by Eileen Grace

Created on: April 24, 2009

There's nothing like the smell of cinnamon rolls baking in the morning. These make an absolutely wonderful breakfast and any leftovers make good snacks as well. You can make them up the night before and put them in the refrigerator overnight instead of the final rising, just let them come to room temperature before baking.

My Favorite Cinnamon Rolls

Ingredients

Dough:

1/4-ounce package yeast

1/2 cup warm water

1/2 cup scalded milk

1/4 cup sugar

1/3 cup butter or shortening

1 teaspoon salt

1 egg

3 1/2 to 4 cups all-purpose flour

Filling:

1/4 cup melted butter

3/4 cup sugar

2 tablespoons ground cinnamon

3/4 cup raisins, walnuts, or pecans, optional

Glaze:

2 tablespoons butter

1 cups powdered sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/2 to 3 tablespoons hot water

Directions

In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water and set aside. In a large bowl mix milk, sugar, melted butter, salt and egg. Add 2 cups of flour and mix until smooth. Add yeast mixture. Mix in remaining flour until dough is easy to handle. Knead dough on lightly floured surface for 5 to 10 minutes.

Place in well-greased bowl, cover and let rise until doubled in size, usually 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

When doubled in size, punch down dough. Roll out on a floured surface into a 15 by 9-inch rectangle. Spread melted butter all over dough. Mix sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle over buttered dough (there will be some left.)

Sprinkle with walnuts, pecans, or raisins if desired. Beginning at the 15-inch side, role up dough and pinch edge together to seal. Cut into 12 to 15 slices.

Heat oven to 350 F.

Coat the bottom of baking pan with butter and sprinkle with the leftover sugar and cinnamon. Place cinnamon roll slices close together in the pan and let rise until dough is doubled, about 45 minutes. Bake for about 30 minutes or until nicely browned.

Meanwhile, mix butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla. Add hot water 1 tablespoon at a time until the glaze reaches desired consistency. Spread over slightly cooled rolls.

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