Emily Cinnamon Rolls

My friend Emily made these cinnamon rolls for Christmas one time and brought us some. They were so delicious. I begged her for the recipe. She also uses it to make regular rolls too.

Also just a side note a few weeks ago I woke up and decide to make them since I had been stuck at home all week with a snow storm. So I made them on Wednesday and then Thursday our power went out and was out until Saturday night. We were in luck and were able to eat them everyday while the power was out. It was good timing if you ask me and came in handy in our time of need.

Cinnamon Rolls

3 cups milk, scalded (I microwave for 5 minutes)

1 cup potato flakes

3/4 c sugar

3/4 c butter or shortening (I use shortening - it tastes better, but is probably less healthy!)

1 Tbsp salt

4 eggs

1 1/2 Tbsp yeast

6 cups flour (I use roughly 7 to 7 1/2 cups)

Place potato flakes, sugar, salt, and shortening in your mixer. Add scalded milk. When mixture is lukewarm, add eggs. Add 1 cup of flour to your mixer as it is running, add the yeast (I use instant rise or rapid rise so I don't have to proof the yeast), and then the remaining flour. Dough should be slightly sticky to the touch, but not too much. Let dough rise until double (approximately 1 1/2 hrs). Divine dough in and half and roll into shapes. Let rise 3 hrs. Bake at 375 degrees for 10-12 min or until golden brown on top.

Tips for rolling out the rolls:

Place 1/2 of the dough mixture on a floured surface. Roll into a large rectangle. Butter the entire surface of the dough. Fold into thirds (top down and then bottom up on top of that). Take a pizza cutter and cut into 3/4 to 1 inch strips. Twist the strips and then knot them. Sorry - that is the best I can do. It's actually really easy. I like to place on parchment paper on top of my baking sheets.

For the cinnamon rolls roll the dough into a rectangle, butter the dough, sprinkle with cinnamon mixture (1/2 cup brown sugar, 1/2 cup white sugar, 1 tsp cinnamon), fold into thirds, roll out the same way. You can roll the traditional way if you want to. Frosting: 1/4 cup butter, 4 cups powdered sugar, 1 tsp vanilla, enough milk or whipping cream to make a smooth frosting. I also like to add cream cheese.

You can also make orange rolls and garlic cheddar rolls with this same recipe.