Sally’s Cinnamon Rolls

Ingredients

2 Tbsp Active Dry Yeast
1 3/4 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
1/2 cup white sugar or 1/3 cup maple syrup for sweetening (I use turbinado sugar) 1 tsp sea salt (or regular salt)
1/3 cup butter, melted and cooled
1 egg, beaten
2 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
2 1/2 cups unbleached flour
1/2 to 1 stick butter for spreading
brown sugar to taste
cinnamon sugar to taste

Frosting:
1-2 cups powdered sugar 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1-2 Tbsp milk

In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.

Mix sugar, salt, 1/4 cup melted butter, egg, and whole wheat flour into yeast mixture. Stir in all purpose flour, 1/2 cup at a time, until dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Turn dough out onto a well- floured surface, and knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes. Lightly oil a large bowl, place dough in bowl, and turn to coat. Cover with a damp cloth, and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.

Punch down the dough and then roll it out into an oblong rectangle until it is about a quarter inch thick, depending on the thickness you prefer.

Spread 1/2 stick to 1 stick butter (1/4 cup to 1/2 cup) over the rectangle. Sprinkle dark brown sugar evenly over rectangle as thick or as lightly as you prefer. Next sprinkle cinnamon-sugar mixture over dough (I use one spoonful of cinnamon to 6 teaspoons of sugar, mix it and put it in a parmesan cheese glass shaker. and use it all the time on toast.) Roll the rectangle of dough as tightly as possible form the long side toward the top of the dough. Cut rolls at about 1 to 1/2 inches and place into a 9×13 baking pan or jelly roll pan.

Rolls can be touching on the sides. Allow them to double in size. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Bake in 350 oven for 15 to 18 minutes until slightly brown. (Time will differ according to your altitude. I live at 7300 feet and so my baking and timing is a little different from those who live in lower elevations-so watch the rolls and don’t let them get too brown.)

Frosting: After cooled, make a frosting of 1 stick of softened butter, 1 to 2 cups of powdered sugar sprinkled into the mix a little at a time, 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla, and 1-2 tablespoons of milk, a little at a time as you want the frosting to be thick-you may add a little more milk if you want, but not too much or it will be too wet. Mix until smooth (I just add this and that until it looks right-sorry I am not more exact!) Frost each roll and sprinkle either a little cinnamon or red sprinkles to make them prettier!