This recipe for sweet dough is from Sara Foster’s first cookbook. One recipe of dough gets divided into two. I usually use half to make cinnamon rolls and half for dinner rolls. You can knead about a cup of your favorite dried fruit (currants, raisins, dried cranberries, chopped dried apricots, or a mixture) into it to make hot cross buns for Easter if you like.

The dinner rolls are delicious on their own. They also make terrific little barbecue sliders or ham biscuits, especially with thinly sliced salty Smithfield Ham.

This dough is great for when you have company.  You can make the dough up to two weeks before you bake it.  You can put the cinnamon rolls together the night before you want to eat them. 

For the cinnamon rolls, I use King Arthur Flour’s Baker’s Cinnamon Filling. If you don’t want to buy that, mix together:
1/3 c. butter, softened
1/3 c. sugar
1/3 c. brown sugar
3 tbsp. flour
1 tbsp. + 1 tsp. ground cinnamon

Take the dough out of the refrigerator 30 minutes before you want to start working with it. Roll it out on a floured board (or sheet of waxed paper) into a 12”x6” rectangle. Spread the filling over the dough, leaving a 1” border. Roll the dough along the long edge into a 12” log. Cut the log into slices with a sharp knife into 8 pieces for a 9” round pan or 9 pieces for a 9”x9” square pan. This is easiest if you first cut the dough into fourths or thirds.

Arrange the dough in your greased pan with the swirly sides showing. Let rise 20 minutes, then refrigerate overnight or bake.

In the morning, take the rolls out of the refrigerator. I like to let them sit out for 30 minutes or so. If you are in a hurry, put the pan on top of the stove while the oven preheats.

Bake in a preheated oven for 40-45 minutes. Watch rather carefully at the end.

Make a thick icing with:

¼ cup salted butter, melted
1 to 1-1/2 cups powdered sugar
½ tsp. vanilla
A few dribbles of whole milk

Spread over warm rolls.