Cinnamon Rolls

Is there really anything as wonderful in the morning as the scent of baking cinnamon rolls? As just about everyone who has ever tasted cinnamon rolls can attest, they are absolutely wonderful and are just about the perfect cap to a light breakfast. Instead of wasting money by purchasing pre-made cinnamon rolls for breakfast, why not make your own? Here's how.

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup warm water
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 cup warm milk
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 4 cups sifted flour
• 3/4 teaspoons dry yeast
• 4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 3/4 cup chopped pecans (optional)
• 3/4 cup raisins (optional)
• 1/3 cup sugar

Procedure:

1. Prepare yeast. When making bread products from scratch, the very fist step is to prepare the yeast. Set an egg timer to ten minutes, and then place the yeast into a small mixing bowl and add 1/4 cup of warm water. Turn the timer on and proceed to step two.
2. Make dough. While the yeast is preparing, add the milk and butter to a small saucepan and heat. Continue stirring the mixture until the butter has melted completely and then remove from heat. Add sugar and salt to the mixture and stir in. When the timer goes off, if it hasn't already, add the yeast and egg to the mixture and mix completely. Slowly add the flour to the mixture one cup at a time until it has been thoroughly mixed. After adding each cup of flour, take time to beat thoroughly.
3. Knead dough. By now the dough should be ready for kneading. You will know that it is ready for kneading when the dough is soft, yet firm enough to handle. The dough will be a little sticky, but that is only to be expected. Lightly flour a cutting board or countertop and put the dough onto it. Knead the dough until it is elastic and smooth. Oil or grease a bowl completely, and then place the dough into it. Cover with a towel and let it rise for 1-1/2 hours.
4. Divide dough. Divide what is by now large ball of dough into something that is a little more manageable. Place the dough back onto the floured countertop and smooth out into a rectangle shape using a rolling pin. Use a baker's brush to thoroughly cover the top of the rectangle with melted butter. Onto this sheet of dough, sprinkle brown sugar and cinnamon to taste. If you like pecans (or some other kind of nut) and raisins, this is the time to sprinkle that onto the dough sheet.
5. Roll dough. Now that you have the fillings in place, it is time to roll it all up. Make the roll as nice and tight as you can, but be careful that you don not tear the dough.
6. Preheat oven. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit so that when it comes time to bake the oven will be at the proper temperature.
7. Cut dough. Now that you are heating up the oven, it is time to make the actual rolls and get the baking pan ready. Grease an 8- or 9-inch round, by three-inch deep cake pan. Get a piece of string about 6 inches long and use the string to cut off slices between 1 and 1-1/2 inches thick. Place each slice into the greased cake pan.
8. Bake. After the cake pan has been filled, place it into the oven to bake for 15 to 20 minutes. Check the rolls periodically to ensure that they do not get burned or overly browned. Also make sure that you do not over bake the rolls.
9. Remove rolls. Remove the rolls from both the oven and the cake pan. Turn the rolls out onto a plate or serving platter and prepare to frost.
10. Frost. Utilize your favorite type of frosting and apply while the rolls are still warm. Some of the best flavors of frosting to use are vanilla, cream cheese, and orange. Apply the frosting while the rolls are still warm and it will melt into each nook and cranny—providing ooey-gooey goodness.

Now that you have finished icing your cinnamon rolls, it's time to enjoy them. Pour a nice glass of orange juice or milk and enjoy a wonderful treat. This recipe provides about one dozen rolls, depending on how tightly you roll the dough and how large you cut the slices.