Nothing smells or tastes better than cinnamon!  This sweet dough makes the best cinnamon rolls, but it is also good just made into two loaves of bread.  I even had an owner of a restaurant inquire as to what my recipe consisted of because they had heard so much about my cinnamon rolls.  I laughed.  They were well known for their own cinnamon rolls so it caught me a bit off guard.  Next to my name, that probably will be the only claim to fame I can own.

Sweet Dough Ingredients:

• ½ cup milk
• ½ cup sugar
• 1 tsp. salt
• 2/3 cup vegetable oil
• 2 envelopes yeast
• 1/2 cup warm water
• 4 eggs (beaten)
• 4 ½ cups flour

Combine milk, sugar, salt and vegetable oil in a large bowl.  In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water.  Add to milk mixture and mix well.  Add 2 cups flour and beat until smooth.  Add remaining flour, 1 cup at a time, to make a soft dough.  Turn out on a lightly floured surface; knead until smooth (about 5 minutes).  Add flour as needed to keep the dough from sticking.  Spray the inside of the bowl with a cooking spray, then place the dough back into the bowl.  Cover and let rise in a warm place until it is double in bulk (approximately 1-2 hours).  When ready to make into loaves or rolls, punch the dough down and knead lightly.  Shape into two loaves, dinner rolls, or cinnamon rolls.  Let rise until double in size.  Bake at 375º for 25 minutes or until golden brown.

For cinnamon rolls:  Divide the dough into 2-3 parts and roll it out to about ¼ inch thick.  Using a soft butter, spread butter over the entire dough area, cover generously with cinnamon and sugar (add raisins or nuts if you prefer), and roll dough into a tube like shape.  Slice dough into 1 ½” slices and place them cut side down on a cookie sheet or in a 9×13″ pan.  Allow them to rise before baking.

Frosting for cinnamon rolls:

• ½ cup butter, softened
• 8-oz. cream cheese
• 4 cups confectioners’ sugar
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• milk

With mixer, beat butter and cream cheese until well blended.  Add confectioners’ sugar and vanilla.  If you’d like to make the frosting more like an icing, add a little milk to thin it down.  Four onto warm cinnamon rolls and allow it to melt down over the sides.  Ooo…la..la!