Cinnamon Rolls - Recipe #50

"So what would you think if I made cinnamon rolls for New Year's Eve breakfast," I asked Trent. The response was just what you would suppose - he was agreeable, saying he "wouldn't mind". This simple recipe was the perfect one to get me back in the recipe challenge groove. I'd already purchased any unusual ingredients earlier in the month, so I was ready to go. After Tuesday's dinner, I put the recipe together and then let it sit overnight in the fridge. To avoid getting "hangry", I ate a bit of granola and drank my tea while waiting for Trent to wake up and the dough to rise. Easy-peasy and delicious, though it has enough convenience ingredients that it feels like cheating - I typically make baked goods from scratch. While I got this recipe from Trent's mom, he doesn't remember having had it before, though it may have made some holiday brunch appearances in his childhood.

Cinnamon Rolls

• 16 to 24 Rhodes frozen dinner rolls (part of the reason I'd never made this was that I was unsure that I could purchase these, since I'd never noticed them in the grocery store - I thought maybe it was unique to the Mid-West or Eastern Washington. Turns out, they stock them at the local QFC).
• 1 stick butter, melted
• nuts, optional, broken into pieces if large (we had some extra pecans from preparation for an upcoming recipe, so I used them)
• 1 box butterscotch pudding mix, 3.5 oz. cook and serve variety
• 1/2 c. sugar
• 1 1/2 t. cinnamon

Mix dry ingredients. Place rolls in cake, bundt, or angel food pan (I used a bundt pan, which made for a lovely presentation). Add nuts if desired. Sprinkle on topping. Pour butter over all. Let rise overnight in refrigerator. Remove the next day and let rise until doubled in size, may take 1 more hour (took 2 for me). Bake at 350 for 30-45 minutes until lightly brown on top. Invert on plate while hot, letting syrup drip down onto rolls.

Perfect for a low stress, make-ahead holiday brunch.