Cinnamon Rolls

(byKayla Neilson)
Adapted from reallifedinner.com (lunch lady cafeteria rolls)
Yield: 20-24 giant cinnamon rolls. (This dough also makes excellent rolls.)

Dough:                                                       Filling:
3 ¼ cups warm water                                6T melted butter
2T + 1 ½ tsp yeast                                     2/3 c. brown sugar
1 T sugar                                                   2/3 c. sugar
¼ cup butter, melted                                  3 T cinnamon
¼ cup milk
2 eggs. Slightly beaten                              Frosting:
About 1/4-1/3 cup instant potatoes          8 oz cream cheese (room temperature)
1T + ¼ tsp salt                                          2 c. powdered sugar
10 cups all-purpose flour                          ¼ c unsalted butter (room temperature)
2/3 cup shugar                                           ½ tsp vanilla
¼ cup shortening                                       dash salt (unless using salted butter then don't add)
                                                                   dash milk
                                                                   dash lemon juice

Instructions:
1-Add yeast and sugar to warm water and let sit for 3-5 minutes.
2-Add melted butter (cooled), milk, eggs, potatoes, and salt to yeast mixture.
3-In a large bowl combine flour and sugar. Stir until combined.
4-Using your hand, crumble shortening into flour until it is barely noticeable.
5-Pour liquid yeast mixture into flour mixture.
6-Using a large wooden spoon, stir until well combined.
7-When dough starts to come together, ditch the spoon and use your hand to knead the dough (for approx. 2 minutes until it comes together into a nice ball. (May need to oil hands.)
8-Place dough in a warm area, covered, until it doubles in size. (I do this in my oven. While I mix the dough I heat the oven to 195 degrees, then I turn the oven off right before I put the covered dough in. This step cuts back on time dramatically. Dough will be doubled in 15-30 minutes.)
9-After dough has doubled in size, oil hands then punch it down and knead with your hands one more time for 2 minutes. If dough is a bit sticky sprinkle it with flour as needed.
10-Melt the 6 T butter.
11-Mix together brown sugar, sugar, and cinnamon in small bowl.
12-Grease 2-9x13 cake pans or a cookie sheet. Make sure to grease the sides of the pan as well.
13-Roll the dough out into a rectangle onto an oiled surface (long sides of the rectange will be perpendicular to you and short sides will run parallel with you, if standing in front of the dough.)
14-Rub the melted butter all over the dough with a brush (make sure to get all the edges as well).
15-Sprinkle cinnamon/sugar mixture on top of the-now buttered-dough (I use my hands to do this).
16-Roll the cinnamon rolls starting at the farthest long side away from you. Roll as if you were rolling a blanket. Roll towards you (this makes it more convenient for the cutting part).
17-Use floss or a small piece of string to cut the cinnamon rolls. Shimmy the floss underneath and wrap around the cinnamon roll until you have overlapped the two ends of the floss. Continue to wrap until the cinnamon roll pops out. (You want the thickness to be abourt 3/4”-1”.)
18-Place the cinnamon rolls in your pan, so they are slightly all touching each other.
19-(If you want to use cinnamon rolls for the next day's breakfast, etc.-put them in the fridge and cover with plastic wrap—they will rise overnight).
20-If you want them now, cover them with a cloth and let them sit in a warm spot for about 20-30 minutes to rise.
21-Preheat the oven to 400F. Bake 15-16 minutes or until the tops START to become golden brown and the middle is done as well. *Note: they still cook a little when they come out of the oven. The key to these is you want them a tiny bit doughy.
22-While rolls are cooking, beat together with electric mixer, the cream cheese, powdered sugar, butter, and vanilla until you get a very smooth and creamy consistency.
23-Once the cinnamon rolls have cooled to a warming temperature—frost the cinnamon rolls, so the cream cheese oozes into the insides. Make sure to get the outsides and corners. YUM!