Cinnabon's Cinnamon Roll Clone

This is supposed to be Jerilyn Brusseau's "real" recipe for the famous Cinnabon cinnamon rolls.

• Ready In: 2 hrs 35 mins
• Yields: 16 large rolls

Ingredients

• Dough

• 1  cup water
• 3 (1/4ounce) packages active dry yeast (or 3 5/8 oz fresh yeast cakes)
• 1⁄2 cup granulated sugar
• 1⁄3 cup butter, softened
• 1  cup milk, scalded and cooled
• 3  large eggs
• 1 1⁄4 teaspoons salt
• 3 1⁄2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
• 1⁄2 cup raisins (optional)
• 3 1⁄2 cups whole wheat pastry flour, unsifted

• Filling

• 2  cups butter, melted
• 3  cups dark brown sugar, packed
• 6  tablespoons cinnamon
• 3⁄4 cup  chopped walnuts (optional)

Directions

1. Combine water, yeast and sugar in large mixing bowl; let stand 5 minutes.
2. Add butter to cooling milk to soften.
3. When cool, add milk mixture to yeast mixture and stir well.
4. Add eggs and salt and stir again.
5. Add all-purpose flour; mix well.
6. Add raisins.
7. Add 2 1/2 cups of the whole wheat pastry flour.
8. Mix until dough is quite sticky and begins to leave sides of bowl.
9. Sprinkle 1/2 cup of remaining whole wheat pastry flour onto board.
10. Knead dough about 10 minutes until dough is smooth, adding more flour if needed. (Dough should still be soft and almost sticky.)
11. Shape dough into a ball and place in large greased bowl, turning to grease top.
12. Cover with damp towel and let rise until double in bulk, about 45 minutes.
13. Turn dough onto large floured board.
14. Roll out into a 24 x 20-inch rectangle. (Dough will be thin).
15. Filling: Mix together melted butter, brown sugar and cinnamon.
16. Spread entire rectangle of dough with mixture.
17. Sprinkle with walnuts.
18. Roll rectangle tightly from long side.
19. Make sure you end with seam side on bottom.
20. Shape with hands to make uniform in size from end to end.
21. With very sharp knife (or a long piece of dental floss) cut roll into 16 equal slices.
22. Place side by side in two well greased 13 x 9 x 3-inch metal baking pans.
23. Cover with warm, damp towel and let rise in warm place for 30 to 40 minutes until almost doubled in size.
24. Bake at 350°F until nicely browned and filling is bubbly, about 35 minutes.
25. When you remove from oven, invert onto serving platter or baking sheet to allow syrup to drip from pan onto rolls.