GRANDMA DELSIE'S CINNAMON ROLLS

Steps:

• 1. Scald milk in a saucepan; add shortening, sugar, and salt. Cool to lukewarm.
• 2. Sprinkle yeast on warm water; stir to dissolve.
• 3. Add 1 1/2 cups of the measured flour to the milk mixture; beat well. If not using a mixer, beat with a wooden spoon.
• 4. Beat in eggs and yeast.
• 5. Gradually stir in enough remaining flour, a little at a time, to make a soft dough that leaves the sides of the bowl. Dough will be slightly sticky.
• 6. Turn onto lightly floured board cover and let rest for 5 minutes.
• 7. Knead, incorporating a little more flour as necessary, until smooth, satiny, and no longer sticky, about 8 to 10 minutes. Keep your hands dusted with flour to prevent sticking. Kneading is necessary to produce the great texture of these rolls.
• 8. Place in a lightly greased bowl, invert to grease top, cover, and let rise until doubled, for 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Punch down and turn onto a board.
• 9. Divide in half. Lightly grease counter or board. Roll each half into a 14 x 6-inch rectangle.
• 10. For the filling, combine 1 cup of sugar, 1/2 cup of melted butter, and 1 Tbsp ground cinnamon.
• 11. Spread half of the mixture on each rectangle. Scatter 1/2 cup of raisins on each rectangle (optional).
• 12. Roll up the rectangle lengthwise as for jelly roll. Seal the edges and cut dough into 1-inch slices. Put cut side down in 2 well-greased square baking pans. Cover and let rise until doubled. Brush butter on the tops very lightly.
• 13. Bake 25-30 minutes in a preheated oven at 350 degrees. Makes 32 rolls, however, the exact number will depend on the size you cut them.
• 14. For the icing, mix 1 cup confectioners' sugar with milk or cream to enable spreading consistency. Add 1/2 tsp vanilla and a dash of salt.
• 15. Frost while rolls are still warm. Note 1: Though this dough can be made by hand mixing, I mixed the dough in my Kitchen Aid mixer. I let the Kitchen aid mixer knead the dough for 10 minutes on low and then I hand-kneaded the dough another 5 minutes before placing them in the bowl to rise. Note 2. I like to let my dough rise in the oven. I cover it with a lightweight cloth and put it in the oven. I put a shallow pan of hot water beneath the bowl of dough on a lower rack in the oven. Note 3: I cut the rolls between 1 1/2 inches and 2 inches because Grandma's cinnamon rolls were always big. These can be baked in a round, rectangle, or square pan.
• 16. Every time I bake these for my family, my first memory of these rolls come back to me. I was 4 years old and I was out on the tractor with Grandpa one chilly morning. We had just left the barn and were moving hay to the pasture for his cows. I caught a whiff of something in the air. I said," Grandpa what is that good smell?" He lifted his head and said, "Oh wee! Grandma's baking cinnamon rolls." I was sitting on top of this lap and he turned that tractor around so fast that I almost fell off. We got to the house and raced inside the kitchen door and I guess Grandma had been watching us from the window. She was standing there with her rolling pin, slapping it in her hand. She looked sternly at Grandpa and said, "If you're ever going to drive the tractor like that again while that child is with you, you're going to be seeing stars." Grandpa and I sat down and Grandma placed a glass of milk and one of her big cinnamon rolls in front of us. When Grandma had her back to us, I leaned in and whispered, "Grandpa, this is so yummy I think it's worth seeing the stars." Grandpa smiled back at me and winked. From then on when I was with Grandpa on the tractor I would say, "Go faster Grandpa." He would reply, "No siree, Grandpa don't want to see stars today." We would laugh and giggle.