The Best of the Best Cinnamon Rolls

Add yeast to warm water and set aside for 10 minutes. If you are using instant yeast you may skip this step, but it won't hurt to do it anyway. Warm milk (120°F-130°F) and pour over shortening in bowl of mixer. Add sugar and salt, then the yeast and water, then the previously beaten egg. Mix together briefly with dough hook to combine, then add 4 cups of flour one cup at the time. Knead dough with dough hook on your stand mixer until elastic and smooth, about 7 minutes. Dough should pull away from the sides of the bowl not be too sticky. Place dough in a lightly oiled bowl and let it rise until doubled. This can take about an hour but it is all dependent on the temperature of the room you are in, so rising times may be longer or shorter. Roll or flatten dough into a rectangle You will want the dough fairly thin, about 1/4 inch thick. My own trick is to flatten it out inside of a rectangular shaped cookie sheet that has sides and then transfer it to the floured counter to continue rolling/flattening to the desired thickness. This helps me to keep that rectangular shape. Mix together the cinnamon and the brown sugar in a small bowl. Cover the dough with the melted butter except for the very top 1 inch area (across the top), this allows the dough to stick together when rolling it up into a log. Add the cinnamon sugar mixture. Starting at the end closest to you, roll up like a jelly roll/log. Pinch the top area (that was not buttered) together with the roll and flip over so the pinched areas are against the countertop, this makes cutting easier and keeps the roll from falling apart. Using a bread or serrated knife, cut into slices that are about an inch and a half thick. Place in round cake pan. You should have about 14 rolls, I generally place 7 in each cake pan. Cover loosely and let rise about another hour, or until they have doubled in size. Bake in a 350 degree oven until they are slightly brown, about 20-25 minutes. Remove and add glaze. Glaze: In a bowl, mix the melted butter with the sugar and vanilla. Stir in the milk a tablespoon at a time until the glaze comes together and is a rather thick consistency. You can really make this as thick or thin as you like by adjusting the amount of milk you add. Spread glaze over the warm rolls.