Cinnamon Rolls

 I am kind of a carb lover - I could eat carbs for every meal. And as you could have guessed I also like to cook/bake - so the two together are perfect. Who better to turn to for a good cinnamon roll recipe but Paula Deen?

Caution: Butter and Sugar Galore!

Ooey- Gooey Cinnamon Rolls

 Dough:

• 1/4-ounce package yeast
• 1/2 cup warm water
• 1/2 cup scalded milk
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup butter or shortening
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg
• 3 1/2 to 4 cups all-purpose flour 

Filling:

• 1/2 cup melted butter, plus more for pan
• 1/4 cup sugar, plus more for pan (I didn't do this, I have read it can make the bottoms really hard)
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
• 3/4 cup raisins, walnuts, or pecans, optional 

Glaze:

• 4 tablespoons melted butter
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional - I prefer mine not flavored)
• 3 to 6 tablespoons whipping cream (add until desired consistency)

Directions:

In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water and set aside. In a large bowl mix milk, sugar, melted butter, salt and egg. Add 2 cups of flour and mix until smooth. Add yeast mixture. Mix in remaining flour until dough is easy to handle. Knead dough on lightly floured surface for 5 to 10 minutes. Place in well-greased bowl, cover and let rise until doubled in size, usually 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

When doubled in size, punch down dough. Roll out on a floured surface into a 15 by 9-inch rectangle. Spread softened butter all over dough. Mix sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle over buttered dough. Sprinkle with walnuts, pecans, or raisins if desired. Beginning at the 15-inch side, role up dough and pinch edge together to seal. Cut into 12 to 15 slices (I use thread and just cross it over to cut it)

Coat the bottom of baking pan with butter and sprinkle with sugar (sugar if desired). Place cinnamon roll slices close together in the pan and let rise until dough is doubled, about 45 minutes. Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes or until nicely browned (keep an eye on them the time will vary)

Meanwhile, mix butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla. Add whipping cream 1 tablespoon at a time until the glaze reaches desired consistency. Spread over slightly cooled rolls.

Tips/Ideas:

• first off: be patient! The key to fluffy rolls is letting them raise fully - the first and second time
• I changed the recipe a bit from the original - that is what I love about comment boards, you get to learn from everyone elses mistakes and take their comments and adapt the recipe before even making them. So I have written this how I made them.
• These take probably a good 4-5 hours start to finish so they are a bit of a time commitment

I hope you enjoy!

Prize Winner

Finally documented: My Garlic Knots (here)

Seriously, you've got to try these things.

Pizza Joint Must-Have

I've wanted to find a good recipe for Garlic Knots and have read a lot of recipes, but last night I struck gold! I didn't even use a recipe I read - not that it is hard - but I just made them by what sounded good for what I like.

I better make these sparingly, with their bite-size goodness it is hard to limit myself!

Easy Peasy Garlic Knots

Ingredients:

1 can (11 oz) refrigerator pizza dough/crust

Butter (about 3 Tablespoons) - melted

Garlic Salt (this is for ease – you can use fresh chopped garlic)

Parmesan cheese (I prefer shredded)

Parsley (I just use dried and I even crumble it so it isn’t big pieces – but that is just personal preference)

Red pepper flakes

Directions:

-Open dough/crust and roll into a rectangle (when I opened my can it wasn’t a nice rectangle for me and I think the dough held together better after rolling it out)

-Cut 1 inch strips on the short side and then cut down the middle the long way (this does not have to be scientific, as long as they are pretty close the same size – but even if not it’s not a huge deal)

-Tie into knots (tucking the ends underneath so it is like a little ball) and place on baking sheet (they don’t grow too much so you can fit them all on one pan)

-Cook at 450 until golden brown (mine were maybe 10 min)

-Put in a large bowl and gently coat with melted butter (you can just stir them with a large spoon since they are so small and they nicely evenly coated)

-Next add Parmesan cheese, parsley, and red pepper flakes to taste (no real magic here – just do to your liking)

Wha-la! Deliciousness! And from start to finish – 20 min

Ideas/tips:

• These are delicious dipped in ranch, but you can also use pizza sauce or marinara sauce to dip them in
• You can probably use any bread dough for this, but I have used breadstick dough before and they were much more flat and light, the pizza dough is a bit more dense and I think more fitting for these.

(Sorry no picture - we ate them too fast to even have time for one -

but trust me, I will be making these again)