Frugal Foodie Mama: French Vanilla Chai Cinnamon Rolls

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Wednesday, December 11, 2013

French Vanilla Chai Cinnamon Rolls

These French Vanilla Chai Cinnamon Rolls almost guarantee perfect homemade cinnamon rolls with my fail-safe "secret" ingredient- cake mix!




These French Vanilla Chai Cinnamon Rolls almost guarantee perfect homemade cinnamon rolls with my fail safe "secret" ingredient- cake mix!










Lately I have been facing my culinary nemeses head on.  First it was fudge with my Mud Pie MoJoe Fudge.  And now, homemade cinnamon rolls with these delicious French Vanilla Chai Cinnamon Rolls.  








I can't tell you all how many times I have attempted to make homemade cinnamon rolls only to have them come out tough or chewy... or both.  The amount of time and effort I put into them just seemed silly, & I vowed to myself after my last cinnamon roll recipe flop that I would only be using the canned refrigerated cinnamon rolls from here on out. 








No more yeast based cinnamon rolls.  No more messing with punching down dough and letting it rise off and on for 2+ hours just so my family could grin and pretend that they liked my crappy from scratch cinnamon rolls.  ;)












Well, folks... I found a compromise with using cake mix! 








Yes, cake mix.  Some people poo-poo it, but lately it has become one of my baking best friends.  Cake mix can be so versatile- it isn't just for sheet cakes & cupcakes anymore! :)








Earlier this week, I shared with you all my recipe for French Vanilla Peppermint Bark Cookies using just half a box of french vanilla cake mix.  









Today I am sharing with you all what you can do with that other half of the cake mix. ;)
Of course, if you have a crowd to feed and would need 24 of these cinnamon rolls, you can use the entire box of cake mix for this recipe & just double all of the other ingredients below...










These French Vanilla Chai Cinnamon Rolls almost guarantee perfect homemade cinnamon rolls with my fail safe "secret" ingredient- cake mix!

















These French Vanilla Chai Cinnamon Rolls almost guarantee perfect homemade cinnamon rolls with my fail safe "secret" ingredient- cake mix!









I have to tell you all... I was super tickled with how perfect these cinnamon rolls turned out!
I mean... PERFECT.
Fluffy, soft, big, delicious.








You still have to carve out a little time to let the dough rise, but using the cake mix acted as a fail-safe for me.  It ensured that the rolls turned out flaky and soft.










These French Vanilla Chai Cinnamon Rolls almost guarantee perfect homemade cinnamon rolls with my fail safe "secret" ingredient- cake mix!










And guess what?  They were 10 times better than those canned cinnamon rolls- well worth the little bit of extra effort and time! 
















These cinnamon rolls would be the perfect way to start your Christmas morning, don't you think? ;)








Have you tackled any of your culinary nemeses lately?  Did you finally deliciously overcome them?








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(You can use 3/4 tbsp of this chai spice mix in the filling instead of the spices listed!)