Did ya know?? I used to own a Cinnamon Roll Shoppe?

So here's the Scene:

 Year: 1988

Location: Dallas Texas...right down the street

from American Airlines Headquarters

A strip mall housed

The Cinnamon Station....

my creation.

I was working 18 hour days....

making, baking delivering 

cinnamon rolls.

I had a 6 month old in the backroom

whom I was breast feeding...

two other little kids running around...

pregnant with the fourth child

and didn't know it...

but felt like I was having a 

nervous breakdown.

Literally.

At the end of these hard days...

I would have less money than I started out with..

Hmmm....

Finally figured out...

that the 'then' husband...

was having an affair with the girl

at the hair salon next door...

and right next door to her...

Sam the deli man...

was supplying him with cocaine.

Needless to say...

I went broke.

My fortune and fame 

was not to be made

with dough...

But I will share my recipes with you!

I made the above cinnamon rolls for my son in law

while I was down in Utah last month.

I overheard a conversation between him and my daughter.

Brooke: Brian you started coming over to my house when I was 12 years old because you were so in love with me.

Brian: Sorry hon....I was coming over for your mom's cinnamon rolls!

Thus I made him a double batch...

3 large pans full of huge cinnamon rolls.

If you don't have a lot of time...

and don't want to make the dough yourself...

this is the easiest way.

Buy a loaf of Bridgeford Frozen Loaf Bread...

the package that has 3 loaves in it.

Set it out on the counter the night before.

When you wake up it will look 

like it is ready to burst out of the bag.

Roll it out to about 1/2" thickness.

Slather it with a stick and a half of

softened butter (not margarine).

 I sprinkle about another 1/2" of

brown sugar over the whole thing....

and put a good amount

of quality cinnamon

on top of that.

Penzy's Spice 

has great cinnamon.

I like nuts...

so I chop up about 1 cup of walnuts

and spread that on top.

Roll them up tightly!

Cut about 1" thick

and place in a greased pan.

Let rise for about 30 minutes.

Bake at 350 degrees for around

25-30 minutes.

When they are light to medium brown on the top

they are ready to come out.

About this color

Top with cream cheese frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting:

1 stick of real butter

1 8 oz pkg of cream cheese

about a half of a large bag of powdered sugar

1 tsp of vanilla.

(Beat together)

(Do a taste taste. I don't like my frosting

super sugary sweet...

because the rolls already

have a lot of sugar in them.

I think this is one of the keys

to my awesome cinnamon rolls!)

With a spatula

slather it on top of the

just baked cinnamon rolls.

Enjoy!!

Now if you want my dough recipe...

here it is:

4 cups of warm water

3 Tbsp of yeast

(Mix together and let sit for 10 minutes..

until it is frothy)

Add:

1 cup powdered milk

2/3 cup of oil

4 tsp of salt

1 cup sugar

4 eggs

10-12 cups of flour

Mix all together. I have a Bosch

so I put in all the ingredients 

except only about 6 cups of flour.

I then add enough flour

until it cleans the sides of the bowl.

Knead it for 10 minutes.

I place about 4 Tbsp of oil

in large bowl...

place the dough in there,

then turn it over, so the oil is on all sides of the dough.

Let rise until doubled in bulk.

Roll out for cinnamon rolls.

This dough is GREAT to freeze.

Once I make up the cinnamon rolls,

I put them on a buttered baking sheet to freeze.

After they are frozen I place them in ziplock bags.

When you want to use them, place them 3" apart on

a buttered pyrex or sheet pan.

Let rise until doubled in size.

(Around 5-6 hours.)

I used to take frozen rolls out of the freezer

on Saturday night late...

and then popped them in the oven

early Sunday morning...

for a quick breakfast before church.

So there you have it gals!

That's my story...

and I'm a stickin' to it!!

Hope you have 

a sweet sticky...

cinnamon-y day!!

Love, Hugs and Smiles....