So, Weslee just had his 2nd birthday...and what better way to celebrate than a huge pan of freshly made cinnamon rolls? We had lots of fun making and sharing these babies with the neighbors. Here's the recipe if you'd like to cook up a celebration at your house! (Um...and note that if you DON'T want your cinnamon rolls literally swimming in frosting, cut the frosting recipe in half).
Ingredients for Rolls:
2 cups warm water (110 to 115 degrees)
2/3 cup nonfat dry milk (instant or non-instant)
2 tbsp dry yeast
1/4 cup sugar
2 tsp salt
1/3 cup butter or margarine
1 egg
5 to 5 1/2 cups all-purpose flour or bread flour
1/3 cup melted butter
1/2- 1 cup brown sugar
cinnamon to taste
Directions:
In a large bowl of electric mixer, combine water and milk powder, stir until milk dissolves. Add yeast, then sugar, salt, butter, egg, and 2 cups flour. Mix on low speed of mixer until ingredients are wet, then for 2 minutes on medium speed. Add 2 cups flour. Mix on low speed until ingredients are wet, then for 2 minutes on medium speed. (Dough will be getting stiff and the remaining flour may need to be mixed in by hand). Add about 1/2 cup flour and mix again, by hand or mixer. (Add flour in 1/2 cup increments until desired consistency is reached. Dough should be soft, not overly sticky, and not stiff. I used 5 cups when I made the recipe here in England). It is not necessary to use the entire amount of flour.
Scrape dough off sides of bowl and pour about 1 tbsp of oil all around sides of bowl. Turn dough over in bowl so it is covered with oil. This keeps the dough from drying out. Cover with plastic wrap and place in a sink filled 1-2 inches with warm water. Cover sink with a cutting board or pan to lock in moisture. All dough to rise until doubled in size.
Sprinkle cutting board or counter with flour and place dough on floured board. Roll out into a rectangle. The dough should be 1/4 inch thick when you're done rolling it out. Spread melted butter to within 1 inch of the sides of the dough. Sprinkle with brown sugar and cinnamon. Roll up from the short side like a jelly-roll. Cut into 1 inch thick rolls and place on a greased cookie sheet. Cover rolls with plastic wrap and allow them to rise for 1 hour in a warm place.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Bake rolls for 15-20 minutes or until lightly browned on top. Remove from oven and allow to cool for 20-30 minutes before frosting.
Icing:
3/4 cup butter
3/4 cup shortening
4 2/3 cups powdered sugar
1 1/2 tsp lemon juice
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1/3 cup water
In a large mixer bowl, combine all ingredients. Beat until very creamy and light. Serve over cinnamon rolls.
So, these are a few of Weslee's two year old pictures...for the time being. This photo shoot was a WORKOUT... let me tell you. It was "snap a picture", run away, "snap a picture", run away for about half an hour. But, oh, Weslee had the time of his life! He loved getting to hold the "Brulla" (that I picked up super cheap at the BX) and it helped keep him stationary every now and then. I had fun seeing what faces he would come up with next. Yep...that's my kiddo!
