Yeah that’s right, these have bacon. I am a full hearted supporter of bacon. I also fully support a person’s decision to be a vegetarian, but as long as bacon exists, that’s just not something I could do. But for those of you who don’t like (gasp) or don’t eat bacon, these would also be delicious without the bacon. So go forth and make them, regardless of your level of love for bacon.

Recipe adapted from here.

Ingredients
Dough-
1 packet of active dry yeast
1/2 cup warm milk (microwave 30-40 seconds)
1/2 cup sugar
3 tablespoons butter, softened
1 egg
2 cups flour (can do an extra 1/2 cup if needed)

Filling-
2 tablespoons butter, softened
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 tablespoon flour
1 tablespoon maple syrup
8 slices of bacon

Frosting-
3 tablespoons butter, melted
1 cup powdered sugar
3 tablespoons maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla

1. In a small bowl (not the mixer like I did), add the yeast to the warm milk. Let it sit for five minutes to foam.

2. In your mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix the butter, sugar, and eggs on medium. Add the yeast/milk.

3. Switch to the dough hook and add the flour. If the dough is not coming together, add an additional 1/2 cup flour. Continue mixing until the dough forms a ball and pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Spray a large bowl with cooking spray or butter and set dough in bottom. Cover with plastic wrap and let it rise in a warm place for 1-2 hours. I set mine on the stove next to a pot of water at low to help it rise (I needed them to be done in time for a brunch).

4.  While the dough is rising, get your filling ready. Cut up the bacon into small pieces and cook on the stove in a frying pan for 10 minutes, or until they are cooked the way you like. Let them dry on a paper towel.

5. Make the filling by adding all filling ingredients, minus the bacon, to a bowl. Mix with a fork. Set aside.

6. Once the dough has doubled in size, remove it from the bowl and roll it into a rectangle, about 10 x 14 inches. Spread the filling across the dough and then top with the bacon. Roll the the dough up tightly, starting at a short edge. Slice into thirds, then thirds again, giving you 9 rolls.

7. Prepare a 9 x 9 square baking dish with cooking spray or butter. Place the rolls inside, with one of the open sides on top. Let the rolls rise for another hour (again you can put them in a warm spot if you need to expedite this phase).

8. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and bake for 20-25 minutes – the tops will be golden when they are done. If you don’t want to eat these right away, you can cover them with plastic wrap and place them in the fridge instead of baking them immediately. Just make sure to let them come to room temperature before putting them in the oven.

9. While the rolls are baking, prepare the frosting. In the bowl of your stand mixer, beat the butter and powdered sugar on high. Add the maple syrup and vanilla until smooth. Use a knife to spread the frosting on the rolls as soon as they come out of the oven. Feel free to top with extra bacon if you like, but I didn’t do this because we already had a lot of bacon going on in our meal.