To-Die-For Cinnamon Rolls

I am a frequent visitor to The Pioneer Woman's blog. Her photos are beautiful and her love story with Marlboro Man is romantic and compelling. I don't often venture over to her cooking portion of her website however.

This will change.

I'd heard raves about Pioneer Woman's cinnamon rolls from three different bloggers: Shannon over at Rocks In My Dryer, Sophie a.k.a Boo Mama and Melanie a.k.a Big Mama. They all were fortunate enough to visit The Pioneer Woman in Oklahoma and sample her tasty recipes. They all fell in love with The Cinnamon Rolls.

And then Big Mama made them herself. At home. In her own kitchen. I decided that if she could successfully make them, then I could too.

I was nervous. Trying out a new recipe for the first time with company is always a tricky thing. Even though my in-laws are always gracious and complimentary, I was just a bit apprehensive. Baking from scratch is not my forte.

Give me a box with a recipe on the back and I am right in my element. Hand me flour and baking powder and you may get a blank stare and a little head scratching.

I didn't have the foresight to take pictures, so you'll just have to trust me that my cinnamon rolls look very much like the pictures on The Pioneer's Woman's site. If a little squished.

This recipe is not difficult, it takes a little time. And totally worth the effort. Mostly, it's letting the dough rise that takes the time. The recipe makes a generous amount of cinnamon rolls (close to three dozen) so that you can give some away or just halve the recipe and serve to your own family.

Trust me, no matter how many you make, the cinnamon rolls will not last the day. I thought I would have to hide the "left overs" so we could have some the next morning. But threatening the chickadees upon pain of death proved to work just fine.

Days after the last cinnamon roll was consumed, my children were asking for them. I just may have to try out that recipe again.

Just to prove the first time wasn't a fluke.

For science sake.

Because I am all about scientific research.

A-hem.