Sinfully Good Cinnamon Rolls

This dough recipe comes from my wonderfully talented friend Deb.  This recipe has been used many times for many different purposes.  Yesterday, while I was feeling a bit out of control, I decided to take this recipe and make cinnamon rolls with some delightfully decadent additions.  By the time I got around to trying one I had also covered them in cream cheese icing.   So here we go.

The Dough

2 pkgs dry yeast
2/3 cup of sugar divided
1 cup warm water
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup margerine, softened
1/2 cup shortening
1 cup boiling water
2 eggs beaten
6-7 cups all purpose flour

Dissolve yeast and 1 tsp sugar in 1 cup warm water; let stand about 5 minutes.  Combine remaining sugar, salt, margerine and shortening in a large bowl.  Add boiling water and stir until butter and shortening melt.  Cool slightly.  Add dissolved yeast, stirring well.  Add eggs and 3 cups of flour, beating at medium speed of electric mixer until smooth.  Gradually stir in enough flour to make a soft dough.  Place in a well greased bowl, turning to grease the top.  Cover and let rise until doubled in size.  Punch dough down and place on well floured surface.  Divide dough in half and set one half aside.  Roll the dough out into a large rectangle about a 1/4" thick.  Now here comes the fun part.

Spread your dough with some softened butter and then sprinkle with a cinnamon sugar mixture.  When you are done with that grab some chocolate chips and some chopped nuts.  I like pecans.  Cover the cinnamon mixture with the chocolate chips and pecans.  You could also sprinkle on some brown sugar and coconut.  Once you feel your cinnamon rolls are sufficiently sinful go ahead and roll them up starting at the wide side.  After it is rolled slice into about 1 1/2" slices and place into buttered baking dish.  Cover with a dish towel and let rise about 30 minutes until doubled in size.  Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes or just until the tops are golden brown. 

After the rolls have cooled slightly you can either eat them as is or you can be bad like me and cover them in cream cheese icing.  Either way is delicious and is a wonderful treat at the end of a long day or at the start of what is sure to be a long day.  Just make sure you have a fresh pot of coffee to enjoy with your rolls.

*This dough can also be used for wonderful dinner rolls which is what I did with the other half of the dough or it can be turned into some wonderful light buns great for making sandwhiches.  I like to make up a pan of cinnamon rolls and a pan of dinner rolls before we go camping.  The cinnamon rolls are a great way to start the day and the rolls are fantastic with some hobo stew making the perfect end to the day.