This is my mom's famous cinnamon roll recipe. When I was in high school we would threaten her that we were going to Cinnabon so she would make these for us. At the end is an alternate orange roll filling that is quite good as well. A good tip to keep in mind is that the entire recipe calls for 2.5 cups of water. Yield: 2-4 dozen depending on size. You can frost these when they are warm, but it works better when they are cold, or you can do both for extra frostiness.
In a small bowl Dissolve: 2 pkgs yeast (5 tsp) 1/2 cup warm water In a mixer or large bowl cream: 1 cup shortening 1 cup sugar 2 tsp. salt Add: 1 cup boiling water to melt shortening Add: 4 beaten eggs yeast mixture Add: 8 cups flour Alternately with 1 cup cold water.
Dough is sticky, put in fridge for 2 hours to overnight. Roll dough into a giant rectangle. Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar. Roll up. Cut and put in baking pan having rolls just touch. Let raise 2-3 hours. Bake 350 for 15 min or until internal temp reaches 180. Frosting: powdered sugar + milk.
Orange roll filling: Put 1 orange with peel in food processor, pulse until it turns to goo. Spread on dough and sprinkle with plenty of sugar. Bake at 350 for 12-15 minutes. Make sure they are done as they are sticky. Frosting: Pulse1 orange with peel in food processor until it turns to goo. Mix with powdered sugar.
Here is a Youtube video of a guy cutting his cinnamon rolls with dental floss. The video is annoying, but you can kind see what he is doing. I will try to get my sister to give us a better demo video shortly.
My sister introduced this recipe to me and it is my go-to recipe for a quick cake or cupcakes. This make a fabulous cupcake. It's so quick and easy I never buy boxed cake mix anymore. In fact, I was supposed to make peanut butter cupcakes for a church function tonight. They just would not turn out for me no matter what I did. I ended up running out of cocoa powder and had to give up. I whipped up a batch of these cupcakes in no time. I topped them with cream cheese frosting and a strawberry sliver. No one (except those who asked me to make the peanut butter ones) was the wiser. In fact, many people said these were their favorite ones.
Busy Day Cake
1 1/3 cups flour
2/3 cup sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
2/3 cup milk
1/4 c. butter, softened
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
Combine flour, sugar and baking powder. Add milk, butter and vanilla. Beat with mixer on low until combined. Beat on medium speed for 1 minute. Pour batter into greased and floured 8" round baking pan. Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Frost with your favorite frosting.
For cupcakes bake 20 minutes.
Cream Cheese Frosting
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 tsp vanilla
5 3/4 c - 6 1/4 c powdered sugar
Cream together cream cheese, butter and vanilla with an electric mixer. Gradually add powdered sugar until you reach the desired consistency.
I pieced this concoction together from a few recipes I found. They are very lemony and taste great with a fresh raspberry on top. My husband, who claimed not to like lemon cupcakes, loves them. Don't try to make these without a muffin cup, the cake is too delicate to be on its own.
Cupcakes: Makes 24
Ingredients:
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks) at room temperature
2 cups sugar
4 large eggs
Grated zest of 3 lemons (3 Tbsp)
2 Tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup buttermilk
Direction:
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
- Line muffin tins with cupcake liners.
- Whisk flour, baking powder and salt together.
- Mix butter and sugar together at medium speed.
- Add eggs one at a time and wait until the egg is all mixed in before adding the next one.
- Add zest and vanilla.
- Add flour mixture in three batches with two batches of buttermilk and lemon juice in between. Beat until just combined after each addition.
- Place batter in lined cups filling about 2/3 of the way full.
- Bake until golden, cake tester comes out clean, or about 25 minutes.
- Cool completely before removing from the muffin tins and frosting.
- Garnish with fresh raspberries, strawberries, and/or mint leaves if desired.
Lemon Buttercream
1 1/4 c. butter (2 1/2 sticks)
2 tsp. lemon zest
3 Tbsp lemon juice
3 cups powdered sugar
Beat butter, zest and juice with an electric mixer until creamy. Gradually add powdered sugar, beating to spreading consistency. Makes 2 3/4 cups.
I have been put in charge of making/delegating/finding cupcakes for an upcoming church function. I have been scouring the planet looking for the most amazing cupcake recipes. I came across this beauty on a blog and was amazed at how delicious it was. I did simplify it a bit, but these are very easy chocolate cupcakes with a rich and creamy peanut butter frosting. The frosting is TO DIE FOR! To add a little richness, place a few chocolate chips on the top of the cupcake immediately after taking them out of the oven. After they have melted, spread the chocolate over the top of the cupcake. After they are completely cooled, frost as usual. For those who are not expert at frosting cupcakes (I include myself in this category), I found a video on youtube that was extremely helpful for me. Go to the bottom of the post for the video. Enjoy!
Chocolate Cupcakes
makes 12-14 cupcakes
Ingredients
1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/4 cups sugar
2 eggs, room temperature
3/4 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup milk, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla
Method
Preheat oven to 375, then turn it down to 350 just prior to baking
Beat the butter with an electric mixer until it is soft, then add sugar. Beat about 3 minutes.
Add the eggs, one at a time beating until they are well combined.
In a separate bowl, combine the dry ingredients and whisk them to incorporate them.
Add 1/3 of the dry ingredients to the butter and sugar and beat it just to combine. Add 1/2 of the liquids (milk & vanilla), scrape down bowl and beat to combine. Continue adding the dry and wet ingredients alternately making sure you END WITH THE DRY.
Fill cupcake liners 2/3’s of the way.
Bake for about 20-22 minutes. Do not overbake! Allow to cool, then frost.
Peanut Butter Frosting
Ingredients
1/4 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup peanut butter
3 cups powdered sugar
2-4 tablespoons milk
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 small pinch cayenne pepper (optional)
Method
In large bowl, combine butter, peanut butter, sugar, salt, vanilla, and 2 tablespoons milk. Mix well, adding more milk as needed to make a fluffy spreadable frosting. Sprinkle with a very small pinch of cayenne pepper if desired.
1/2 cup warm water
sting: Pulse1 orange with peel in food processor until it turns to goo. Mix with powdered sugar.
