(chili and) cinnamon rolls

i hear the trend nowadays is to serve cinnamon rolls alongside a bowl of chili. true? my mom served this pairing recently - real, warm, spicy comfort food.

cinnamon rolls, to me, aren't supposed to be stiff and dripping with cream-cheese frosting. the cinnamon rolls i had as a kid - at least every christmas morning - were my great-grandma's recipe: light, tender, almost melting in your mouth. (she was also famous for the flakiest pie dough that folks said 'had wings'. her pie crust has ruined me for any other pie...except that sour cherry pie cheryl made last summer. OH! but i digress.)


so if you're going to try your hand at this chili-and-cinnamon-roll trend, may i suggest this recipe? [you'll just have to get over the scant amount of vegetable shortening it calls for. one bite and you won't remember it anyway.]

Hazel's Cinnamon Rolls:

scald 1 c. milk (that's just til bubbles form around the edge of the pan), take off heat.

dissolve 2 pkgs active dry yeast in 1/2 c. warm water. (i add a small pinch of sugar to the bowl, too.)- don’t dissolve until milk is scalded.

to the slightly cooled scalded milk, add:
1/2 c. sugar
2 t. salt
1/4 c. shortening

stir together. add the yeast to the liquid mixture, then mix in:
2 beaten eggs
2 c. flour

mix well.
add 1 cup of flour at a time (up to 2 cups), beating into the dough. it may be wetter than you're used to - don't fret (yet)!
turn out onto well-floured surface & knead, adding flour (up to 1 more cup) as needed just until the dough is elastic (about 5 minutes).

place in greased bowl & cover; let rise til doubled, about 1-1.5 hours. (i set the oven to 170F, then turn it off before placing the dough bowl inside, covered with a barely-damp towel.
punch down dough; let it rest 10 minutes in the bowl.
melt two sticks of unsalted butter - have it on hand along with your cinnamon & sugar.
divide dough in half.
roll each half a 15” x9”ish rectangle.
brush dough somewhat liberally with butter, sprinkle with cinnamon & sugar generously, to taste.
roll up dought lengthwise; seal ends.
cut in half, then in half again. (each quarter should yield 3-4 cinnamon rolls.)
grease a 9x13 pan or two cake pans; pour melted butter in, and sprinkle some brown sugar in the bottom of pan.
put rolls in pan, spacing evenly.
cover & let rise til doubled, approximately 1 hour.
while rising on counter, preheat oven to 350F.
bake 12-15 minutes til lightly golden brown.
turn upside down on foil & empty pan immediately.
let cool; then wrap in foil. they also freeze well in the foil & a freezer bag.