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Perfect Maple Cinnamon Rolls

By Alexis
These are full-fat, have all the calories, real sugar and butter, and LOTS of love.  I don't mess when it comes to sweet rolls served warm.  There is no room for your "diet" in this recipe.  
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Ingredients
  

For the dough:

  • 4-5 cups flour
  • 4 ½ teaspoon dry active yeast 2 packages
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • ¾ cup whole milk
  • ½ cup water
  • ½ cup melted salted butter
  • ½ cup sugar
  • 1 egg

For the filling:

  • 1 ¼ cup salted butter melted and divided to ¾ cup and ½ cup
  • 2 cups packed brown sugar
  • 2 tablespoon ground cinnamon

For the frosting:

  • 3-4 cups powdered sugar
  • 1 teaspoon maple flavoring
  • ¼ cup half and half
  • 2 tablespoon melted butter
  • 2 tablespoon strong brewed coffee
  • ⅛ teaspoon salt

Instructions
 

  1. Set up your stand mixer and set aside.
  2. In a small saucepan, heat the milk, water, butter, and sugar over medium heat until it reaches about 120 degrees.  This will be just before boiling and you will see it start to foam a tiny bit with bubbles.  Do not let it scald or boil.  Keep an eye on it and stir frequently so that the sugar won't burn.  This really only takes a few minutes even when doing it slowly over medium heat.
  3. In the bowl of your stand mixer, stir together 2 cups of the flour, the yeast, and salt.  Set aside remaining 2-3 cups flour for later.
  4. Take the liquid mixture off the heat and slowly pour in to stand mixer with dry ingredients.  Beat on medium speed with the paddle attachment until smooth.
  5. Add in the egg and ½ cup more flour and beat for another two minutes with the kneading hook attachment.
  6. Gradually add in enough of the remaining flour while mixing to make a soft dough.  The dough should be slightly sticky to the touch but should not stick to your hands or the sides of the bowl.
  7. Knead dough on speed 2 or 4 for about 6 minutes and then let the dough rest in the bowl for 20 minutes, covered with a dish towel or saran wrap.
  8. Once the dough has rested and risen, roll out on to a floured surface and roll into the shape of a long rectangle.
  9. In a small bowl, mix together ¾ cup melted butter, the brown sugar, and the cinnamon.
  10. Spread this sugar mixture evenly over the rectangle.  Use the remaining ½ cup melted butter and drizzle it over top of that mixture.
  11. Roll up like a jelly roll starting with the long side and rolling to the other long side keeping the roll tight.
  12. Pinch the dough ends together and use a sharp knife to cut into 12 rolls.
  13. Grease a 9x13 pan or line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
  14. I like my rolls a little more soft so I bake them in a dish with just a bit of space between each roll,  but if you want the edges of each one a little more brown, place them spaced apart about 2-3 inches on a baking sheet.
  15. Bake for 15-20 minutes until golden brown.  Let cool mostly before topping with frosting.
  16.  

Notes

You can make these the night before (or the day before) and put them in the fridge just before baking.  After baking them add the frosting.  Or you can bake them and let them cool completely and cover them with foil and freeze.  Thaw and then when at room temp, you can frost them and serve.  I like to heat them up a smidge and put a pat of butter on top of the warm gooey frosting....DIVINE!
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