Cheater Cinnamon Buns

Sometimes even those of us who love to bake enjoy a little cheat or two <shhhh>. Yesterday I had the craving for cinnamon buns but lacked the flour and shortening to make them. "Aha!" went a little voice in my brain (that happens occasionally - nothing to worry about). I remembered the loaves of frozen white bread dough in the fridge, left over from a project with my cooking class. One loaf was made into an excellent loaf of bread, of course, the other....well, let's just say I created some:


Cheater Cinnamon Buns

Cheater Cinnamon rolls, un-iced, of course

Ingredients

• Rhodes white bread dough (thawed at room temperature for approx. 2-3 hrs)
• Butter, softened
• Golden brown sugar, approx. 1/2 c
• Raisins, approx. 1/2 c 
• 2 tbsp (or more) ground cinnamon
• Pam cooking spray for baking (for pans)

Preparation
Preheat the oven to 200 degrees.

1. Place dough on a floured surface and roll into an 8x12 rectangle (this is approximate, depending upon how elastic the dough is. If it's smaller than that, it's ok - don't worry about it!)
2. Spread the dough with softened butter. Spread brown sugar evenly on top. You may need a bit extra to cover the dough. Sprinkle with raisins and cinnamon, keeping a 1/2 inch bare space around the circumference of the dough.
3. Roll the dough as for a jelly roll, working from the long side of the rectangle. Cut into 9 rolls (larger size - 9x9 pan) or 12 rolls (smaller size - 9x13 pan) and place into greased pan sprinkled with additional brown sugar, butter pieces and a bit of cinnamon.
4. Turn off oven. Place a 9x13 pan of boiling water on lower rack (carefully) and place the buns (uncovered) on middle rack. You can add a loaf of white bread in a greased loaf pan like I did, if desired. This gives it the moist heat it needs to rise and turn out well.
5. Let rise approximately 2 hours, until fully risen (double the side)
6. Take the pan of water out of the oven, and while leaving the pan of cinnamon buns in the oven turn the oven to 350 degrees and bake for 20 to 30 minutes. Check for done-ness after 20 minutes (knife should come in clean when put into the middle rolls). They should be golden and lovely.
7. Ice with commercial vanilla icing or create your own with confectioner's sugar, vanilla extract, butter and cream.

The bottom will be slightly crispy/gooey from the brown sugar and butter mix, while the rolls themselves are fluffy and golden, with that delicious vanilla frosting. Not bad for a "cheater!"

The other loaf as bread - enough to drool about!