For the Love of Cooking {Heart Shaped Cinnamon Rolls}

Last Saturday Scott and I celebrated our first Valentine's as Mr. & Mrs.

For the special occasion I decided to whip up a batch of heart shaped cinnamon rolls.

I do not for one second proclaim myself a baker but, I will say these sweet little treats turned out

just as planned and the hubs even asked  for seconds on Sunday morning.

Heart Shaped Cinnamon Rolls 

 (Yields 12 rolls)

{Dough}

 1 cup milk
1- .25 ounce packages of dry active yeast

 (you will not need rapid rising)
1/6 cup vegetable oil
1/2 Tbs baking powder

1/4 cup warm water
1/6 cup sugar
1 tsp salt
1/2 egg

 (To measure a 1/2 egg: scramble in a ramekin and pour out half of the egg)
3 1/2 cups flour

 Heat milk in a small saucepan until it bubbles,
stirring frequently so it doesn’t burn and stick.
Remove from heat and let cool until it’s lukewarm.
Dissolve yeast into 1/4 cup of warm water and let stand for 10 minutes, or until creamy.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with the dough hook, combine yeast mixture,
warm milk, sugar, oil, baking powder, salt, egg and 2 cups of flour. Mix until the dough is smooth.
SLOWLY add (I added a little too fast and I feared for my mixers life) remaining flour
and mix until well combined. Knead the dough on low speed for 5 minutes, until smooth and elastic. Place dough in lightly oiled bowl, cover, and let sit for 1-2 hours in a dry, warm place.
 

Once the dough has doubled in size (around 1-2 hours), 

punch dough and place on a lightly floured surface.  

Ok, so I went a little overboard on the flour part but, 

I was having fun!  

   Roll out into your best rectangle, about 12-13 inches in length.

 {Filling}
2 Tbs butter, softened
1/4 cup sugar
4 tsp cinnamon

 
 
Combine the filling ingredients.

 Using an off-set spatula, apply butter and sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar.

 Grease two 9-inch pans with butter and set aside.

 
To roll the dough, roll in each long side towards the middle.
 

Cut the log into twelve 1-inch rolls.
Pinch the bottom of each roll to make the bottom point of the heart.
Place six rolls in each pan, spaced slightly apart.


  
Cover and refrigerate overnight, for at least 12 hours.

The next day, take rolls out of the refrigerator and
 let sit at room temperature for 30-45 minutes.
 While rolls are resting, preheat your oven to 350F.

Once I popped the rolls into the oven I began my icing.

{Icing}
4 oz cream cheese, softened
2 1/2 cup powdered sugar
4 Tbs milk 

Mix  the icing ingredients in a bowl with an electric mixer.

Bake cinnamon rolls uncovered for 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown.
I baked ours for 25 minutes but, next time I will probably pull them at 20 mins so
they are a little more gooey!

Ice your pretties while they are still warm. 
For photo purposes I snapped the finished product prior to icing.

 

I think it's safe to say Valentine's as
The Gaither's was a complete success!

Recipe adapted from Cake & Allie