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Cinnabon Cinnamon Rolls Clone Recipe

Cinnabon'sŽ World Famous Cinnamon Roll

Recipe By:	Ron and Shallen Gordon
Serving Size:	15 Rolls
Preparation Time:	3 to 4 Hours
Categories:	Baking, Bread, Muffins, Rolls, Sticky-buns

We've worked very hard over the past several years to develop an accurate clone or copy-cat recipe that you can prepare at home for Cinnabon^Ž Cinnamon Rolls. The recipe below is not their recipe, but one we've engineered through extensive research, careful tests and much experimentation. We've improved upon our earlier recipe and after many test batches, we're convinced that this revised copy-cat recipe will enable you to recreate that wonderful taste!

You may wish to visit their Web site, The Cinnabon Experience, and review their wonderful presentation, The Cinnabon Story. There's some interesting information at their site, but alas, no recipe since the actual recipe is proprietary. Although several other Web sites claim to have the real recipe, we hope that you'll find that the one presented here provides the most accurate taste and appearance. We've made every effort to closely reproduce their results and clone that great cinnamon roll flavor! Judging from the many letters we've received from readers around the world who have used our recipe and achieved great results, we've evidently succeeded!

This recipe has been sized so that the dough may be prepared using a large capacity (2 pound) bread machine.

Dough

Amount	Measure	Ingredient and Preparation Method
1/4	Cup	Water (2 oz)
1	Cup	Whole Milk (8 oz)
1/2	Cup	Butter, unsalted sweet cream, melted (0.25 lb, i.e. 1 stick)
1 1/4	ea	Egg, Large Grade AA, well beaten
1	tsp	Vanilla Flavor (preferably alcohol free)
1/2	tsp	Salt (0.0075 lb)
1/2	Cup	Sugar, preferably Superfine Granulated (0.224 lb)
4 1/2	Cup	Unbleached White Bread Flour (1 1/4 lb)
1	Tbsp	Vital Wheat Gluten (0.021 lb)
1/4	oz	SAF Perfect Rise^Ž Gourmet Yeast (1 envelope, 7 g)

Remove a large egg from the refrigerator and permit it to reach room temperature. Gently melt the butter. Add the Water and Whole Milk. The resulting liquid mixture should be permitted to cool so that it is between 75°F (24°C) and 85°F (30°C) before proceeding further. Then add the remaining ingredients, in the order listed above, to the bread machine and prepare using the dough setting. (Follow your bread machine instructions for dough preparation.)

To help you achieve the very best results, see also our additional notes on ingredients and preparation.

Filling

Amount	Measure	Ingredient and Preparation Method
1	Cup	Light Brown Sugar, firmly packed (0.4255 lb)
5	Tbsp	Cinnamon, Korintje Grade AA (0.0745 lb)
1/2	Cup	Margarine (0.25 lb, i.e. 1 stick)

Remove the margarine from the refrigerator once you've started the dough cycle and allow it to reach room temperature. In a small bowl, mix the brown sugar and cinnamon.

After the dough cycle has completed, roll and stretch the dough out on a lightly floured surface into a 15" by 24" (38 cm by 61 cm) rectangle.

Cinnabon Rolls, ready to slice! Mark off 1" along the 24" edge of the dough, closest to you. You will not spread any Margarine or Sugar-Cinnamon mixture on this edge so that you can seal the roll. Spread the softened Margarine over the dough with a rubber spatula and then evenly distribute the Sugar and Cinnamon mixture. Be careful to leave your 1" edge clean. As a final step, use your rolling pin to lightly roll the Sugar and Cinnamon mixture.

Starting at the far edge of the dough, roll it up tightly. Begin at the far edge and roll up the dough toward the 1" clean edge. The clean 1" edge is used to seal the finished roll. Trim the left and right ends of the roll. The result will be a 24" roll. Trim off the left and right ends of the roll so that you have a flush end at each end of the roll. Then mark the roll every 1 1/2 inches (3.8 cm). Cut the roll into 1 1/2" long portions. This may be done with a knife, as they do at the store. However we've found it easier to use dental floss. (We use cinnamon flavored dental floss just for dramatic effect!) Cut the roll by placing the thread under the roll at your mark, crisscross over and pull it to cut. You should get 15 rolls.

Line your baking pans with parchment paper. Place 5 rolls into 8" square baking pans 1" apart. (One roll in each corner, and one in the center.) Cover with a lint free cloth and let rise in a warm, draft free place until almost double, approximately 1 hour. After rising, rolls should be touching each other and the sides of the pan. This is important for best results. This gives the resulting rolls the soft, moist outer edge that most people prefer.

After rising, bake in a convection oven at 310°F for 15 minutes. If you are using a conventional oven, bake at 335°F for 20 minutes. The resulting rolls should be only lightly browned. We bake only one 8 inch square pan of rolls at a time to obtain uniform results.

Cream Cheese Frosting

Amount	Measure	Ingredient and Preparation Method
4	oz	Cream Cheese (0.25 lb)
1/2	Cup	Margarine (0.25 lb, i.e. 1 stick)
1 3/4	Cup	10x Powdered Sugar (or Sugar Fondant) (1/2 lb)
1	tsp	Vanilla Flavor (preferably Alcohol Free)
1/8	tsp	Lemon Flavor (preferably Alcohol Free)

There are several steps involved in the preparation of the frosting. But it is not difficult, and you'll be surprised at the wonderful results you achieve. For the fluffiest frosting, use Vanilla and Lemon flavors that do not contain alcohol. A total of 50 minutes is required to prepare the frosting, from start to finish. We normally prepare the frosting while the rolls are rising.

Generally, we use 10x Powdered Sugar. However, Sugar Fondant yields a smoother frosting. Please refer to our notes.

Remove the cream cheese and margarine from the refrigerator and place it into the mixing bowl. Leave it for about half an hour so that it will not be too cold.

Use the Flat Beater (or Paddle) to blend the cream cheese and margarine for 6 minutes. Use a speed of 65 RPM, or the "slow mixing" speed on your machine. We use setting #2 on our KitchenAid Mixer.

Switch to the Stainless Steel Whip and whip the cream cheese and margarine mixture for 10 minutes. Use a speed of 150 RPM, or the "medium fast whipping" speed on your machine. We use setting #6 on our KitchenAid Mixer.

Add 1 cup of the powdered sugar and mix for 1 minute using the Stainless Steel Whip at 65 RPM. Add the remaining 3/4 cup of powdered sugar and mix for an additional minute.

Lastly, add the Vanilla Flavor and Lemon Flavor and whip for 1 minute using the Stainless Steel Whip at 150 RPM.

Here's an easy to follow table for the preparation of the frosting:

Add Cream Cheese and Margarine to mixing bowl and let stand for 30 minutes.
Mix using Paddle	at 65 RPM	for 6 minutes
Use Stainless Steel Whip	at 150 RPM	for 10 minutes
Add 1 Cup Powdered Sugar.
Use Stainless Steel Whip	at 65 RPM	for 1 minute
Add 3/4 Cup Powdered Sugar.
Use Stainless Steel Whip	at 65 RPM	for 1 minute
Add Vanilla and Lemon flavors.
Use Stainless Steel Whip	at 150 RPM	for 1 minute

Transfer the finished frosting to a convenient covered container and refrigerate it. Once the rolls are finished baking, frost them while they're still very warm and serve them immediately. Yum, yum!

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We've already received many wonderful email messages from folks from around the world who have tried this recipe and have enjoyed the results. Folks from across the United States, and in Australia, Saudi Arabia, Canada, and England are just some who have prepared this recipe and written to us! It has truly become a world famous recipe for cinnamon rolls.

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Cinnabon and the Cinnabon World Famous Cinnamon Rolls logo are registered trademarks of Cinnabon, Inc. The www.GordonFamily.com Web site is not affiliated with Cinnabon, Inc. The information presented has been independently developed through our own experience, research, trial, and error. Any similarity between this recipe and that of Cinnabon, Inc. is purely coincidental.