Cinnamon Rolls

I have had this recipe for a long long time..it is now written on a piece of paper that is almost unreadable.... I think it may have come from a church recipe book that I picked up at a garage sale... I tend to grab those a lot as they are only about a quarter and most of them are full of easy, real, good recipes.

This recipe is super easy... almost mess free.. and really good.

Mix in a bowl ( make it a big bowl )

2 cups warm water
2 packages of yeast
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp salt
1/4 cup shorting ( I melted some butter)
1 egg

when that is all mixed... add in 6 cups of flour.. and mix it up really good. You do not want it to be too "wet" looking.. but you also do not want to add too much flour.

One thing I do that keeps down on the mess.. is I knead my bread/rolls.. right in the bowl.... growing up we did it on the counter.. but it always ended up with flour everywhere.... so i use a big bowl and knead it in the bowl.....Knead the bread dough until everything is well mixed in and the dough is not sticky any longer... you may need to add a little more flour. I try to keep it under 7 cups total for this recipe.

Now I throw a towel over the bowl and let it rise until it doubles... punch it down....break into two balls...... and roll it out (have not figured out how to do this in the bowl yet ) I use a big plastic rolling sheet for this. when it is all rolled out... I then paint it with butter... then sprinkle it with brown sugar and cinnamon... roll them up... cut them and put them in the pan... you can make both halves into cinnamon rolls or the other half makes a nice loaf of bread.. or rolls to go with dinner. Let them rise again.. and then bake at 350 for about 15 to 20 minutes... when they come out you can brush a little butter on the top and sprinkle sugar on them... you can also make some frosting for them.... I suggest doing it quick... mine always seem to get eaten before I get anything on them :)