Bacon Cinnamon Rolls

Dough

1. Warm milk either in the microwave (about 1 minute) or on the stove until lukewarm.
2. Add 1 TBS sugar and the yeast to the milk and combine. Allow mixture to sit until yeast blooms and starts getting fluffy. Once bloomed, transfer to a stand mixer bowl.
3. In a medium mixing bowl combine flour and salt then set aside.
4. Add eggs and remaining sugar to the yeast mixture and using either a whisk or paddle attachment, combine.
5. Add flour mixture to wet ingredients and mix to incorporate. Switch to a dough hook and knead for two minutes on medium-high speed.
6. Add the butter 2 Tbs at a time giving it time to incorporate. Once all of the butter is added, continue to knead for 5 minutes on medium high speed.
7. Scrape the sides of the bowl, spray the top with baking spray and cover with a damp towel or plastic wrap and set aside to rise for an hour or until doubled in size.

Candied Bacon

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees and line a baking sheet with either tin foil or parchment paper.
2. Lay bacon out on the baking sheet, making sure not to overlap pieces of bacon.
3. Top bacon with half the brown sugar
4. Bake in the preheated oven for 8-10 minutes or until brown sugar starts to bubble.
5. Remove from oven and flip bacon over. Top with the remaining half of the brown sugar and bake for another 8-10 minutes or until brown sugar looks caramelized.
6. Remove from the oven and let cool for a minute then use tongs to remove to a plate to allow the bacon to completely cool.

Filling

1. Combine sugar, brown sugar, and cinnamon in a small bowl and set aside.
2. Place dough on a floured surface and use your hands to press the dough into a rectangle then use a rolling pin to roll the dough out into a large rectangle that's about 1/4 inch thick.
3. Spread the super soft/melted butter all over the top of the cinnamon roll dough.
4. Top with cinnamon sugar mixture.
5. Add chopped bacon all over the cinnamon sugar mixture then gently press down with your hands to help incorporate the bacon into the cinnamon sugar.
6. Roll the dough starting at the bottom until you've completely rolled the dough into a long tight roll. Press the end gently into the dough to seal.
7. Slice into 2" thick rolls using a sharp knife. Pull the knife through the rolls rather than pushing or sawing through the rolls.
8. Place rolls into a greased 9x13 baking dish with about 1/4 inch of space between them. Cover with a damp towel and let rise for another 30-45 minutes or until the rolls have doubled in size.
9. Preheat oven to 350 degrees when your cinnamon rolls have about 15 minutes left of rising time.
10. Bake rolls in the preheated oven for 45-50 minutes.
11. Remove from oven and either frost immediately (for a more melted frosting) or allow to cool for 15 minutes before frosting (for a thicker frosting).
12. Garnish with small pieces of candied bacon (optional).

Frosting

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar and vanilla. Using the paddle attachment, beat the ingredients together on medium high speed for 2minutes.
2. Add in the milk or half and half and beat again for another minute.