Super Simple Cinnamon Rolls with an Orange Ginger Buttercream Glaze

Ingredients:
-2C AP flour, with another 3/4 C set aside
-1/4C sugar
-1 Packet Red Star Platinum Yeast (I must say, I am quickly becoming a fan)
-1/2C warm water
-1/4C milk (I use vitamin D milk, don't skimp!)
-2.5 TB salted butter (you can use unsalted and add a pinch of salt if you prefer)
-2 very large eggs

Filling:
-1/4C sugar
-2 TB cinnamon
-melted butter for brushing

Glaze:
-3TB nearly melted butter
-1C powdered sugar
-Juice of 1 navel orange
-2 shakes of ginger
-Water or extra sugar if needed to get desired thickness

I know, that is a laundry list of ingredients.  BUT they are worth it.  This all started because one of the security guards at work has been hounding me about making cinnamon rolls for about the last month.  Every time I walk out into the hallway he asks me when I am going to bring them in.  SO finally, I decided to suck it up and make some.  This is actually my first-ever batch making them myself, and I was pretty happy with the results.  Look how cute they are!

Anyway, toss the flour, sugar, and yeast in a bowl.  Microwave the milk, water, and butter for maybe 10 seconds or so, and a few more seconds as needed to get it to a temperature of about 115-120F, without getting too high as it will kill your yeast.  No violence needed in these rolls.

Mix the liquids in with the dry and combine.  Add the eggs.  Slowly add some of the remaining flour that you had set aside until it just forms a dough.  It will be a really soft and slightly sticky dough.  Let it rest about ten minutes.

Liberally flour your countertop and plop the dough out.  Roll it into a very long rectangle, mine was a max of 6 inches wide or so and I really don't know how long other than the majority of my kitchen island.  I wanted to make smaller rolls, but if you want larger ones with a lot of curls then make it fatter.  I rolled mine out pretty thin, as you can tell by the spirals.

Anyway, brush it with melted butter and add on your cinnamon topping.  Roll it up tightly and cut pieces about an inch or so off.  Place them in a glass baking dish greased with butter.  I actually packed a little brown sugar, cinnamon mixture on the bottom so that they would have a carmelized feature.  I just thought it might be fun.

I spaced mine out to cover a 9x13 glass dish, knowing that they would rise a bit and spread out.  I would say it was maybe a half inch or so spacing, and I opted for random spacing as opposed to rows just because that is how I am.  Let them rise for about an hour or until doubled in size in a warm place.  I let mine sit in my gas oven.  You may want to preheat your oven to 200F and shut it off and let them rise in there if you do not have a gas one.  Any warm place will do.

I left mine in after the hour was up to go through the preheat cycle, which did not seem to hurt anything.  I baked mine at 350F for about 22 minutes.

Let them cool for a few minutes while you mix up the glaze.  I mixed mine up somewhat thick and put a small dollop on to let it melt over the rolls.  You could use cream cheese instead of butter if you prefer.

Devour.  And enjoy.

Happy crafting!