It's a gloomy summer day here in Southern California, with the subtle hints of the soon to be fall weather. It's technically July and so why not follow that old time tradition of “Christmas in July” and bake up something a little sweet to get in that spirit. 

For those that don’t know about Christmas in July here is a little history:

According to legend, Christmas in July was first celebrated at a summer camp in 1933, when Keystone Camp in Brevard, N.C. decided to dedicate two days (July 24 and 25) to the holiday—complete with cotton fake snow, a decked-out tree, a gift exchange, and, of course, Santa.

It first hit pop culture in 1940, when the movie Christmas in July hit theaters. The plot? A man's colleagues prank him into thinking his work won a $25,000 prize—and he goes on a jolly spree of generosity (including finally proposing to his longtime love). By the 1950s, retailers had hit on the concept, and now, Christmas in July sales are a big phenomenon.

So what are we baking? The most delicious honey baked cinnamon rolls using out Out There Flavors Cinnamon Honey blend. The recipe goes just like this:

Out There Flavors Honey Bakeded Cinnamon Rolls

Equipment

• KitchenAid Classic 4.5 Quart Stand Mixer or mix by hand with a nice wooden spoon or silicone spatula

• Mixing Bowl Set (3 piece)

• 9x13-inch Baking Pan (set of 2) or a nice cast iron skillet as I prefer

Ingredients

Dough

• 2 ¼ tsp active dry yeast or instant yeast

• 1 cup milk lukewarm

• ½ cup granulated sugar (or honey if your like me)

• ⅓ cup butter unsalted, softened, or margarine

• 1 tsp salt

• 2 eggs or eggs substitute

• 4 cups all-purpose flour

Filling

• 1 cup Out There Flavors Cinnamon Honey or about 1 jar and 1/3

• 3 tbsp extra cinnamon if you really like it

• ⅓ cup butter salted, softened, or margarine

Cream cheese icing

• 6 tbsp butter unsalted, softened, or margarine

• 1 ½ cups powdered sugar also known as icing sugar, or confectioner's sugar

• ¼ cup cream cheese at room temperature

• ½ tsp vanilla extract

• ⅛ tsp salt

Instructions

• For the rolls, dissolve the yeast in the warm milk with a tsp of sugar (you can take a tsp out of the 1/2 cup of sugar) in a large bowl. Let it sit for about 5 minutes. If the yeast is good, it will start to froth up.

• To the bowl of your mixer add the sugar or honey which ever you choose, butter or margarine, salt, eggs, and flour and mix until well incorporated.

• Pour the milk/yeast mixture over the flour mixture and using the dough hook, mix well until well incorporated and the dough comes clean from the side of the bowl.

• Place the dough into an oiled bowl, cover and let rise in a warm place about 1 hour or until the dough has doubled in size.

• Combine the 1/3 cup of butter and cinnamon honey in a bowl until whipped. It will look a lot like caramel.

• Grease a 9x13 inch baking dish with cooking spray or butter.

• Roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface, until it is approximately 16 inches long by 12 inches wide. It should be approximately 1/4 inch in thickness.

• Spread the whipped honey butter evenly over the surface of the dough.

• Working carefully, from the long edge, roll the dough down to the bottom edge.

• Cut the dough into 1 1/2 inch slices, and place in a lightly greased baking pan. You can also use floss to cut into slices. Place the cut rolls in the prepared pan. Cover with a clean kitchen towel or plastic wrap and let them rise for another 30 minutes, or until doubled in size.

• Preheat oven to 350°F.

• Place the baking pan in the oven and bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Cooking time can vary greatly!

• While the rolls are baking make the icing by mixing all the icing ingredients and beat well until fluffy and smooth.

• When the rolls are done, spread generously with icing.