Pecan Cinnamon Rolls

What is better than a Saturday morning with fresh, homemade cinnamon rolls?

Fresh, homemade cinnamon rolls with Pecan Pieces! 

We love pecans around here. Adding them to our favorite weekend breakfast wasn't hard. These cinnamon rolls can even be frozen and enjoyed on a busy weekday morning too! 

Ingredients:
Dough
1 cup Milk
1 tablespoon Instant Dry Yeast
2 tablespoons White Granulated Sugar
1 teaspoon Salt
3 tablespoons Salted Butter softened
1 Large Egg
3 cups All-Purpose Flour
1/2 cup Pecan Pieces

Filling
1/2 cup Salted Butter, browned
1 cup Brown Sugar
2 tablespoons Ground Cinnamon

Cream Cheese Icing
4 ounces Cream Cheese, softened
1/4 cup Salted Butter, softened
1 1/4 cups Powdered Sugar
1/2 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1 to 2 tablespoons Heavy Cream (or milk)

1. In a stand mixer, combine warm milk (roughly 110° F), yeast, sugar, salt, butter, and eggs.
2. Add in flour on low using a dough hook, until incorporated. Once the flour is incorporated, increase to medium until the dough is tacky. Add more or less flour as needed.
3. Grease a mixing bowl with olive oil or cooking spray. Transfer dough into the mixing bowl.
4. Cover the dough with a towel and let rise until double in size, about 1-1.5 hours.
5. Add butter to a wide-bottomed pan, heat until butter becomes brown over medium heat. Do not overheat, it will burn easily.
6. Punch down the dough down and roll it into a large rectangle, roughly 12 x 18 inches.
7. Brush the dough with 1/2 of the browned butter.
8. In a bowl, combine brown sugar, remaining browned butter, and cinnamon. Sprinkle sugar mixture on top of the butter and dough.
9. Roll up dough into a long “log”. Cut into 1-inch slices.
10. Place the slices onto a lightly greased pan and sprinkle with pecan pieces. Pushing them in between the layers.
11. Cover slices with a dish towel and let rise 30 to 60 minutes or flash freeze cinnamon rolls. To flash freeze: Cover a baking sheet with wax paper and place in freeze for about 30-60 minutes. Remove from freezer, and place cinnamon rolls in a Ziplock bag until ready to bake.
12. If baking right away, preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Bake the rolls for about 12-15 minutes, until slightly brown on top.
13. While the cinnamon rolls are baking, make the cream cheese glaze. Add cream cheese and butter in a bowl and mix with a hand mixer (or fork) until light and fluffy. Add powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and heavy cream until desired consistency. More cream = more of a glaze vs an icing.
14. Frost the rolls while still warm. Sprinkle additional Pecan Pieces on top and serve while warm!

Give these a try and let us know how you like them!