Dough for:

Cinnamon Rolls

Doughnuts

Dinner Rolls

Recipe used for many years by Elinor J. Drake

Melt: 1 stick margarine

Add: ½ cup sugar, 1 ¾ cup milk, and 2 teaspoons salt.

Heat mixture until lukewarm.

Dissolve 1 package dry yeast in ½ cup warm (110 degree) water.

In large mixer bowl beat 2 eggs.

Add the yeast and milk mixtures to the eggs.

Add: ½ teaspoon vanilla and ½ cup mashed potatoes (you may just mix water with instant mashed potato flakes in a measuring cup).

Mix well, then add gradually: 1 teaspoon baking powder

6 ½ to 7 cups flour (add about half the flour, then beat with the mixer for a few minutes before adding the rest of the flour by hand. The dough will be too soft for kneading and the mixer beating serves the same purpose.) Let rise (covered) in a warm place until doubled (possibly 45 minutes).

To form rolls:

Roll or pat dough into rectangles (1/2 or 1/3 at a time) about ½ inch thick on waxed paper dusted with flour - - it will be soft and hard to handle.

Spread rectangle with melted margarine. Sprinkle with a mixture of sugar and cinnamon and roll up, starting with the long side. Slice into cinnamon rolls and place on greased cookie sheet. Let rise, then bake at 375 degrees F. until light brown - - about 10 minutes. Remove from baking sheet and frost with a thin coat of powdered sugar frosting.

These may be frozen after cooking and reheated in a 275 degree oven just until warmed through.

This dough also makes good doughnuts (about 68 doughnuts) and dinner rolls. This recipe doesn’t include the frosting for the cinnamon rolls. This recipe and Elinor Drake have been revered for years for their delicious dinner and cinnamon rolls.

To make confectioner’s icing for the doughnuts, add milk to 6 cups confectioner’s sugar along with ½ teaspoon salt and 3 teaspoons vanilla to achieve the proper consistency. Be careful to not add too much milk (it will probably be less than one cup).

Breadmaker dough for:

Cinnamon Rolls

Doughnuts

Dinner Rolls

Elinor Drake’s recipe modified for mixing the dough in a breadmaker

(this is half of the above recipe).

¾ cup (plus 1 tablespoon) milk. lukewarm

½ stick margarine (melted)

1 teaspoon salt

¼ cup (plus 2 tablespoons) warm water

1 egg

¼ teaspoon vanilla

2 tablespoons instant mashed potato flakes

¼ cup sugar

½ teaspoon baking powder

3 ¼ cup flour

1 teaspoon Rapid-Rise yeast

In a bowl, put sugar, baking powder, and flour, stir with a spoon, and set aside. In a breadmaker, put milk, margarine, salt, water, egg, vanilla, and potato flakes. Add the flour mixture to the breadmaker. Make a little depression in the flour mixture and place the yeast.

Set the breakmaker for a dough cycle (1.5 hours?). Because of the egg, do not greatly delay the mixing.

After the dough cycle completes, use this dough to prepare doughnuts, or cinnamon rolls, or dinner rolls as follows. This makes about 36 small doughnuts, 16 dinner rolls or 16 cinnamon rolls.

To prepare the dough mixture for the breadmaker takes about 15 minutes. You might be able to double this recipe for your breadmaker.

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To make cinnamon rolls:

Additional ingredients: margarine, cinnamon, sugar, powdered sugar, milk.

Roll or pat dough into long rectangles (1/2 or 1/3 dough at a time) 5inches wide and about ½ inch thick on waxed paper dusted with flour - - it will be soft and hard to handle.

Spread rectangle with melted margarine. Sprinkle with a mixture of sugar and cinnamon and roll up, starting with the long side. Slice into cinnamon rolls and place on greased cookie sheet. Let rise, then bake at 375 degrees F. until light brown - - about 10 minutes. Remove from baking sheet and frost with a thin coat of powdered sugar (and milk) frosting.

These may be frozen after cooking and reheated in a 275 degree oven just until warmed through.

These rolls have been the hit of many breakfasts at Elinor Drake’s house.

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To make dinner rolls:

Additional ingredients: margarine (time to form the rolls for baking, roughly 15 minutes.)

Roll or pat dough into long rectangles (1/2 or 1/3 dough at a time) 5inches wide and about ½ inch thick on waxed paper dusted with flour - - it will be soft and hard to handle.

Spread rectangle with melted margarine. Slice rectangles into dinner roll sized triangles about 4 inches on each side. Roll each triangle into a roll and place on greased cookie sheet. Let rise, then bake at 375 degrees F. until light brown - - about 10 minutes. Remove from baking sheet.

These may be frozen after cooking and reheated in a 275 degree oven just until warmed through.

These rolls have been the hit of many dinners at Elinor Drake’s house.

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To make doughnuts:

Additional ingredients: milk (about 1 cup), 6 cups powdered sugar, 3 teaspoons vanilla.

Make sugar glaze by mixing sugar, and vanilla and small amounts of milk at a time. (Be careful to not put in too much milk towards the end.) The doughnuts will only need a thin glaze.

Roll or pat dough until about ½ inch thick. Use a glass about 3 inches diameter to cut each doughnut. Use a lid from a salad dressing bottle about 1.5 inches to cut the hole. Let rise for about 5 or 10 minutes.

Heat deep fat fryer with shortning to 375 degrees. Cook doughnuts one at a time for about 1 minute on the first side and about half minute on the flip side. (Do not put more doughnuts into the oil at the same time because it increases cooking time and increases the amount of oil absorbed.) Doughnuts should be light brown. Let oil drain briefly and place into sugar glaze coating both sides. Hang doughnut on handle of long spoon to let drip. Then place doughnut on waxed paper to cool.

Elinor Drake used to make doughnuts for her children on a Saturday morning when they could eat the warm doughnuts freshly glazed.