Cinnamon Rolls

Cinnamon Rolls

For the Dough:
1/2 Cup Sugar
1/4 Cup Instant Mashed Potatoes
1 1/2 Cups Warm milk
1/2 Cup warm water
2 Tbs Active Dry Yeast
1/2 Cup Butter (1 stick softened)
4 Eggs
1 tsp Salt
~6 Cups of All Purpose Flour

For the Filling:
1/2 Cup of Butter (1 Stick, softened)
1 Cup of Sugar
2 Tbs Ground Cinnamon

In a mixing bowl, you can use a mixer or some elbow grease, add warm water, warm milk, sugar, instant mash, and yeast.  Mix well and let set for about 10 minutes for yeast to bloom. To mixture add butter, eggs and salt, mix well to beat eggs.  Add 2 cups of the flour and mix until smooth.  Add 2 more cups and repeat.  Add 1 more cup of flour and move mixture to a floured surface to knead in the remaining cup of flour.  You might not need to remaining cup depending on humidity or maybe you do.  Knead dough until very smooth and no longer sticky, it should be tacky about the same as a post-it note.
Put dough on a plate and let rise for about an hour or until dough has doubled.  Spray dough with a light coating of non stick spray to keep from drying out.

Roll out dough after an hour in a rectangular shape.  Mix all the filling ingredients in a bowl and smear all over rolled dough except for 1 inch from the edge on one of the long edges.  Now roll the dough starting from the opposite for the side you left clean of filling.  You should have a nice dough snake now.  Cut the dough about 3 fingers wide and put into a greased 9x13 pan.  You should be able to fit about a dozen in the pan.  If you have more, grease another pan and keep going.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.  Your dough should rise again in the amount of time it takes for your oven to heat.  Bake for about 12 minutes, really no more than 15 minutes otherwise they will be over done.

Remove from oven and Enjoy!
You might scald your mouth eating the first one because you won't be able to wait for them to cool because they smell so good.  :)



Story about Cinnamon Rolls
A few years ago I worked at a retirement home.  During a series of events I became in charge of making cinnamon rolls for Saturday Breakfast.  Cinnamon rolls on Saturday was a 20 tradition at the home and recently loosing a chef made it so there would be no rolls on Saturday morning.  END OF THE WORLD SCENARIO, according to the residents.  Since I was manager I felt that it was my responsibility to bake them some.
More back story... I have been making cinnamon rolls with my grandma since I was able to see over the counter.  I love cinnamon rolls, but I especially love hers.  During the fall and winter we would bake some about once a month. It was a great treat.  When I came to college and starting cooking for myself I kept up the cinnamon roll tradition and would make them for friends and family.  One year cinnamon rolls were my holiday gift to people which was a great hit.
When the cinnamon roll making duty opened up at the retirement home I had cinnamon roll experience.  After I made my first batch, the residents knew something was up.  There was a new chef in town.  I didn't make them quite every Saturday, but pretty close.  They would also complain when I didn't make them because they could tell the difference.  Now, that I no longer work there, I've heard that they are sad that I'm no longer making them because they enjoyed them so much.  That's why I wanted to share this recipe so you too at home can experience the happiness of these cinnamon rolls. How have cinnamon rolls affected your life?