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

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

Refrigerator Rolls – Makes 12 large rolls

1 Package active dry yeast
1/2 Cup lukewarm water (add pinch of sugar) Set aside.

In large bowl:

2/3 Cup shortening
2 Teaspoon salt
1/2 Cup sugar
2 Eggs
1 Cup mashed potato
1/2 Cup milk (Aunt uses evaporated milk)
1/2 cup water potatoes cooked in
4 to 5 cups all purpose flour
Mix first three ingredients; shortening, salt & sugar. Add eggs one at a time and beat in. Add mashed potatoes, yeast, milk, potato water and mix.

Add flour; three to four cups, mixing well adding enough more flour until dough can be handled and turned onto floured board. Knead well using as little flour as possible. Place in large oiled bowl, cover and let rise double. Knead lightly and cover, place in fridge until ready to use or overnight.

For cinnamon rolls:
If refrigerated, let bowl sit at room temperature for 30 – 40 minutes. Then roll out dough on lightly floured counter to roughly 12 x 18 inches. Brush on melted butter, then sprinkle brown sugar and cinnamon mixture and chopped cinnamon chips. Leave about 1/2" border.

Roll dough and cut into 1 1/2" 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 chopped cinnamon chips.

Filling:

3/4 Cup brown sugar
1 1/2 Teaspoon cinnamon
4 Tablespoons butter, melted
3/4 - 1 Cup cinnamon chips (chopped) - more to sprinkle over top

Chocolate Cream Cheese Icing

4 Tablespoons butter, softened
8 Ounces cream cheese, softened
3 Ounces* Ghirardelli 62% bittersweet unsweetened chocolate morsels, melted (or chocolate; your choice)
Dash of salt
3 Cups confectioners sugar
1/3 Whole Milk (approx – use enough to get desired consistency)
1 Teaspoon vanilla extract

Cream together the butter and cream cheese. Add melted chocolate, salt, confectioners sugar, milk, and vanilla. Beat until smooth and spreadable.

*Adjust chocolate amount if you are making part of the icing vanilla only.

Here are the variations on this dough recipe. One Aunt's is the Swedish Tea Ring and her sister (my other Aunt) makes the Orange Rolls which are always a huge hit. I need to give those a try, too. Or just use this dough for dinner rolls. I couldn't believe how this dough puffed up. My Aunt said it is key to try and not use too much flour.

Swedish Tea Ring (Orange Rolls, Cinnamon Rolls or Dinner Rolls)

Refrigerator Rolls

1 Package active dry yeast
1/2 Cup lukewarm water (add pinch of sugar) Set aside.

In large bowl:
2/3 Cup shortening
2 Teaspoon salt
1/2 Cup sugar
2 Eggs
1 Cup mashed potato
1/2 Cup milk
1/2 cup water potatoes cooked in
4 to 5 cups all purpose flour

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

About two hours before baking pinch off amount to use shape into rolls. Let rise until light. (Aunt makes her.s in pie pans.)

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.

Orange Rolls
3/4 Cup sugar
Zest of 2 oranges
Butter, melted

Mix together sugar and orange juice. Use melted butter and orange mixture, roll and cut like cinnamon rolls. (Aunt bakes these in 9 x 9 pans.) (She also must make these much smaller because she says she often takes the ends of the rolls and bakes those in muffin pans.)

Bake at 375 degrees about 20 to 25 minutes.

Glaze:
1 Cup powdered sugar
1/4 Cup orange juice

Mix well and pour over warm rolls.

These freeze well.

Hey, guys, thought I'd check in. You always want to use freshly cooked potatoes rather than leftovers. I cooked 3 smallish russets because I wanted to make sure I had enough for a cup. I cut them into really tiny pieces so they'd cook quickly. Then I just strained them into a colander over a bowl to catch the potato water, transferred a little potato water to another container to cool off, dumped the rest, poured the potatoes back into that bowl, mashed them and let them cool. You don't want the potatoes or the water to be too hot to kill the yeast.

I just turned on my computer and see I have another email from my Aunt with some detailed information about how she does certain things on this recipe. I still need to read it so will post if there is anything that might be helpful. As you know, when someone types a recipe from something they do so naturally for many years it is not only hard to get it written properly but to articulate those nuances you expert bread bakers understand so well. Then I had to try and make better sense of what was sent to me since I'm flying without a net right now.

I know she says my Aunt of the Orange Rolls does keep potato buds on hand to make these if she's out of real potatoes but not sure how that would compare. (Who buys those things anyway?)

As you know, I'm just learning about bread baking so I find all this very fascinating and I learn things every time I make bread now plus "so much" from all of you bakers (and loving it).

Deb, I am so happy you are trying this recipe. I sure hope you like it. I was thinking the filling could be increased. I didn't really have a recipe so I just guessed but maybe next time I'd just add more brown sugar - not really sure if that would be too much with the cinnamon chips but definately not too much if you don't have them! How can you have too much goo! :o)