Cinnamon Rolls

Cinnamon Rolls were the traditional Christmas morning breakfast when I was growing up and naturally, after I got married, I continued the tradition with my own family. I started out making my mom's recipe but then when we lived in Rochester, I learned this recipe from David's friend Tad Mitchell and I've been using this recipe ever since.

1 Tbsp active dry yeast
1/2 cup warm water
1/4 cups butter
1 cup milk
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp salt
1 egg
4 cups bread flour

Combine warm water (105-115) with 1/4 tsp sugar in bowl. Add yeast and stir once. Let sit 5 minutes until yeast starts to foam. Meanwhile, melt butter. Add milk and heat until warm (105-115). Add sugar, salt, egg, 2 cups of flour and mix. Knead dough on floured surface until smooth (or knead in bread maker). Cover and let rise until double in size (approximately 1 hour). Roll dough into a rectangle 1/4 inch in thickness. Brush surface with melted butter. Sprinkle with cinnamon, brown sugar and raisins (optional). Roll like a jelly roll and seal seams. Slice dough into 12 pieces. Place rolls in greased baking pan (9x13). Cover and let rise until double in size (approximately 1 hour). Bake at 375 for 20-25 minutes.

Frosting

3/4 cup softened butter
3 1/2 cups sifted powdered sugar
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
3-4 Tbsp milk

Beat butter until smooth. Add sugar 1 cup at a time beating smooth each time. Add vanilla. Add milk until desired consistency is achieved.

Variations:

You can use a creamed cheese frosting instead of the buttercream. Fritz's Bakery in Philly uses cream cheese frosting.

Caramel Pecan Rolls

1/13 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup butter
2 Tbsp light corn syrup
2/3 cup chopped pecans

Cook and stir all ingredients until combined. Pour in the bottom of a greased 9x13 pan. Sprinkle with 2/3 cup chopped pecans. Place rolls in pan. Let rise. Bake. Let sit 5 minutes and then invert onto serving plate.