Holly takes on Cinnamon Rolls

One of my brilliant ideas was for Holly and me to make homemade Cinnamon Rolls. I'm talking the yeast, risen-dough, roll out, fill and roll up kind that we used to make in Home Ec (back in the old days where there really was such a class).

I thought it'd be great fun.

Holly had other ideas. While I don't think she was adverse to actually making the rolls, she was not happy with me at all that afternoon and announced her intention to do it herself.

This is similar to the queen deciding to go slum in the kitchen for the afternoon. Except Holly's a princess.

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CINNAMON ROLLS

Dough:
1 (.25 oz.) pkg. active dry yeast
3/4 c. warm water (110 degrees)
1/4 c. white sugar
3/4 t. salt
1 egg
2-1/2 c. flour

In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.

Add sugar, salt, egg, and 1 c. flour; stir well to combine. Stir in the remaining flour, 1/2 c. at a time, beating well with each addition. When the dough has pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 mins. Cover with a damp cloth and let rest for 10 mins.

Filling:
1/4 c. butter, softened
1 T. cinnamon
1/2 c. brown sugar
(This is what the recipe calls for, but we'll increase it by 50-100% next time...)

Lightly grease an 8x8" pan. (I'd use something a little bigger next time.) Roll dough out on a lightly floured surface to 1/4" thick rectangle. Smear the dough with butter and sprinkle with cinnamon and brown sugar. Roll up the dough along the long edge until it forms a roll. Slice the roll into 16 equal pieces (use dental floss!) and place them in pan.

Cover pan with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight OR cover and let rise at room temp until doubled in size, about 45 mins.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Bake until golden brown, about 20 mins.

VANILLA FROSTING

2 c. powdered sugar
1 T. butter, melted
1 t. vanilla
2-4 T. milk

In a medium bowl, place sugar, butter, and vanilla. Then stir in enough milk to reach a thick, difficult-to-stir consistency. Spread over warm rolls ten minutes after they come out of the oven to let the frosting melt and run into the rolls.
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She did an AWESOME job. The rolls were DELICIOUS. They were supposed to last two days and barely made it until the next morning.

I imagine that Holly was thinking similarly to Cleopatra:

"Fool! Don't you see now that I could have poisoned you a hundred times..."

Yeah, whatever, but at least I would have died happy!