dry yeast
2 tablespoons sugar
3 ½ ounce package instant vanilla pudding
½ cup butter, melted
2 eggs
1 teaspoon salt
6+ cups flour

Filling:
1 cup butter, softened to room temperature
2 cups brown sugar
4 teaspoons cinnamon

Frosting:
8 ounces cream cheese
½ cup butter, softened to room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 cups confectioner’s sugar
2-3 tablespoons milk

Directions:
Combine water, yeast and sugar in a small bowl and set it aside. Make the vanilla pudding according to directions (in a larger bowl) and the melted butter, eggs, salt, yeast mixture and flour. Knead the dough until it's smooth. It should be soft, not sticky. Let rise until doubled. Divide the dough into two portions and roll out for cinnamon rolls. Spread half the butter and half the brown sugar/cinnamon (I mix the sugar and cinnamon together beforehand) over one of the rolls and roll out. I cut the rolls into 16 pieces and place them on a baking sheet. Repeat the process with the second ball of dough. This will yield 32 good-sized cinnamon rolls. The original recipe has you cut them into 12 rolls yielding 24, but I thought they were too big, so I cut them to 16. Let the rolls rise again. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes. Take them out just as they start to turn golden (not after--you really don't want to over bake these). I usually make the frosting while the rolls bake. Just mix all the ingredients together (I warm up the butter and cream cheese together and then add the rest of the ingredients). Top the warm rolls with frosting and enjoy!

These are really phenomenal rolls. I absolutely love them and they are my favorite cinnamon roll recipe to date!