Cinnamon Snaps

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Ingredients

• 3/4 cup shortening
• 1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup molasses
• 2¼ cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup sugar + 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Using an electric mixer, cream shortening and brown sugar in a large bowl.
3. Add egg and molasses, and mix to combine.
4. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda, 2 teaspoons cinnamon, and salt using a whisk or spoon.
5. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, mixing with the electric mixer until combined. Continue mixing with your hands or a rubber spatula until a dough forms (around 1 minute).
6. In a small bowl, combine 1/4 cup sugar and 1 teaspoon cinnamon.
7. Using your hands, form dough into 1 inch balls then roll the balls in the cinnamon-sugar mixture to coat. I use a cookie scoop to measure the dough before rolling it into balls with my hands. This gives you uniformly sized cookies that bake evenly.
8. Place dough balls 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets. (I line my cookie sheets with parchment paper. If you do not have parchment paper, just bake on ungreased cookie sheets and wipe the cookie sheets with a paper towel between each batch to remove any grease.)
9. Bake 8 – 10 minutes, until tops are cracked but cookies are still slightly gooey in the center. Keep an eye on the cookies while they bake--they may reach the "cracked but gooey" stage sooner, depending on the size of the cookies.
10. Cool for 1 minute on cookie sheet then remove to wire racks to cool completely.

Cinnamon Rolls

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Ingredients

Rolls
• 3½ to 4 cups all-purpose flour (plus additional flour for rolling dough)
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 packages dry yeast (4½ teaspoons)
• 1 cup milk
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 large egg
• cooking spray to grease bowl and pan
Filling
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 7 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup raisins (optional)
• 1/4 cup finely chopped nuts (optional)
Glaze
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 2 tablespoon unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/4 cup milk, warmed in the microwave for 20 seconds

Instructions

For the Rolls and Filling
1. In a large bowl, stir 2 cups of the flour, 1/3 cup sugar, 1 teaspoon salt and 2 packages yeast with a wooden spoon until well mixed.
2. In a 1-quart saucepan, heat 1 cup milk over medium heat until very warm but not boiling.
3. Add the warm milk, 1/4 cup butter and 1 egg to the flour mixture.
4. Beat with an electric mixer on low speed 1 minute until flour mixture is moistened, frequently scraping batter from sides and bottom of bowl with a rubber spatula. Continue beating on medium speed 1 minute, frequently scraping bowl.
5. With a wooden spoon, stir in enough of the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, until dough is soft, leaves side of bowl and is easy to handle (dough may be slightly sticky).
6. Lightly sprinkle flour on a countertop, large cutting board or mat. Remove dough from bowl and place dough on floured surface.
7. Lightly dust your hands with flour, and knead the dough, sprinkling surface and hands with more flour if dough starts to stick. Knead the dough for about 5 minutes, until dough is smooth and springy.
8. Spray a large bowl with cooking spray and place dough in bowl, turning dough to grease all sides.
9. Cover bowl loosely with plastic wrap, then cover bowl with a towel or blanket.
10. Let dough rise in a warm place about 1 hour 30 minutes or until dough has doubled in size*. Dough is ready if an indentation remains when you press your fingertips about 1/2 inch into the dough.
11. In a small bowl, mix 1/2 cup sugar and 2½ teaspoons cinnamon; set aside.
12. Spray the bottom and sides of two muffin tins with cooking spray**.
13. Lightly sprinkle flour on a countertop, large cutting board or mat.
14. Gently push your fist into the dough to deflate it. Gently pull the dough away from the side of the bowl, and split the dough in half***. Place one half on the floured surface, leaving the other half in the bowl for now.
15. Place 7 tablespoons of unsalted butter in a small mug or microwavable bowl. Microwave on low setting until the butter is partially melted, but still keeps its form. This makes the butter easier to spread on the dough.
16. Lightly flour your hands and a rolling pin. Using the rolling pin (or your hands), flatten dough into a 15x10-inch rectangle.
17. Spread half of the softened butter (3½ tablespoons) over dough to within 1/2 inch of edges.
18. Sprinkle evenly with 1/2 of the sugar-cinnamon mixture, and 1/2 of the raisins and nuts if desired.
19. Roll dough tightly lengthwise into a log. Pinch the seam to seal. Using your hands, gently roll the log of dough until it is even, sealed, and approximately 15 inches long.
20. Using a knife or toothpick, lightly mark off 1 inch slices on the log of dough prior to slicing into the dough (I got 14 slices out of each log of dough). Using a sharp serrated knife, cut dough into slices where marked.
21. Place slices in muffin tin sprayed with cooking spray (1 slice per muffin cup).
22. Cover pan loosely with plastic wrap, then with a dish towel.
23. Repeat steps 16 through 22 with the remaining half of dough.
24. Let dough rise in muffin tins in a warm place about 30 minutes or until dough has doubled in size.
25. Remove towels and plastic wrap.
26. Preheat oven to 350°F with the oven rack in the middle position. Bake 15 to 25 minutes or until cinnamon rolls are light golden brown. Immediately remove rolls from pan, placing each roll right side up on a cooling rack. Place your cooling racks over a cookie sheet or on top of paper towels, for easy cleanup once you drizzle with glaze. Cool rolls for 5 minutes, while you make the glaze.
For the Glaze
27. Pour ¼ cup milk into a mug or small microwavable bowl. Microwave for 20 seconds or until warm (but not boiling).
28. In another small bowl, stir 2 cups powdered sugar, 2 tablespoons butter, 1 teaspoon vanilla, and 2 tablespoons of the warmed milk. Add additional warmed milk, 1/2 tablespoon at a time, until glaze is smooth and thin enough to drizzle (you will probably use 2-4 tablespoons of warmed milk total).
29. With the cinnamon rolls on the cooling rack, and the cooling rack placed over a cookie sheet or paper towels, drizzle the glaze over the warm cinnamon rolls, using a spoon or measuring cup to make thin lines of glaze over each cinnamon roll. Don’t worry if your rolls have completely cooled before your glaze is ready--just drizzle glaze onto the cooled rolls.
30. Cinnamon rolls can be served warm or at room temperature. If desired, glazed cinnamon rolls can be reheated individually by microwaving each roll for 15–30 seconds, until warm. Store at room temperature once the glaze sets.

Notes