The Best Ever Cinnamon Rolls

So I love Cinnamon Rolls. I've tried several recipes over the years and this is my own personal recipe I've created from all my favorite recipes- taking the best of each and making one master plan. I made these this morning for a play-date and was inspired to do a post with the recipe. I get asked for the recipe a lot, so, here ya go! Enjoy!

 

Ingredients:

1 package of yeast, dissolved in 1/2 cup lukewarm water

3 Tablespoons of coconut oil

1/2 cup granulated sugar

5 cups of unbleached all purpose flour (it will probably take a little more)

1 cup hot water

1 egg, beaten

1/2 Tablespoon salt

1 stick of butter

Lots of brown sugar 

Lots of cinnamon

Directions:

1. Add yeast to cup of lukewarm water and sprinkle in a little sugar. Set aside for about 5 minutes. 

2. Add coconut oil, sugar, & salt to hot water and allow to cool to lukewarm- making sure all the coconut oil has melted. Stir in 1 cup of flour and mix until smooth. Add yeast & mix again until smooth. Add in beaten egg.

3. Stir in remainder of flour, a little at a time until no more can be mixed in. Knead by hand, adding flour until the dough does not stick to the bowl. Remove from bowl and knead until the dough feels satiny and looks smooth. 

4. Cover with a kitchen towel and allow to rise about 30 minutes. (No less than 30, No more than 1 hr.) Lightly knead and roll out into a rectangular shape. Melt the butter slightly (about 15-20 seconds in the microwave!) and evenly spread the entire stick over the dough. Sprinkle with A LOT of brown sugar. And A LOT of cinnamon. I never measure mine, but I use a lot. Here's a picture to kinda see how much I use... Be very generous!

5. Roll into one long roll. Use a sharp serrated  knife to cut each cinnamon roll. I usually make approx. 8 rolls from this. You can cut them smaller if you want more!

 

6. Place on a baking sheet and let rise. I've let mine rise as short as 30 minutes, and as long as 90 minutes. This often depends on when I want them done cooking, so adjust according to your time frame. I wouldn't go longer than 90 minutes if you don't want GINORMOUS rolls, however. ;) (PS this is the BEST backing pan ever! It might look a little gnarly- trust me its clean. Its the Pampered Chef stone baking pan- my baked goods have never turned out so wonderful!)

 

7. Bake at 425 for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 and back for an additional 8 minutes to brown the tops. 

8. Eat. Enjoy. And Eat Some More. 

December 2013 ReCap

December. Of course December was filled with lots of Christmas CHEER! But that was a whole other post. So check that out for our Christmas happenings. Besides the fun Christmas-y things we did in December, there were plenty of other events too. I co-hosted a baby shower for a sweet friend...  

   ....was a bridesmaid for my dear sweet friend, Alli,

  aaaand to complete my running events for 2013 that consisted of two 1/2 marathons in May and September, I ran a full marathon. I think it was my first and last full marathon. Man, that was a long (4hrs 22 min to be exact) 26.2 miles. ;)

 We also had more "Nana time" between all these events while staying with my parents, got to see a dear friend from years past, went to the Butterfly Wonderland...

 

 

 

 

 

...and celebrated our puppy, Zoe's 4th birthday.

 

 Every year on her birthday, Zoe gets to sit at the table and eat her special dog-friendly cupcakes. Every year we have the most hilarious pictures of the kid's reaction to the dog at the table. This series of pictures cracks me up! Pay extra attention to Addilyn's faces... as it goes from confusion, to laughter, to Zoe about to eat her cupcake...

 We got some more snow back home and go to go sledding a few times and even made a snowman! 

 

 Lukas got to take a special Christmas trip to Build-A-Bear with Nana and Grandpa. I've done this once before with my sister when she was little, and it is such a neat experience! They make it so special for the kids! Lukas got to pick a sound to put in his puppy (he picked the Star Wars theme song), a scent, a beating heart that he personally warmed and kissed before placing in the puppy, and got to push the pedal that filled his puppy with stuffing. Once he was stuffed, Lukas gave him a bath, picked out some undies for him, made a birth certificate, and picked out the coolest Yoda costume and named him "Yoda."

 

 

And to top off the month of December, we took a trip to Bearizona on New Years Eve and went to a fun New Years Eve Party at a friend's house. WooWee. It was a busy month. I'm actually glad January is looking rather boring. Sometimes I guess boring is good. ;)

 

 

 

 

WHAT?!?! Where is my signature that is always at the end of my posts?!!? It's always here just waiting for me to finish. Geez. That's my favorite part and its... GONE. Great. Well, I'll just make my own...    With love & grace,  Aleecia     (defintely not as cool. look for my cool signature next time...)    

September-October-November 2013

Hey, what do you know, I'm posting another blog and it hasn't been 4 months! Maybe 2014 will be the year I keep up with blogging. But don't get too excited now. Since my blogging in 2013 took an abrupt end in August, lets re-cap the last 4 months. They were very exciting months, hence the time I never had to sit down and tell my blog about it. :)

September. September fun included a trip to the fair, a ride on the sky-ride, a 1/2 marathon, a trip to Phoenix to watch my sister play a  few volleyball games, a cute pig cake and lots of time outside...

 

October. October was filled with more fun that included: a field trip to the fire station with some friends, a getaway trip for Jeff and I to Zion, Utah, our first snow of the season, indoor activities, another trip to Phoenix to see my sister's last volleyball games, fall weather and changing leaves, a trip to the pumpkin patch with more friends, a 1st birthday party for a sweet little girl, and of course a Spider-man and his side-kick Spider-girl on Halloween.

 

  

 

November. We have a lot of fun, can you tell? Because November was filled with more FUN! that included: A bridal shower for a wonderful friend, more indoor fun at home, another birthday party for a sweet 1 year old, some more snow, Thanksgiving with family, Black Friday shopping with my sister, Lighting of the Lights at Little America, and picking out our Christmas tree and decorating it.

 

 

 

 

So I had every intention of making this post cover December events as well... BUT Blogger is being difficult and maybe I met my picture max for this post? Could be. That was a lot of pictures. Looks like December gets its own.... So until next time, Friends...