Do You Covet My Warm Cinnamon Rolls?

No need to envy....you can make them, too. And without tons of time invested! There's a shortcut you should know about!

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Our Christmas morning tradition is Cinnamon Rolls. They're actually fast and easy: something you can get prepared the evening that Santa comes down the chimney and put in them in the fridge.

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Pull the unbaked rolls out in the morning and let them rise a bit and throw them in the oven. Go to the tree and open gifts, throw some wrapping paper around awhile and they'll be done fast. As they bake they'll make the whole house smell delicious! Here are some FBTSOYP quick instructions.

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Your secret shortcut is frozen bread dough loaves from the grocer's freezer! Not all stores carry this, I find mine at Kroger, and one package contains five loaves. Some for these yummy rolls, and another loaf or two for homemade pizza!

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USE:

>Frozen bread dough loaves, thaw well ahead of time, spraying the pan and the tops of the loaves with Pam. It takes about two loaves to fill a 9 x 13 baking dish. If you find it necessary to finish thawing the loaves in the microwave, cover them loosely, and thaw at a very low setting -- 2 or 3 --and put a separate cup of water in the microwave so they won't dry out. I do 8-9 minutes at a time at cooking level three until they're squishy all the way through.

>A stick or more of real butter, softened but not melted. Margarine works too, but know it's second best.

>Brown sugar, light or dark

>Cinnamon

>Pecans, chopped (optional)

>Raisins plumped up in boiling water (optional)

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Cover a countertop or a large cutting board with some flour, and stretch/roll the dough so it's a long rectanglar shape. Get it as thin as you can without it having holes or air bubbles.

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Now, smear butter all over the surface of the bread dough. Oh what fun! Now lick your fingers, but don't wash your hands....don't worry, mama really didn't know what she was talkin' 'bout.

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Next, sprinkle generous amounts of brown sugar and cinnamon on top of the butter.

If you like the nuts and raisins, add them next. If you like nutmeg, a smidgen of that is good in with the cinammon. (No nuts or raisins for my bunch, we're already nuts enough.)

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Roll up the rectangle of bread dough from bottom to top, to make a long roll. Admire your work. Splash a bit of the flour on your face. It's fun!

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Cut the dough into sections about two inches or so, the longer you cut each section, the larger your finished cinnamon roll will be. You can cut with a sharp knife, or use the dental floss you used last night to cut them cleanly in sections. (Just kiddin' on that floss!)

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Put the cut cinnamon rolls into a pan that was sprayed with Pam, and on the bottom of the pan spread out some of the softened butter and sprinkle some brown sugar and cinnamon. It would be good to throw in some of the chopped nuts to this goo if you go for the nuts. This will give the bottoms of the rolls that exta caramel-y goo that is so coveted. The more butter/ brown sugar/cinnamon combo that you use, the more caramel you'll have. Use another stick of butter if you want to!

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Lay your cinnamon rolls in the pan, not too close, give them a little room to rise and spread. I usually use a glass or ceramic pan. A regular 9 x 13 cake pan is fine, too.

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You can let them rise before placing them in the fridge overnight, covered in Saran wrap. Or you can let them rise in the morning while the oven preheats. Bake at 350 for about 20-25 minutes in the middle rack of the oven, watching not to let them get too brown. Put the coffee pot on now....got an old stovetop percolator?

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When done, drizzle with a very thin confectioner's sugar frosting, or not. (If you don't use the frosting, then brush the tops with butter to keep the tops from becoming too hard.) They're great either way.

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Serve upsidedown if you like with the gooey caramel on top! Enjoy the resulting love handles and extremely attractive, squishy, below-the-bra-bulges you always wondered about when you were a kid as you hugged your grandma.

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Merry Christmas! I hope Santa was kind enough to bring you all you wanted.

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FBTSOYP=Fly By The Seat Of Your Pants

OFFICIAL FARMHOUSE FOOD!