Holiday Cinnamon Rolls

All right, all right. I know that making homemade cinnamon rolls is something that's probably not at the top of everyone's list. But, I just can't help it! At the holidays, all I want to do is bake, bake, bake!! This recipe that I found is really delicious, too. And yes, there's tons of sugar, but this is a special occasion kinda thing, so enjoy!

Now, they do take a bit of extra time (the dough needs plenty of time to rise). Make sure to give yourself two to three hours, so you don't end up feeling rushed. It's a really great cold, grey, winter day thing to do. My kids loved helping me roll them out and get them ready to bake. I made ours in the evening, then stored them to be ready for breakfast the next morning....we may also have tried a fresh one just before bed too.

Grocery List:

1 pkg Active Dry Yeast
1/2 cup milk
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup shortening, softened
1 tsp salt
1 egg
3 1/2 to 4 cups all-purpose flour
4 tbsp butter
1 cup sugar
4 tsp cinnamon
2 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla


Recipe: (all the ingredients you need are listed above)

Cinnamon Roll Dough:

1 pkg Active Dry Yeast
1/2 cup warm water (105 to 115 degrees)
1/2 cup lukewarm milk
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup shortening, softened
1 tsp salt
1 egg
3 1/2 to 4 cups all-purpose flour

Dissolve yeast in warm water in a large bowl. Stir in milk, sugar, shortening, salt, egg and 2 cups of the flour. Beat until smooth. Mix in enough of the remaining flour just to make the dough easy to handle.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface; knead until elastic about 5 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turn greased side up. Cover and let rise until double, about 1 1/2 hours. (It's ready if an indentation remains when touched.)

Punch dough down. Shape, let rise and bake as directed.


Cinnamon Rolls

4 tbsp butter, softened
1 cup sugar
4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Roll the Cinnamon Roll Dough into a rectangle 1/4 inch thick on a lightly floured surface. Spread with the softened butter. Mix sugar and cinnamon, then sprinkle over the rectangle. Roll up tightly, beginning with long side of your rectangle. Stretch the dough to make the shape even. Cut into 1 1/2 inch slices. (I used a very sharp paring knife, but you can also use wire). Place into greased medium sized muffin cups. Let rise until double, about 40 minutes.

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Bake until golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes. Spread rolls with the glaze (recipe below) while still warm.


Glaze

Mix 2 cups powdered sugar, 2 tbps milk and 1 tsp vanilla until glaze is smooth. If the glaze is too thick, add more milk. Pour over the warm Cinnamon Rolls. Then eat and enjoy!!!