~Caramel Cinnamon Rolls~

Oh. My. Gosh!!!!! These are so uh-MAZING! Caramel cinnamon rolls are a different take than normal cinnamon rolls--there is no cream cheese involved. Cream cheese got ousted by a phenomenal homemade caramel sauce. I dated a guy in high school whose dad makes these bad boys. I wanted the recipe in high school, but he said I had to marry into the family to get them. My mom however, finally snagged the recipe from him. Yesssss. This recipe made about 30 good-sized rolls. I took them to work and they were gone in a flash (and not everyone got one). So I'll be taking another pan to work tomorrow (also so I don't eat them all...) Oh these were soooo sooo good.

I will say, it is a wise idea to make these on a weekend when you don't have a ton going on...Total time, these take almost 4 hours to make from start to finish...and honestly, it is worth every minute of the time.

Ohhh look at the caramel goodness...nom nom nom.

I honestly can't say enough of these. Much thanks to the Coelhos for letting my family have this recipe! I personally have never loved cinnamon rolls, but these in my opinion are much better than original cinnamon rolls with cream cheese frosting.

Makes about 30 rolls

You'll Need:

2 packets of quick-rise yeast

10 c. all-purpose flour

2 c. milk

3/4 c. sugar

3/4 c. oil

1 egg

1 Tbs. salt

Caramel Sauce:

2 sticks of butter

1 c. packed brown sugar

1 Tbs. Karo syrup

Other Ingredients Needed:

1 stick of butter

Sugar/cinnamon mixture (a lot)

Get Busy:

Dough: Place 1 tsp. sugar and two packets of yeast in 1 c. lukewarm water. Let stand 10 minutes. Heat 2 c. milk but not to boiling. In a large mixing bowl, mix sugar, oil, egg and salt. Add the warm milk; then add the yeast. Add 8 c. flour and knead in the last 2 cups. The dough should be sticky. Knead the dough for 10 minutes, until the dough is elastic-like. Place in a buttered bowl and let rise for 2 hours, covered, until it is doubled in size. Punch down; let rest for 10 minutes.

Sauce: Melt 2 sticks of butter in a small saucepan. Add the brown sugar and Karo syrup. Cook on low but DO NOT boil--maybe 10 minutes; set aside. Lightly flour the counter. Roll the dough into a long rectangle about 1/2 inch thick. Spread one stick of room-temperature butter across the dough. Cover with a cinnamon/sugar mixture (heavy on the cinnamon)--and seriously, put a lot. Roll; cut about 1 inch thick with a fishing line or floss. Place in a buttered pan. Coat the rolls with half of the caramel. Let rise for 45 minutes to an hour. Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes, or until golden brown. Start checking them at 15 minutes. Once done, cover them with foil and flip them upside down (I didn't do this part because I was taking them to work the next day and wanted to keep them in the pan). Coat with remaining caramel. For extra saucy/caramely rolls, double the sauce. I promise you won't regret making these!