Delicious Cinnamon Rolls

Cinnamon Rolls

Dough

2.5 c. warm water
2 TBS. Sugar
2 TBS. Yeast
2 tsp. salt
5 TBS. butter or margarine
6.5 c. flour

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Mix water, sugar and yeast, let rise 15 min. (I usually put it in a stainless steel bowl and put in on the center of the stove, because it's getting warm and it helps it rise faster). In a large bowl mix flour, butter, and salt. Then add yeast mixture, and knead until dough is soft. I usually add about 2 TBS. of olive oil to the bowl, or you can use any other kind of oil, this helps it from ticking to the bowl. Let it rise in a warm area until really light.

This is a GREAT basic dough for bread, pizza crust, cinnamon rolls or dinner rolls.

Bake for 15-20 min.at 400º for crusts & rolls

For Bread bake for 30 min. at 350º degrees.

Cinnamon Roll Fillings

1C Brown Sugar
5Tbsp Cinnamon
1 stick butter

Remove the margarine from the refrigerator once you've started the dough cycle and allow it to reach room temperature. In a small bowl, mix the brown sugar and cinnamon.

After the dough cycle has completed, roll and stretch the dough out on a lightly floured surface into a 15" by 24" (38 cm by 61 cm) rectangle.

Mark off 1" along the 24" edge of the dough, closest to you. You will not spread any Margarine or Sugar-Cinnamon mixture on this edge so that you can seal the roll. Spread the softened Margarine over the dough with a rubber spatula and then evenly distribute the Sugar and Cinnamon mixture. Be careful to leave your 1" edge clean. As a final step, use your rolling pin to lightly roll the Sugar and Cinnamon mixture.

Starting at the far edge of the dough, roll it up tightly. Begin at the far edge and roll up the dough toward the 1" clean edge. The clean 1" edge is used to seal the finished roll. Trim the left and right ends of the roll. The result will be a 24" roll. Trim off the left and right ends of the roll so that you have a flush end at each end of the roll. Then mark the roll every 1 1/2 inches (3.8 cm). Cut the roll into 1 1/2" long portions. This may be done with a knife, as they do at the store. However we've found it easier to use dental floss. (We use cinnamon flavored dental floss just for dramatic effect!) Cut the roll by placing the thread under the roll at your mark, crisscross over and pull it to cut. You should get 15 rolls.

Line your baking pans with parchment paper. Place 5 rolls into 8" square baking pans 1" apart. (One roll in each corner, and one in the center.) Cover with a lint free cloth and let rise in a warm, draft free place until almost double, approximately 1 hour. After rising, rolls should be touching each other and the sides of the pan. This is important for best results. This gives the resulting rolls the soft, moist outer edge that most people prefer.

After rising, bake in a convection oven at 310°F for 15 minutes. If you are using a conventional oven, bake at 335°F for 20 minutes. The resulting rolls should be only lightly browned. We bake only one 8 inch square pan of rolls at a time to obtain uniform results.

Cream Cheese Frosting
4oz Cream Cheese - room temp
1 stick butter - room temp
1¾C Confectioners Sugar
1tsp Vanilla (preferably Alcohol Free)
1/8 tsp lemon flavoring (preferably Alcohol Free)

in a bowl cream together cream cheese and butter for 6 mins. Add 1 Cup of the powdered sugar and mix for another minute. Add the remaining sugar and again min for 1 minute. Lastly add the flavorings and again mix for 1 minute.

Transfer the finished frosting to a convenient covered container and refrigerate it. Once the rolls are finished baking, frost them while they're still very warm and serve them immediately. Yum, yum!