Old Fashioned Cinnamon Rolls

Steps

1. In a large bowl, combine 2 1/4 cups of the flour and the yeast. In a medium saucepan, heat and stir milk, butter, sugar and salt just until warm (110 to 115°F) and butter almost melts. Add the milk mixture and eggs to the flour mixture. Beat with an electric mixer on low speed for 30 seconds, scraping the bowl constantly. Beat on high speed for 3 minutes. Stir in as much of the remaining flour as you can with a wooden spoon. (ALTERNATELY:  You can use a stand mixer to combine the ingredients and do the kneading to follow).

2. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead in any remaining flour to make a moderately soft dough that is smooth and elastic (3 to 5 minutes total) - adding in extra flour, if needed. Shape into a ball. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease all sides of the dough. Cover; let rise in a warm place until double in size (about 1 hour).

3. Punch down the dough. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide the dough in half. Cover and let rest for 10 minutes. Lightly grease two baking sheets or two 9 x 1 1/2-inch round baking pans. Roll each dough half into a 12 x 8-inch rectangle.

4. Brush the rectangles with the melted butter. In a small bowl, combine the 2/3 cup sugar and the cinnamon; sprinkle over dough rectangles. Starting from a long side, roll up each rectangle into a spiral; seal seams. Cut each spiral into 12 slices (place a length of dental floss under the roll, crisscross it at the top and pull quickly to make a neat slice). Place slices, cut sides down, on prepared baking sheets or in prepared pans.*

5. Cover loosely; let the dough rise in a warm place until nearly double in size (about 30 minutes).

6. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Bake the rolls for 20 to 25 minutes or until light brown. If necessary to prevent over-browning, cover the rolls loosely with foil for the last 5 to 10 minutes of baking.  Remove from oven.

7. In a small bowl, stir together powdered sugar, corn syrup and vanilla. Stir in enough half and half or cream to reach drizzling consistency. Drizzle glaze onto warm cinnamon rolls.