Santa Cruz Cinnamon Rolls

Total Time: 2 hrs 55 mins Preparation Time: 2 hrs 30 mins Cook Time: 25 mins

Ingredients

• 3 1/2-4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 (1/4 ounce) packages active dry yeast
• 1 cup milk (120-130f) or 1 cup non-dairy milk (120-130f)
• 1/4 cup butter or 1/4 cup vegan margarine
• 1 large egg (or 1 unit egg substitute)
• 3 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons butter (very soft) or 2 tablespoons vegan margarine (very soft)
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1 tablespoon water

Recipe

• 1 in large bowl, mix flour, granulated sugar, salt, and yeast.
• 2 to warm milk, add butter, stirring until melted; add to dry ingredients.
• 3 add egg.
• 4 stir with a wooden spoon until too tough to stir; mix in remaining ingredients with hands.
• 5 knead about 5 minutes, or until dough is smooth and elastic.
• 6 grease large bowl; place dough in bowl, cover with plastic wrap or a kitchen towel, and let rise about 1.5 hours or until dough has doubled in size.
• 7 in a small bowl, mix together spices and brown sugar.
• 8 punch down dough to deflate. move to a floured surface and roll into a 10 by 15 inch rectangle.
• 9 spread with butter; sprinkle on sugar and spices.
• 10 roll the rectangle up in a log, beginning at a 15-inch side, so that the resulting log is longer than it is wide. pinch the edge of the dough into the log to seal.
• 11 cut into 12 even pieces using a very sharp serrated knife, or use a long piece of floss to "cut off the circulation" of the log. i make the piece even by first cutting the log into even halves, then cutting each of the original halves into half, and then cutting each quarter section into thirds.
• 12 allow dough to rise 30-45 minutes in a warm place, or leave out 10 minutes before you go to bed, then cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise in the refrigerator overnight.
• 13 preheat oven to 350°f bake 25-30 minutes, until light golden brown.
• 14 in a small bowl, mix water and powdered sugar. it should be the consistency of melted chocolate; if it's too thick, add water 1/4 tsp at a time until it reaches the correct consistency.
• 15 use a fork to drizzle glaze over the cinnamon rolls. use a spatula or cookie turner to section off rolls and pull them out. serve water, with a pat of butter on top if desired.