Grandma's Cinnamon Rolls
Why I Love This Recipe
This recipe came from my Grandma Clatt's cookbook. Grandma died from breast cancer when I was only 7 and her cookbook was copied (handwritten) to give to all her children, before she died, including my father. When I was about 10 I joined 4H and needed an item to bake for the fair. Dad suggested I try the rolls and ever since I have been making them as Dad said they were even better than Grandma's. Grandma's original instructions called for using a muffin tin and making clover leaf rolls. She would roll 3 small balls of dough in the cinnamon-sugar mixture, place them in a muffin cup and bake them that way. I can't remember eating them this way or why I decided to change the recipe to the more modern roll. I don't remember a lot about Grandma but this is a way I have used to hold on to the few memories I have left of this wonderful woman in my life. Enjoy.
Ingredients You'll Need
1 c. warm water
1 package yeast
3 T sugar
1 tsp salt
1 beaten egg
1/2 c. veg. oil or melted shortening
3 + cups all purpose flour
1/2 c sugar
cinnamon to taste
1/4 c soft butter
1 c powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 T butter
1 + T milk
Directions
Dissolve yeast in the warm water in a medium sized bowl.
Sprinkle a little of the 3 T sugar in it.
Let set until a light foam forms on top.
Add the rest of the 3 T sugar, salt, beaten egg, and oil.
In a larger bowl put 3 cups of flour in and make a well in the center.
Pour the liquid from the 1st bowl into the well and mix with a wooden spoon until well combined. Turn the dough onto a well floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic.
Let rise, covered with a damp towel, in a warm place until doubled or more in size.
Mix the 1/2 cup sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl.
You can mix as much or as little cinnamon in as you like, whatever your taste is.
With a rolling pin roll the dough into a rectangle until dough is about 1/8 to 1/4" thick.
Spread the soft butter evenly over the dough then sprinkle the cinnamon-sugar mixture over all.
Roll the dough tightly length-wise (Long side to long side).
Cut the dough with a sharp serrated knife into 12 equal sized rolls.
Butter a 9 x 13 pan and place the rolls equally spaced apart into the pan.
Let rise in a warm place, lightly covered with a towel, until all the rolls are touching (about doubled).
Bake in a 325 oven for about 25 min or until lightly browned.
While cooling mix the powdered sugar, vanilla, 1 T butter, and milk to a smooth glaze.
After the rolls have cooled about 15 minutes glaze the rolls with the powdered sugar mixture. If desired, let this glaze melt down and then glaze again after the rolls are cool.
These are most delicious while slightly warm!
Optional instructions: Instead of using 2 bowls you can make your liquid mixture in a large mixer bowl, slowly add the flour while mixing with a dough hook (I use my KitchenAid mixer). After you mix in the 3 cups of flour just continue adding flour a little at a time until the dough isn't sticky any longer. Continue as the original recipe after this step.