Mere's Cinnamon Buns

Meredith, one of my 3 wonderful nieces, made these amazing cinnamon buns. I twisted her arm for the recipe and a few photos. OK- no twisting involved... she just sent them to me. These are a Cinnabon Knockoff recipe- I think she got the recipe on recipezaar.com, but I'm not sure. So- if you have extra time on your hands over the holidays- here's a great recipe to try. Mere says they are soft and fluffy and amazingly similar to those wonderful treats they make at Cinnabon stores. My mouth is watering!!!

Cinnamon Buns
2 cups warm water
1/2 cup sugar
4 teaspoons (2 packages) dry yeast
2 eggs
1 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup canola oil
6-7 cups flour

Dissolve the yeast in the warm water. Let sit for a minute or two. Add the sugar and salt. Mix. Add the cooking oil (or shortening), 2 eggs, 2 cups of flour and beat until smooth.

Stir in 3 more cups of flour. Begin kneading the dough, adding the final cup of flour. If the dough seems too sticky, knead in more flour, a quarter to a half cup at a time. Let the dough "rest" for 15 to 20 minutes.

Roll the dough into a rectangle that's 24 to 30 inches long by about 16 inches wide. Spread with soft butter and sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar. Starting at the wide end, roll into a log. Cut the cinnamon rolls into equal sized slices (approximately one inch wide each or slightly more) and place into two greased 9x13 pans.

Put in a warm place to rise for 45 minutes. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes (or until the cinnamon rolls are golden brown). Allow to cool for 5 minutes and then turn out of the pans.

Cinnabon Knockoff Frosting
This recipe makes a double batch. You can cut it in half for the above recipe. It also freezes well so you can make the full recipe and freeze leftovers for a future batch of buns. It helps to make this in a stand mixer if you have one (or you'll get a strong arm holding the hand mixer!)

1 pound margarine
1 pound cream cheese
2 pounds powdered sugar
2 teaspoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Allow margarine and cream cheese to reach room temperature. Beat cream cheese and margarine together in a bowl with a mixer. Slowly add in all powdered sugar. Once all of the sugar is in the bowl mix for at least an additional 12 minutes. When almost done, add in the extracts.

ENJOY!