Chocolate Cinnamon Rolls, Swedish Tea Ring, Orange Rolls, or Dinner Rolls

The Dough

• 1 package active dry yeast
• ½ C lukewarm water (add pinch of sugar)

Combine in a small bowl and set aside.

In large bowl:

• ⅔ C shortening
• 2 tsp salt
• ½ C sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 C mashed potato (freshly made from boiled potato pieces and cool enough to handle)
• ½ C milk or evaporated milk
• ½ C water that potatoes were cooked in (not too hot)
• 4 to 5 C all purpose flour

Mix first three ingredients (shortening, salt, and sugar). Add eggs one at a time and beat in. Add mashed potatoes, yeast mixture, milk, potato water. Mix.

Add 3 to 4 cups flour, mixing well. Add enough more flour that dough can be handled and turned onto a floured kneading board. Knead well using as little flour as possible. Place in a large oiled bowl, cover and let rise until doubled in size. Knead lightly and cover, place in fridge until ready to use or overnight.

For cinnamon rolls:

Filling:

• ¾ C brown sugar
• 1½ tsp cinnamon
• 4 Tbsp butter, melted
• ¾ to 1 C cinnamon chips (chopped), plus more to sprinkle over top

Chocolate Cream Cheese Icing:

• 4 Tbsp butter, softened
• 8 oz cream cheese, softened
• 3 oz Ghirardelli 62% bittersweet unsweetened chocolate morsels, melted (or similar)
  *Adjust amount if you are making part of the icing vanilla only.
• Dash of salt
• 3 C confectioners sugar
• ⅓ C whole milk (approximate — use enough to get desired consistency)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

(To make icing:) Cream together the butter and cream cheese. Add melted chocolate, salt, sugar, milk, and vanilla. Beat until smooth and spreadable.

Take out dough from refrigerator and let bowl sit at room temperature for 30 to 40 minutes. Then roll out dough on lightly floured counter to roughly 12 by 18 inches. Brush on melted butter, then sprinkle brown sugar, cinnamon, and chopped cinnamon chips. Leave about a half-inch border.

Roll dough and cut into 1½-inch pieces and place in buttered baking pan. Let rise about 30 minutes. Bake in 425 degree oven for 15 minutes. Drizzle with icing and sprinkle cinnamon chips.

For Swedish tea ring:

About 2 hours before baking, take out dough from refrigerator, pinch off and shape into rolls. Place in a ring in a round ovenproof dish or pie pans. Let rise until light. Bake in 425 degree oven for 15 minutes. Glaze warm right out of the oven with a very thin powdered sugar glaze or cream cheese glaze.

For orange rolls:

Filling:

• ¾ C sugar
• Zest of 2 oranges
• Butter, melted

Glaze:

• 1 C powdered sugar
• ¼ C orange juice

(For glaze:) Mix sugar and orange juice.

Mix together sugar and orange zest. Prepare dough as with cinnamon rolls, using the sugar and orange zest mixture in place of cinnamon sugar mixture. Bake at 375 degrees about 20 to 25 minutes. Pour glaze over warm rolls.

These freeze well.