Julie's Cinnamon Rolls

Seriously guys, these cinnamon rolls are delicious...and if I can make them and have them turn out, anybody can. My friend Julie is famous for her cinnamon rolls and she was kind enough to mentor my friend and me last week. I wrote down step-by-step instructions because I'm a moron when it comes to working with flour and dough, so in order to remember what the heck we did I had to include every detail.


Instructions:

Pour 1 1/2 c. warm milk into mixing bowl. Sprinkle a tiny bit of sugar in to activate the yeast.

Add 1 heaping tbsp. yeast.

Mix in bowl with whipping hook until it bubbles. Once it bubbles, let it sit for a few minutes until it becomes foamy to make sure the yeast is activated.

Then add:
1 beaten egg
1 tsp. salt
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. warm water (borderline hot)
1/2 c. shortening

Mix together until shortening is broken up.

Add about 2 c. flour, one at a time, until smooth.

Switch to dough hook.

Add approximately 3 1/2 c. flour, one cup at a time, until dough is just a tiny bit sticky and barely sticking to the sides of the bowl.

Sprinkle about 1/2 c. flour on counter and drop dough on top. Knead until a very soft dough forms and it is no longer sticky. (The more flour you add, the less soft your cinnamon rolls will be, so be careful!) Continue kneading for about 5-6 minutes and then form the dough into a ball. You will know if you have kneaded the dough enough when you poke a hole with your finger and it doesn't immediately close up.

Spray mixing bowl with Pam, insert the dough, and spray the top of the dough lightly with Pam as well. Cover with a towel and let rise to double.

Once dough has risen, sprinkle flour on the counter and pat lightly over dough ball.

Roll dough out into a long rectangle.

Spread room-temperature margarine over the dough and then cover it very generously with brown sugar and cinnamon. For added variety, you can also top it with pizza sauce, cheese, and toppings, or raspberry pie filling.

Roll up the dough tightly and pinch it off along the side. With dental floss, cut rolls about 2” thick.

Spray cookie sheets with Pam and place about 12 rolls on each pan. Cover with towel and let rise to double.

Bake at 400 for about 14-15 minutes, until golden brown. Yields approximately 18 cinnamon rolls.

Icing:
(This recipe is more or less approximate. The amounts of margarine, salt (I accidentally added too much salt to this batch and I could taste it), and vanilla should remain constant, but you may need to add more powdered sugar and/or milk according to taste and texture.)

1/4 c. margarine (room-temperature)
Roughly 3 c. powdered sugar
Roughly 4 tbsp. milk
1/8 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla

Wisk all ingredients together and thin with milk until a semi-thick frosting forms. When cinnamon rolls are finished baking, let them sit for just a bit and then spread icing over top. It will melt down into the cinnamon rolls and make them even more delicious.