Oh my golly gee goodness, I have officially died and gone to heaven.  My two favorite things have finally combined and become one: Cinnamon and pie.

I mean, yes, this is basically a gigantic cinnamon roll baked in a pie dish, but I refuse to quibble.  It is definitely a pie.  A gooey, cinnamon-y, cream cheese filling-y, delicious pie.

Now, let me make one thing clear: just because we call it a pie does not mean it has to be dessert.  This is the perfect breakfast food.  Or brunch food.  I suppose you could serve it for dessert, but I hold a strong belief that cinnamon rolls are a breakfast food.

After finding this recipe, I tweaked it a bit with my favorite Cinnabon filling to make it my own, and topped it with an amazing cream cheese drizzle.

Not only will you enjoy digging in to this, it will make your house smell freaking amazing.  I promise.

Now, go and make this! Try not to eat the whole thing in one sitting.  You may or may not want to pre-arrage for this to be shipped off to somebody else’s house as soon as it comes out of the oven to accomplish that.

Enjoy.

Recipe adapted from Sally’s Baking Addiction.

Ingredients:
2 3/4 cups all purpose flour
3 Tablespoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 package of instant yeast (1 packet = 2 1/4 teaspoons
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup milk
3 tablespoons butter
1 large egg

Filling:
1 cup packed light brown sugar
3 Tablespoons cinnamon
1/3 cup melted butter

Cream Cheese Drizzle:
3 oz softened cream cheese
1/4 cup softened butter
1 1/2 cups confectioners sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt
3-4 tablespoons milk

Directions:
Preheat your oven to 200° and then turn it off.

Grease two 9 inch pie pans. (I lined my pan with parchment paper, this is optional.)

Make your dough:
Set aside 1/2 cup of the flour.  In a large bowl, toss together the 2 1/4 cups of flour, the yeast, sugar, and salt.

Heat water, butter, and milk together in the microwave until the butter is melted and the mixture is hot to the touch, about 115-120° F.  Stir the butter mixture into the flour mixture.  Add the egg and the reserved flour to make a soft dough.  Dough will be ready when it pulls away from the side of the bowl and has an elastic consistency.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 4 minutes.  Form a ball and place it into a lightly greased mixing bowl.  Cover tightly with plastic wrap and let rest for 30 minutes.  (Dough will rise slightly.)

After resting, roll the dough out (again on a lightly floured surface) into a 15×12 inch rectangle.  It doesn’t have to be perfect. Mix your filling ingredients together.  Brush with the melted butter and sprinkle with the cinnamon/sugar filling.

Using a sharp knife or a pizza cutter, cut your dough in half.  You will use half the dough for each pie.  Cut the dough into one inch strips.

Loosely roll up one strip and place it into the middle of your pie pan like a cinnamon roll.

Gently wrap each strip around the center roll.

It will not come quite all the way to the edge of the pan- that is okay.  It will expand when it rises.

Some filling may fall out while you are handling the strips- that’s okay too.  Just sprinkle it on top when you are done.   Repeat with the second pie pan and the second half of the dough.

Loosely cover the pies with foil sprayed with non-stick spray.  Place them into your warm (but turned off) oven for about an hour until they have doubled in size.

Remove from oven and set on the counter while your preheat your oven to 350°.

Bake the pies for 15-20 minutes until golden brown.  You should check on them about halfway through baking.  If they are browning too much, cover them loosely with foil.  Just like with cinnamon rolls, you may have some spots rise up more than other spots while baking, just push them back down with a butter knife and continue baking.

Remove cake from oven and allow to cool for about 10 minutes.  During this time, mix together your drizzle ingredients.   Drizzle over warm pies.

This pie is best enjoyed warm, but if you keep it covered in the fridge, it should last 3-4 days.

*Overnight method: Follow all directions up until you are through forming the pies in the pan.  Then, cover them tightly with plastic wrap and place in the fridge.  In the morning, remove them from the fridge and turn your oven to 200°, turn it off, and then place pies in the oven to rise for about an hour.  Then continue as normal.