Cinnamon Rolls

This has been my favorite cinnamon roll recipe for years. I don't make them often because to have them for breakfast, you have to make them the night before and finish them in the morning. Or, eat them at 11am. :)

This particular recipe is for a bread machine. Since I don't have one, I just adapted it for a stand mixer. It's very straightforward, and the results are amazing!!

Clone of a Cinnabon adapted from allrecipes.com

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup warm milk (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)

2 1/2 teaspoons yeast

2 eggs, room temperature 1/3 cup butter, melted 1 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup white sugar

4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

Filling  1 cup brown sugar, packed

2 1/2 tablespoons ground cinnamon

1/3 cup butter, softened

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

DIRECTIONS:

	In the bowl of a stand mixer, sprinkle yeast over warm milk. Let stand 5 minutes. Add eggs, butter, salt and sugar. Mix. Add flour, a cup at a time and knead until the dough is slightly tacky. Turn dough out on a floured surface and knead for a couple of minutes. Place in an oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise in a warm, dry place until doubled in size.
	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.
	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).
	Bake rolls in preheated oven until golden brown, about 15 minutes. While rolls are baking, beat together cream cheese, 1/4 cup butter, confectioners' sugar, vanilla extract. Spread frosting on warm rolls before serving.

Soccer Ball Cake

This cake was for my little rascal, who turned 2. His favorite things are balloons and balls. I don't why I decided to make the most difficult ball out of all the balls, but he really loves soccer, so I decided to try it out. I don't have a ball pan, so I carved this, and then used a hexagon pattern I made. After putting all the white pieces on, I traced each spot where the black ones would go so they would fit perfectly.

Oh, and when I asked him what kind of cake he wanted, he said, "Boo (blue)." So this is what we ate- blue vanilla:

Happy birthday to my sweet boy!