Posted By Michelle on December 18, 2008

The other day, we braved the Mall.

Okay, let’s back up for a minute. Michelle is an avid shopper. She’ll run with the best of them, anytime of day or night. Leisurely strolling through stores just to window shop, is her favorite past time. Perhaps she’ll find a hidden sale of tremendous discount or maybe a must-have she’s been looking for and didn’t know she needed.

Greg is the exact opposite. He enters the store; list in hand, finds exactly what he is looking for; does not stop for any distraction and leaves as quickly as possible. In fact, it is very safe to say Greg loathes shopping of any kind in its entirety.

Greg and Michelle do agree on one thing in regards to the art of shopping, no one enters the mall during the holiday season unless absolutely necessary.

Have you ever noticed the kinds of people who roam the mall halls during the holidays? You’ve got the ankle-biting stroller Moms in full mall fury, your overwhelmed holiday-shopping Dads with raging forehead veins taking out toddlers with thunderous bags, Seniors who could possibly be escaping a Silver Alert and seem strangely lost, and then you have your holiday-shopper-gawkers.

Oh the gawkers. These are the people who walk in front of you and for no reason what so ever, just stop. They look around as if they have no idea why or how they even got into the mall. This causes you to almost trample over them along with their 4 children in-tow. Perhaps if you are not 6’ foot or taller, the impact may not be that bad. The Sherpas are a minimum of 6’1” each. An impact at full walking speed could easily warrant a bloody, knee-scraping tumble and no one likes to make kids cry.

In the past, we always exited the mall with our blood pressure boiling and a feverish line of sweat above our brows, but we decided to try this year. We decided to attempt to have a good time at the mall because we HAD to go. It’s the holidays, after all. Be merry!

It failed, horribly. It was god-awful except for one glimmering moment…the cinnamon bun hut!

We were so caught up in the fury of the mall, we’d forgotten about the glorious bigger-than-your-head cinnamon buns dripping with sweet cream cheese frosting and overflowing with warm buttery cinnamon. So good, so good, but absolutely NOT worth a trip to the mall during the holidays, hence the recipe below. Don’t go people, shop online this year. Please for the sake of the holidays, don’t put yourself through the torture!

Better-Than-The-Mall Cinnamon Buns

For the Buns:
1 pkg. active Dry yeast (1/4 oz. size or 2 1/4 tsp.)
1 c. warm milk (105º to 110º F.)
1/2 c. granulated sugar
1/3 c. butter, melted
1 tsp. salt
2 eggs
4 c. all-purpose flour

For the Filling:
1 c. packed brown sugar
2 1/2 TBS. cinnamon
1/3 c. butter, softened

For the Icing:
1/4 c. butter, softened
2 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 1/2 c. powdered sugar
1 tbp. whole milk
1/4 tsp. vanilla
1/8 tsp. lemon extract

For the buns, dissolve the yeast in the warm milk in a large bowl. Mix together the sugar, butter, salt & eggs. Add flour and mix well. Knead the dough into a large ball, using your hands lightly dusted with flour. Put in a bowl, cover, and let rise in a warm place about an hour or until the dough has doubled in size. Roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface. Roll the dough flat until it is approximately 21 inches long and 16 inches wide. It should be about ¼ inch thick.
Preheat oven to 400º F.
For the filling, combine the brown sugar and cinnamon in a bowl. Spread the softened butter evenly over the surface of the dough, and then sprinkle the cinnamon-sugar evenly over the surface.
Working carefully from the top (a 21 inch side), roll the dough down to the bottom edge.
Cut the rolled dough into 1 ¾ inch slices and place 6 at a time, evenly spaced, in a lightly greased baking pan. Let the rolls rise again until doubled in size (about 30 min.). Bake for 10 minutes, or until golden on top.
While the rolls bake, make the icing by mixing the butter and cream cheese in a large bowl with an electric mixer on high speed. Add the powdered sugar and mix on low speed until the sugar is incorporated, then add the milk, vanilla, and lemon extract. Mix on high speed again until the icing is smooth and fluffy.
When the rolls come out of the oven, let them cool for about 10 minutes, then coat generously with the icing.

Categories: Baking, Breakfast and Brunch, Dessert, Holiday, Our Comfort Food
Tags: cinnabon, cinnamon rolls, mall food, sticky buns