Cinnamon Rolls

Prep Time: 45 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

• 2 teaspoons active dry yeast (most of 1 envelope)
• 1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter
• 2/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup milk
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 4 large eggs
• 6 to 7 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup packed light or dark brown sugar
• 3 tablespoons ground cinnamon
• 1 pound (4 sticks) unsalted butter
• 3 tablespoons corn syrup
• 1 heaping cup pecan pieces, toasted in a dry skillet
• 2 cups confectioners' sugar
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Preparation:

In a heavy-duty electric mixer with a dough hook on medium speed, cream together the 2 sticks butter and 2/3 cup sugar until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture is light and fluffy.

Beat in the yeast mixture, milk, salt, 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla, eggs, and 5 1/2 cups of the flour. Beat for several minutes, adding flour 1/4 cup at a time until a cohesive but very sticky dough forms. Beat in no more flour than necessary to avoid hopeless stickiness. Beat for 5 minutes longer, until the dough becomes smooth and satiny and only a bit tacky. Pat the dough into a fat disk, transfer it to an oiled bowl, and turn to coat it with oil. Cover the bowl and set it aside in a warm, draft-free spot until the dough doubles in bulk, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

Begin the filling and topping. You will need 2 baking pans for the rolls, one a 9 x 12- or 13-inch size and the other an 8- or 9-inch square. Combine the granulated and brown sugars and the cinnamon in a small bowl. Melt the 4 sticks butter in a small saucepan with the corn syrup. Spoon out 1/2 cup of the butter mixture, pouring 5 tablespoons of it into the large baking pan and 3 tablespoons into the small pan. Tilt the pans to coat evenly. Sprinkle 3 tablespoons of the cinnamon sugar evenly over the large pan and 2 tablespoons over the small pan.

Punch the dough down and roll it out into a 12 x 18-inch rectangle. Turn the edges up just the tiniest bit, to keep the butter you will be topping the dough with from running off. Brush the dough with the remaining butter mixture, then sprinkle with the remaining cinnamon sugar and the pecans. Roll up the dough from one of the rectangle's longer sides, snugly but not too tightly. Cut the dough with a sharp knife into 1 dozen slices. Arrange the slices, one of the cut sides up, in the 2 pans, placing 7 or 8 of them in the large pan and 4 or 5 in the small pan. Cover the pans loosely and let the dough rise until doubled again, about 1 hour longer. (Alternatively, the rolls can be placed in the refrigerator to rise much more slowly overnight, for 8 to 10 hours. Let the rolls sit at room temperature for 20 minutes before baking.)

Near the end of the dough's rising time, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Bake the rolls for 25 to 30 minutes, until puffy and golden brown. Let them sit in the pans on a baking rack for 5 to 10 minutes. Run a knife around the inside edges of both pans and invert the rolls onto one or more baking sheets. If any of the gooey topping remains stuck in the pans, scrape it out and plop it onto the rolls.

Prepare the glaze, mixing the ingredients with 1 tablespoon warm water. Add up to 1 tablespoon more water if the mixture is too thick to drop easily from a spoon. Drizzle the glaze over the warm rolls and serve. MAKES 1 DOZEN LARGE ROLLS

Credits: From A Real American Breakfast. Copyright 2002 by Cheryl Alters Jamison and Bill Jamison. All rights reserved. HarperCollins Publishers. Used by permission.