FL, I pretty much shared the process above - only thing missing was the dough recipe which is just a basic white bread recipe I got from my mom which litterally reads:
2 C water
2 T sugar
1 T salt
1 T oil
Enough flour to make good dough...!
I started using instant yeast, so I will add 2 t. instant yeast to approx 3 C Flour in a bowl. Mix that first, do your water, sugar thing above using tap water as hot as you can get it. Pour into your yeast flour and start mixing with a spoon. Once it gets to hard to mix with a spoon, slowly start adding flour (I do it a hand full at a time), until you have dough that won't stick to your hands. I'm guessing about 4 to 6 cups total.
Check out a basic bread recipe, then just roll it out, add our stuff, roll up, slice, and bake. Cinnamon rolls are about as easy as it gets baking.
Good luck!