Raspberry Cream Cheese Cinnamon Rolls

I have the instructions for both a half-batch and a full-batch. If you have a bread mixer, you can do the full batch without much trouble. If you have a KitchenAid mixer, the half batch may work better.

Rolls
(that raise in your fridge!)

*This recipe also works well for crescent rolls, cinnamon rolls, and orange rolls.*

-2 1/3 cups warm water--nice and full--a little warmer than room temperature (FULL BATCH 4 3/4)

-2 1/3 tsp salt (FULL BATCH 4 3/4 tsp)

-Scant 1/2 cup of sugar (FULL BATCH scant 1 cup)

-1/4 cup shortening, melted in microwave--you want it to cool down a bit but not re-solidify (FULL BATCH 1/2 cup)

-2 large eggs (FULL BATCH 4 eggs)

-2 scant TBSP yeast (FULL BATCH 4 scant TBSP)

-6-8 cups of flour (FULL BATCH 12-16)

1. Put warm water, salt, and sugar in bowl.

2. Take out half your amount of flour and mix the yeast into it. Mix the flour-yeast mixture into the warm water mixture.

3. Throw eggs in after you have mixed the yeast mixture so they don't kill the yeast.)

4. Start adding the flour. Slowly drizzle in the melted shortening alternatively with the flour (toward the end of the flour.)

5. Mix in mixer for 3 or 4 minutes, then look at it and decide if you want to add more flour or not. If it still looks goopy, add some more flour until it gets to the consistency you want. (Try to avoid adding too much flour at the end of the mixing.)

6. Put your dough in the fridge in a bowl big enough to allow it to double in size. Cover with saran wrap (spray the bottom of the plastic wrap with cooking spray so the dough doesn't stick to it when it rises.) It should take about 1/2 hour to an hour. When it has doubled, it is done.

***

7. Punch down your dough.

8. Melt about a half a square of butter to brush onto your dough.

8. Roll about half of the dough out onto a floured surface (put shortening and maybe flour on your hands to help keep it from sticking to your fingers). Roll it, flip it, roll it. Brush on butter--and if you are doing cinnamon rolls, cinnamon sugar (and raisins if desired--but you need to plump them first by soaking them in warm water for a bit before you add them to your rolls).

9. Next, either roll in a long roll and cut with dental floss (for cinnamon rolls), or roll your dough into a circle, and cut with a pizza cutter into pizza-like slices, and then roll the rolls up individually (from the thick edge into the pointy edge.)

10. Put your pans of rolls in a warm place and allow to raise until they are fluffy--they should look about like you expect them to look when they come out of the oven.

10. Bake at 375* for approximately 10-20 minutes depending on your oven.

11. If you are doing rolls, when they come out of the oven you should brush a little butter on top. If you are doing cinnamon rolls, glaze with icing.