Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Happy Spring!

Today was so great -- a whole day off with fantastic weather. I worked hard and accomplished a ton! I finished a mock-up of Andi's wedding dress. I ran 6.5 miles. I finished a new spring wreath for my front door. Maybe this will encourage Mother Nature to play nice -- I'm tired of pulling my freshly-potted flowers inside every night!



Sunday, April 3, 2011

Conference!

I think there are few things I love more than watching General Conference at home in my PJs. And with last night's snowy surprise, today is the perfect day for that...and the perfect day for a delicious, homemade breakfast. Enter my favorite cinnamon rolls:



Light and fluffy, buttery and cinnamon-y, and loaded with gooey cream cheese frosting. Yum.

Cinnamon Rolls
2 cups hot milk
1/2 cup shortening, melted
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp salt
1 Tbsp yeast
3 eggs, beaten
4 to 4 1/2 cups flour

1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon

Mix the hot milk and sugar together. Add the yeast and wait for it to blossom, then add the shortening and salt. Stir in the beaten eggs and 1/2 of the flour. Add the remaining flour, 1 cup at a time, until a soft dough forms (it will be very sticky, but that's what makes the rolls so light and fluffy!!). Cover the dough and allow it to rise until doubled in size.

Roll dough out onto floured surface. Mix the butter, sugar and cinnamon into a paste, and spread it allllll over the dough (all the way to the edges). Roll up and cut with a string or a piece of dental floss in 1 1/2" widths. Place on greased cookie sheets and allow to rise again until doubled in size.

Bake at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes. Makes 12-18 rolls, depending on how big you like them. :)

Cream Cheese Frosting
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 package cream cheese
1 teaspoon vanilla
2-3 Tbsp milk
powdered sugar

With an electric mixer, cream the heck out of the butter. Add the cream cheese and beat it well, too. Stir in a bunch of powdered sugar (yeah, I don't know how much), and add the vanilla. Add the milk, then additional powdered sugar as needed. Spread on hot cinnamon rolls and watch it ooze everywhere.

Double-yum.