1/2 cup milk
1 1/2 cup water
3 Tbsp. shortening
3 Tbsp. sugar
2 tsp. salt
1 pkg yeast
5 1/2 cups flour (approx)
2 cups brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup hot water
1/3 cup butter
1 1/3 cup brown sugar (divided)
2 tsp. cinnamon (divided)
butter, very soft
Heat milk, water and shortening in a sauce pan over low heat until warm (not too hot - the shortening does not need to be melted completely).
Mix dry yeast with 3 cups of flour, the sugar and salt in a large bowl.
Pour warm milk and water mixture into dry ingredients and beat with wooden spoon until smooth. Add more flour to make a soft dough and knead well until smooth and elastic.
Place in greased bowl, cover, and let rise in a warm, draft-free place until double in size - about 1 hour. Punch down and allow to rest for about 10-15 minutes.
Stir together 2 cups of brown sugar, hot water and 1/3 cup butter and spread half of this mixture in the bottom of two 9x13 pans.
Divide dough in half, and roll each piece into a rectangle about 24\" x 10\" in size.
Spread top of each rectangle with soft butter (alternately, you can brush with melted butter). Combine 2/3 cup brown sugar and 1 tsp. cinnamon and sprinkle over each rectangle.
Roll each rectangle up like a jellyroll, to make 2 - 24\" long rolls. Slice each into 24 rounds and place (cut side up) in pans.
Cover and let rise again until double, about 1 hour. Bake at 350*F for 20-30 minutes or until lightly brown on top.
Turn rolls out of pans immediately onto waxed paper. It\'s best to have waxed paper ready to go, so you can take the rolls out of the oven and right away turn them over (upside down) onto the sheets of waxed paper. Lift pans carefully and make sure all rolls are coming out of the pan.
Set empty pans in water to soak and allow rolls to cool enough to be handled. Then, ENJOY! Taste great hot or cold, with butter on top, if you like.
Variation: If you like your cinnamon rolls with nuts, you can sprinkle them in the bottom of the pans with the brown sugar/hot water/butter mixture - before you place the rolls in.