Cinnamon Pull-Aparts

This one is DEFINITELY part of the Hall of Traditions!! It is a concrete part of Christmas, to say the least, and we do it periodically at other points during the year as well. This is something that comes from Steve's family, and is much-anticipated thing for our kids now. I will be posting this in two parts: the original recipe from Steve's mom and our modifications.

Judy's recipe:
1 bag of Rhode's frozen rolls
1-2 cubes butter, melted
2 cups sugar mixed with cinnamon to taste
While still frozen, coat rolls in melted butter and then in cinnamon-sugar mixture. Place in a buttered bunt pan or angel food cake pan that doesn't have the removable bottom. Layer the rolls up inside the pan until it's about half full. Allow to sit until doubled in size; usually overnight, because of the rolls being frozen. Bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes. After letting sit for several minutes, turn contents of pan out onto a large plate (hold plate on top of pan and flip quickly and carefully); serve immediately while still hot!
My recipe: (uses a feather roll recipe out of one of Mom's cookbooks, the name of which I have forgotten)
9-10 cups flour
2-3 Tbsp yeast
3 cups warm water
2/3 cup oil
1/2 cup honey or sugar
1/2 cup powedered milk (optional)
4 large eggs
4 tsp salt
Dipping and Rolling:
1-2 cubes butter, melted
1 1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
cinnamon to taste
Mix 5 cups of the flour with the dry milk and the yeast. Mix in the water, oil, and honey; let sit for 10 minutes. Mix in the eggs and the salt. Add the flour one cup at a time until the dough cleans the sides of the bowl and then knead for 5-6 minutes.
This is a highly versatile dough and can be used for everything from pizza crusts, to dinner rolls, to cinnamon rolls; you name it. For the purposes of this recipe, we will be shaping 1" balls out of the dough. Mix the brown and white sugars with the cinnamon. Dip the balls of dough in the butter and then roll in the cinnamon-sugar mixture before placing in the pan, as stated above. Layer the rolls up inside the pan until it's about half full. Allow to sit until doubled in size. Bake at 350 degrees for about 25-30 minutes. After letting sit for several minutes, turn contents of pan out onto a large plate (hold plate on top of pan and flip quickly and carefully); serve immediately while still hot!
Note: the cooking times are different on the two recipes for a reason. Steve's family prefers a slightly doughy center on their pull-aparts, while I prefer my rolls cooked all the way through. Obviously, you can do the Rhode's rolls with a longer cooking time to get an easy pull-apart with fully cooked rolls; I just separated them that way because that's the way the two different households make them :)