Cinnamon Rolls in Cupcake Liners inspired by Grandma Fran ♥

Cinnamon rolls always remind me of my grandma Fran.

Her kitchen was always warm.

My grandma would pull the gooey goodness out of her oven like magic.

And just like that...the magic would disappear! Into my tummy.

This one is a tribute to my grandma.

Cinnamon Rolls disguised as a cupcake in a pretty liner.

Shameless indulgence.

Unafraid of butter.

First I picked out a pretty cupcake liner.

This was my big ball of dough that was too impatient not to rise. Inside of a bowl for about an hour.

A Heap of Love (interpretation: 2 1/2 Tablespoons of cinnamon!)

A sinfully amazing combo of brown sugar, cinnamon, and butter. I add even more butter than the recipe calls for.  That was one of my grandma Fran's tricks.  Look how thick and gooey and delightfully naughty this looks. It was so gooey I was able to draw a heart in all of the cinnamonaliciousness!

Look how pretty they are before baking. I will almost hate to cover with cream cheese later!

Early to Rise. This picture was taken at about 5am.  The sun rising, birds beginning to chirp, the warm smell of bread & cinnamon.  Grandma Fran's spirit alive in my kitchen. ♥

I adore that these cinnamon roll cupcakes rise "upward" like little edible towers. (It's because of the cupcake liner).

 

I always try to make the cinnamon rolls look pretty after. I don't let them cool before adding the cream cheese frosting.  I immediately use a frosting spatula to spread the frosting on, so it turns out like a glaze. This way you can still see the shape of the roll underneath the frosting.  Then of course I add some edible sparkly-ness. Sparkles do such a great job of accenting the cinnamon!

Grandma Fran's Recipe (all inside one cupcake liner..living the dream!)

Ingredients:

Cinnamon Rolls:

1 packet dry active yeast (7 grams).

1/2 cup granulated sugar, divided

1 cup warm milk

2 eggs

1/3 C soft butter

1 teaspoon of salt

4 1/2 cups of bread flour

Cinnamon Roll-icious Heaven:

1 C of Brown Sugar

2 1/2 Tablespoons of ground cinnamon

1/3 cup melted butter

Instructions:

1.  Line cupcake pan with 24 liners.

2.  Take out a large bowl.

3.  In this large bowl, dissolve the yeast and half of the granulated sugar in the warm milk.  It will turn foamy after about 10 minutes.

4.  Add the eggs, butter, salt, and the rest of the sugar.  Add flour and mix until the dough turns into a ball.

5.  Put your big & beautiful dough ball in a bowl, cover, and let it rise for about an hour. (Dough balls rise the best in warm environments).

6.  Your dough ball will double in size after about an hour.

7.  Turn your dough out onto a floured surface, cover again, and let it sit for another 10 minutes.

**Meanwhile, you can mix part of your Cinnamon-Roll-Licious Heaven in a small bowl.  (The brown sugar and cinnamon).

8.  Roll dough into a large rectangle. (12x22 approximately).

9.  Now it is time to have fun with your Cinnamon-Roll-Licious Heaven.  Paint the melted butter on your dough (I actually add butter to both sides of the dough.  You can use as much melted butter as you want. I use more than 1/3 Cup.  My grandma used to *pour on the butter* and her cinnamon rolls were amazing!

10.  Sprinkle the Brown Sugar and Cinnamon onto your buttered dough. It will be sticky, gooey, delicious looking. And the smell..oh my. You can even draw shapes in it like I did if you are a big kid like me.

11.  Roll up the dough and cut into 24 little rolls of indulgence.

12.  Place rolls in cupcake liners and let rise for about 30 minutes (the longer you let the dough sit, the more it will rise. Not quite I Love Lucy breadmaking style though, so don't worry). I let mine sit overnight sometimes and get up early to make them for breakfast!

13.  Bake rolls in an oven preheated to 400 degrees for about 10 minutes. 

14.  If you want a "glazed look" like my photos above, add the cream cheese frosting right away.

Cream Cheese Frosting:

My cream cheese frosting recipe is a sweet little secret locked inside of my brain and I never write it down.  I just kind of make it, and it is magical. You should use a special cream cheese recipe  from someone you love ♥ .  That will make your cinnamon roll cupcakes even more special.