One of my favorite indulgences on a sleepy Sunday morning is a cup of coffee with a cinnamon roll. The only thing better than a soft and gooey cinnamon bun is a soft and gooey cinnamon bun that's been topped with cream cheese icing! The recipe below is a little time consuming, but well worth the wait. Since the dough is made from scratch, it just takes a bit of time to allow the dough to rise while the yeast does its job.

The orange zest in this recipe is optional, it's a delightful change from the traditional roll. If you prefer to leave the orange out of the recipe, you can simply omit it and keep the other ingredients the same.

Cinnamon Buns

1 c. whole milk
¼ c. butter
¾ c. warm water, about 120 degrees
2 pk. dry yeast
2 Tb. granulated sugar
6 c. All Purpose Flour
3 each eggs, beaten
¾ c. granulated sugar
1 Tb. Kosher salt
1 tsp. vanilla
½ tsp. cinnamon
¼ tsp. nutmeg
2 Tb. Orange zest
½ c. brown sugar
½ c. granulated sugar
3 Tb. Cinnamon
8 oz. unsalted butter, softened
½ tsp. Kosher salt
1 ½ c. toasted and finely chopped pecans

Method:
In a small saucepan, scald the milk and ¼ c. of butter. Set aside.

Fix mixer with dough hook. Mix yeast, water, sugar in the bowl of the mixer. Allow to stand 10 minutes until very foamy

Combine the warm milk mixture, eggs, ¾ c. of sugar, 1 Tb. Salt, vanilla, ½ tsp of cinnamon, ¼ tsp. of nutmeg and orange zest.

Add egg mixture to yeast mixture in the mixing bowl and mix to combine. Add the flour and mix on low speed , then on medium speed for 8 minutes

Remove the hook and cover bowl with plastic wrap. Allow to rise for 2 hours at room temperature.

While the dough is done rising, combine softened butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar, 3 Tb. Cinnamon, kosher salt,

Stir this softened mixture together and set aside

Push the air out of the dough and dump out onto a floured surface. Divide dough into 2 portions. Roll one piece of dough into a ½ inch thick rectangle and spread with ½ of the butter mixture.Gently roll into a tight log , wrap in plastic and chill for 15 – 20 minutes. Repeat with the remaining dough and butter mixture

Remove plastic and slice dough into 2” pieces. Place the sliced pieces together in a greased pan (can be a cake pan or a casserole pan). Cover with plastic wrap and allow to double in size (about an additional 30 minutes) in a warm, draft-free place. Remove the plastic wrap.

Bake at 350 for 30 minutes, or until golden brown. While the rolls are in the oven, make the icing. When the rolls come out of the oven, top with icing when still warm.

Cream Cheese Icing

1 lb. cream cheese, softened
4 oz. butter, softened
To taste, vanilla
To taste, powdered sugar (I use very little)

Method: Mix all ingredients together until smooth. Adjust the flavors to suit your tastes. Spread on the cinnamon rolls when they are still warm.