Starting Small

So as I am procrastinating from completing a very long task for my certification course....I decided to work a little on this little project I began a while ago.  I am sure I will look back at this and think WHAT was I thinking?!? but I have had quite a few friends and acquaintances want to know if they can see my recipes or find out more about my classroom online.  Maybe this will be a way to do both. 

So as I finish my last few minutes of "me time" for the afternoon...I did find a new recipe I  made for Mother's Day Breakfast.  Well, Mom, Dad and Grandma tried the new recipe.  I sat in my chair and drooled from arm's length.  It is a Cinnamon Roll recipe that actually uses a standards yellow cake mix as the base.  I, of course, did not have a yellow cake mix, so instead I used a white cake mix.  They came out more cake-y and with more stability than the usual yeast rolls, but they smelled amazing.  I will take a picture and add to this post later (yet something else to add to my "to do" list... Ha ha!), but here is the recipe:

Cinnamon Rolls

Ingredients

Rolls:

• 5 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 (18.25 ounce) package yellow cake mix
• 2 (.25 ounce) packages quick-rise yeast
• 2 1/2 cups warm water (120 to 130 degrees F/50 degrees C)
• 1/4 cup butter, melted
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Frosting:

• 6 tablespoons butter, softened
• 3 cups confectioners' sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons milk

Directions

1. In a mixing bowl, combine 4 cups flour, dry cake mix, yeast and warm water until smooth. Add enough remaining flour to form a soft dough. Turn onto a lightly floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 45 minutes.
2. Punch dough down. Turn onto a lightly floured surface; divide in half. Roll each portion into a 14-in. x 10-in. rectangle. Brush with butter; sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon. Roll up jelly-roll style, starting with a long side. Cut each roll into 12 slices; place cut side down in two greased 13-in. x 9-in. x 2-in. baking pans. Cover and let rise until almost doubled, about 20 minutes.
3. Bake at 400 degrees F for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown. Cool for 20 minutes. For frosting, in a mixing bowl, cream butter, confectioners' sugar and vanilla. Add enough milk to achieve desired consistency. Frost warm rolls. 

 **I will admit that in addition to my substitution of cake mixes, I also overcrowded both pans with rolls.  I used a cake pan and a pie plate.  The cake pan rolls ended up taking about 30-35 minutes to completely bake, and the pie plate (a glass plate) needed only 25-30 minutes.  The glass pie plate did need to have the oven temperature lowered by 25 degrees.  Other than that, the rolls came out very nicely!  Mom should have a treat to enjoy with her morning tea and Activia yogurt for at least the next three days, if not longer! 

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