Cinnamon Rolls

Not to pat myself on the back, but these cinnamon rolls are absolutely AMAZING!!!  I had promised them to my young women for their presidency meeting Sunday, so I'm posting the recipe to share with all the rest of you cinnamon roll lovers.

2 teaspoons active dry yeast
1 cup warm milk
1 teaspoon sugar
1/3 cup margarine or butter, softened
2 eggs, beaten
4 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt

Dissolve the yeast and the sugar in the milk.  Wait about five minutes to be sure it proofs.  I have found from sharing this recipe in the past it is really easy to overheat the milk, and you don't want to kill the yeast...it's easier to redo the yeast than the entire batch of dough.

Add butter, eggs, flour and salt.  Knead together until you have a smooth ball of dough.

Place dough in a bowl and cover with a warm damp towel. Allow the dough to rise until it is double.  This is a heavier dough, so it may take a while.

Mix together the filling while the dough is rising:
1 cup brown sugar
2 1/2 Tablespoons cinnamon

On a floured surface roll it out to about 1/4" thick. The idea is to get 1 dozen good size rolls from this dough. we make them a little smaller, so my kids feel as though they were able to eat more.
Spread evenly 1/3 cup butter or margarine across the surface of the dough.  Sprinkle the filling over the butter.  Roll from the widest side of the dough to make a roll. Cut into even pieces, approximately 1-1/2" for smaller rolls and 2" for larger rolls.

Place the rolls onto a greased baking sheet and cover with a warm damp cloth. Allow them to rise for 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 400.
Bake for 10 - 12 minutes.

Icing
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup cream cheese softened
1 1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/8 teaspoon salt

Beat together while the rolls are baking.

Pancakes

I have always made pancakes and waffles from Bisquick, UNTIL....the dreaded day when everyone wanted pancakes and we were out.  Now, I'm a pretty resourceful person, and seeing that I can read, I decided to grab a cookbook and try by luck at making them from scratch.  I started with a basic recipe, but I decided to use melted butter in the batter instead of oil.  I made the batter and then felt like it was a little too thick for what my family's taste buds.  This resulted in me pouring in a little more milk, adding a little extra of this, changing a little of that, and the result was shocking.  EVERYONE in the family loved the pancakes.

It took a while to figure out exactly what we had done in that first attempt, but I think we have found success, and I we've been making them from scratch ever since.  It definitely wasn't as hard as I always made it out in my mind to be! Even if you never plan on making pancakes from scratch, it's always nice to have a backup plan...I speak from experience.

2 eggs
2 cups flour
2 cups milk
2 Tbs brown sugar1 Tbs lemon juice
1/4 cup butter, melted
2 Tbs baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

Beat the eggs until fluffy, add milk and mix together until frothy.  Add butter, sugar, lemon juice and stir together.  Add flour, baking powder and salt. Stir together until the batter is smooth.  Allow the batter to sit for about fifteen minutes then stir again before pouring.

Pour by 1/4 cup onto griddle.  We have an electric we use that I heat to 350.  When the pancakes are bubbly and starting to be done around the edges flip and cook on the other side.  This makes around twenty pancakes which is perfect for our crew.  The recipe can easily be halved if you don't have as many to cook for.

German Pancakes

Tonight is pizza night, so I've decided to post our breakfast recipe.  German pancakes are a favorite of ours, the kids inhale them when I make them, so with our crew I actually have to make two batches at once.  I'm only posting the recipe for one, however.  I know most who make these cook them in an iron skillet, the way they are suppose to be done.  I am not so fancy, we use a 9x13 pan...as you will see from the photos.

 

5 Tbl butter
5 eggs
3/4 c milk
3/4 c flour
1/2 tsp salt



Preheat oven to 450.


Cut the butter into quarters and place in your baking dish.
Beat the eggs well with a hand mixer or kitchen aid.
Add the milk and continue to beat well.
After the oven has been on approximately five to ten minutes, place the baking dish with the butter in the oven. (You want it to be in long enough to heat the pan and melt the butter, but not so long the butter burns)
Add flour and salt to the mixture and mix well.

When the oven is preheated completely, pour the mixture into the pan.  I usually open the oven, pull the oven rack out enough to pour directly into the pan, and slide the rack back into the oven.  I have found this helps from losing too much heat.

Bake for 18 - 20 minutes.

Our personal preference is to serve with sliced strawberries and powdered sugar. Enjoy!