Strawberry Cinnamon Rolls

In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, Add yeast, warm milk and 1 tbs of measured out sugar. Stir together lightly and allow to sit for 10 minutes or until foamy on top. Stir in remaining sugar, melted butter and beaten eggs until combined. Add 3 cups of flour first and then add one tablespoon at a time until you have a workable dough. The dough WILL still be sticky so do not over-flour your dough! It should be sticky but not sticky enough where it sticks to your hands.Also note that your dough may not completely stop sticking from the bottom of the bowl so don't base your flour additions on that. Place dough into a lightly greased bowl and set into a warm place to rise until doubled, about one hour. I like to turn my oven onto 170 degrees and then turn it off, it creates the perfect warm environment.

While the dough is rising, gather your ingredients for the strawberry filling. In a medium-sized saucepan, add the strawberries and sugar. Stir constantly for 5 minutes until they start to release their juices. Mix corn starch and water together and stir it into the strawberry mixture. Allow to thicken, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and allow the strawberry filling to cool to room temperature. Stir together the cinnamon and sugar in a small bowl and set aside for later.

Once the dough is risen, don't punch it down just yet. Flip the bowl over and dump it out onto a lightly floured surface. Pat it down lightly to release the air inside and roll it with a rolling pin into a very large rectangle, about 1/4" thick. Spread the strawberry filling on into an even layer and sprinkle the cinnamon sugar on top.

Roll the dough up very tightly into a long log. Cut the log into 12 or 16 cinnamon rolls. 12 for a large 9x13 pan or 16 for two round 8" baking pans (8 rolls in each). Grease your pan of choice extremely well and place cut cinnamon rolls into prepared pan.

At this point, BEFORE the second rise you can choose to finish the process the next morning. Just place the pan of cinnamon rolls in the refrigerator with a damp cloth on top. In the morning, remove the rolls from the refrigerator and place them in a warm environment to do their second rise. Once they are puffy, they're ready to bake! Continue the recipe as normal.

Allow them to rise in a warm place one more time until puffy, about thirty minutes. Once rolls have done their second rise, preheat the oven to 350 degrees and arrange the rack into the center of the oven. Bake cinnamon rolls for 20-25 minutes or until lightly golden on top.

While rolls are baking, prepare frosting. Beat cream cheese and butter together until smooth with no lumps. Add in sugar, vanilla and optional pinch of salt and mix until smooth an creamy. I like to spread a thin layer of the frosting onto the warm rolls just as they come out of the oven so it seeps into all of the crevices and then a heftier layer once they have cooled down a bit.

These Soft and Fluffy Cinnamon Rolls will stay fresh for up to 1 week stored in an airtight container at room temperature. I always store mine at room temperature and have never had an issue. If you are concerned about the cream cheese, store in the refrigerator. They are perfect warmed up in the microwave for a few seconds! Just like a fresh cinnamon roll right out of the oven.