You know how you can get a tune stuck in your brain? Like...It's A Small World Afterall....It's A Small World Afterall....It's A Small World Afterall, It's A Small, Small, World....and over and over it plays, driving you to drink - well, I get food stuck in my brain ALONG with tunes....as in, It's A Cinnamon Roll Afterall....and the only way to get the food out of my head is to make it and eat it. So I made cinnamon rolls - by far the best I've ever had, thanks to my friend Lori who told me her family secret to making cinnamon rolls, and Baking Illustrated and a sweet little lady I saw on TV. 
I adapted the dough from Baking Illustrated, reducing the amount of butter and adding in cream cheese - it was an inspired choice. One night while watching TV we saw a program about a little lady who makes cinnamon rolls once a year to celebrate the reopening of the highway, that is closed for winter, by her home - and she adds cream cheese to her dough. It just sounded good - and it is. And you know how I feel about Baking Illustrated - it's the 4th Gospel - don't ask me what the first three are -so I used their recipe with a few minor changes. Lori is a wonderful cook/baker - everything she makes is fabulous and she told me that she always pours CREAM over her cinnamon rolls before baking them...along with coating the bottom of the pan with brown sugar. The rolls bake on top of brown sugar and swimming in cream...and all of that sugar and cream make the most decadent sauce...and then you frost them with a cream cheese frosting - and they just melt in your mouth - and you'll begin to drool, but it's okay, nirvana is not a drool-free zone.
Glazed Cinnamon Rolls - Adapted from Baking Illustrated and Lori Johnson
DOUGH
1/2 cup milk
1/2 stick butter (1/4 cup)
1/2 cup warm water (110 degrees)
1/4 cup cream cheese, softened in microwave
1 envelope instant yeast
1/4 cup sugar
1 large egg plus 2 large egg yolks
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
4 to 4 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting the work surface
ICING
8 oz. cream cheese, softened but still cool
2 tablespoons corn syrup
2 tablespoons heavy cream
1 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
pinch salt
FILLING
3/4 cup packed brown sugar, plus an additional 1/2 cup for the pan.
3 tablespoons ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup melted butter
1 cup heavy cream
For the dough: Heat the milk and butter and cream cheese in a small saucepan or in the microwave until the butter and cream cheese melts. Remove from the heat and set aside until the mixture is lukewarm, about 100 degrees. In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle, mix together the water, yeast, sugar, egg and yolks at low speed until well mixed. Add the salt, warm milk mixture, and 2 cups of the flour and mix at medium speed until thoroughly blended, about 1 minute. Switch to the dough hook, add another 2 cups of the flour, and knead at medium speed until the dough is smooth and freely clears the sides of the bowl, about 10 minutes. Scrape the dough onto a lightly floured work surface. Shape the dough into a round, place it in a very lightly oiled large bowl, and cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Leave in a warm, draft-free spot until doubled in bulk, 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
For the icing: While the dough rises, combine all of the icing ingredients in the bowl of a standing mixer and blend together at low speed until roughly combined, about 1 minute. Increase the speed to high and mix until the icing is uniformly smooth and free of cream cheese lumps, about 2 minutes. Transfer the icing to a small bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate.
To roll and fill the dough: After the dough has doubled, press it down and turn it out onto a lightly floured work surface. Using a rolling pin, shape the dough into a 16 x 12-inch rectangle. Using a pastry brush, brush the entire surface with the melted butter. Sprinkle 3/4 cup brown sugar over the butter and the cinnamon and salt over the brown sugar. Roll the long edge of the dough, using both hands, and as you roll, brush off the flour from the underside and baste with melted butter. Roll into a uniform cylinder. Grease a 13 x 9-inch baking dish. Spread remaining 1/2 cup brown sugar in bottom of pan. Cut cinnamon rolls, about 3/4 of an inch thick, and place on top of brown sugar in pan. Cover with plastic wrap and place in a warm, draft-free spot until doubled in size, about 1 1/2 to 2 hours. When doubled in size, pour the cream all over the top and let it run down the sides....heaven in the making.
Bake the rolls in a 350 degree oven on the middle rack. Bake until golden brown and an instant read thermometer inserted into the center of one reads 185 to 188 degrees, about 25 to 30 minutes. Invert the rolls onto a large tray or cookie sheet, pouring any remaining sauce over the rolls. Turn the rolls upright to serve, spreading the icing on top of them. Serve immediately. Makes 12 large rolls. 
"I saw him even now going the way of all flesh, that is to say towards the kitchen." John Webster
