Fall Recipe Swap!

Happy Wednesday Friends!!

So today is a super fun day...because it is FALL RECIPE SWAP day!!

I hope if you have a blog you are sharing your favorite fall recipe and linking up with us and if you don't have a blog, you are taking notes and jotting down all of the fun recipes that are being shared today!!

Okay- so I have to be honest and let you know this is a recipe I shared about two years ago. BUT- it is one of my BEST recipes and I am constantly asked for it! 

The recipe I am sharing today is my semi-homemade cinnamon rolls!!

I consider it a "Fall" recipe because to me there is nothing cozier than making a warm, yummy batch of cinnamon rolls on a chilly, fall Saturday morning, making the whole house smell like cinnamon. These are PERFECT paired with a warm cup of coffee (with pumpkin spice creamer, OF COURSE ;) or tea. While my family LOVES it whenever I make these cinnamon rolls...they get especially excited about them in the colder weather months...because they are just that type of treat! 

So this is what I consider a "semi-homemade" recipe...while I make/bake many things from scratch, I have no problem using some store bought ingredients to help me make a recipe easier!

I grew up with a mom who made cinnamon rolls from scratch...you know the kind where the dough has to rise at least 2 times and it was just an absolutely labor of love (and ALL day affair. HA!). I am not that type of baker...so when I figured out a way to make cinnamon rolls that only took about 10 minutes to prep...I felt like I won the jack pot!

Here's the recipe!

You are going to start with the following ingredients:

3 cans of crescent rolls

Sugar

Butter/margarine/whatever butter spread you use in your house

cinnamon

Cream cheese icing (I share how I make mine later in the post)

First- roll out your crescent rolls onto a smooth surface. Spread a generous amount of butter or margarine- probably 4-5 tablespoons (I use margarine just because it is softer and easier to spread) over the crescent roll dough.

Then- sprinkle 1/4 cup white sugar over entire, buttered dough, then sprinkle cinnamon over the sugar.  You can adjust the amount of cinnamon to your liking- I would say about 2 tablespoons.

Roll up 2 rectangle crescent doll pieces at a time, length wise, and cut into equal sized pieces. (By rolling up two rectangles together- it makes a nice, full roll :)

Put rolls in a greased dish- I like to line my foil for super easy clean up!

Bake for approximately 20-25 minutes at 350 degrees (based on your oven).

Okay- now time for the cream cheese icing!
I used to buy the icing in a can- which is very yummy- but it doesn't have the best ingredients in it.  So now I make my own cream cheese icing!  
I make a huge batch and freeze it (YES! It freezes beautifully!) in small containers for when I make cupcakes, cinnamon rolls, or a cake.  It is SO easy to make!

I know there are a lot of recipes for cream cheese icing out there- but I think this one is pretty darn tasty! :)  And I use the term "recipe" loosely since I don't have exact measurements for all the ingredients! HA!

I get all my ingredients at Aldi- so if you shop there- this is what you will need!

Cream Cheese Icing

1- 8 oz block of cream cheese (I use 1/3 less fat and you can't taste the difference!)- softened

1 stick unsalted butter- softened (use REAL unsalted butter for this- NOT margarine!)

1- 2 pound bag of powdered sugar (don't worry you won't use the WHOLE 2 pounds- HA!)

splash of vanilla extract (if you don't have any- it is not a huge deal)

In your mixer, beat softened cream cheese and butter together, until it is smooth and they are incorporated well together.  Then start to add powdered sugar.  This is where it gets kind of tricky- because I do not have an exact measurement of how much powdered sugar I put in the icing.  I just add a couple of cups, mix on medium speed, then add another couple of cups, mix again, ect.  It is totally up to how you prefer the taste and texture of your icing as to how much powdered sugar you put in. I put in about 1 2/3 lb of a 2 pound bag.  Once I have added all of my powdered sugar, I drizzle a couple of teaspoons of vanilla extract into the icing and then beat the icing on high to make it nice and fluffy.  

Then, I like to taste at least a couple of times to make sure it is super delicious- HA! 

This stuff is addictive!! :)

To ice our cinnamon rolls, I put some cream cheese icing in a bowl and add a splash of milk to it, so that I can thin it out almost to a glaze like consistency.  Since the icing and the cinnamon rolls are so sweet, a little icing goes a long way!

Here is what the semi-homemade cinnamon rolls look like, out of the oven, with some cream cheese icing drizzled over them!  

They are YUM!!

You can make these "Fallish" by adding some fall colored sprinkles...or Halloween themed sprinkles!

These cinnamon rolls freeze beautifully! I make these as Christmas gifts for Aaron's bosses as well as our neighbors. They are a HUGE seller at our school's carnival...people just love them! And it is seriously the simplest "recipe" ever!

I am so excited to see all the other recipes that are being shared today!! I definitely feel like I am in kind of a cooking "rut" and could really use some inspiration for some yummy meals to make my family!!

Hope you have the BEST day!

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