Kyle's Cinnamon Rolls

My friend Kyle is known for his infamous cinnamon rolls. They’re sweet, buttery, cinnamony, comforting, and have some secret ingredients, kind of like Kyle himself. After months of date-arranging, Kyle finally came over and made them with me and they were so delicious, I thought I’d share how to make them with you! So, without taking more time…let’s make some!

Here’s What You’ll Need:

For the Dough…

2 Cups of Mashed Potatoes

1 Cup of Potato Water

4 ½ Teaspoons (2 Packets) of Yeast

1 Cup Shortening

1 Cup + 1 Teaspoon Granulated Sugar

3 Eggs

1 Teaspoon Salt

5–6 Cups of All Purpose Flour

For the Filling…

½ Cup Brown Sugar

½ Cup Granulated Sugar

2 Tablespoons of Cinnamon

Softened Butter

For the Frosting…

½ Cup Softened Butter

1 Cup Softened Cream Cheese

4 Cups Powdered Sugar

1 ½ Teaspoons Vanilla

A Dash of Salt

A Dash of Cinnamon

A Dash of Nutmeg

Step 1: OK. OK. OK. Here’s where the secret ingredient comes in. I didn’t know this was a thing, so while it may not be a secret to you, it was certainly a secret to me. What’s the secret ingredient? Mashed potatoes. Who knew?

Peel, chop, boil, and mash enough potatoes to have two cups. Then reserve one cup of your potato water, letting it cool until it’s warm.

Step 2: Once your potato water and potatoes have cooled off a bit, add 1 Teaspoon of granulated sugar and 4 ½ Teaspoons of yeast into a mixing bowl. Add the potato water to the yeast and let it activate for about 10 minutes until it’s really foamy. Then, add your potatoes to the foamy mixture, stir, and let it all rise together for 30 minutes.

Step 3: While you’re potato mixture is rising, mix the other ingredients of your dough. Cream together the shortening, eggs, and remaining cup of sugar until they’re nice and smooth. You can use the paddle attachment of your stand mixer for this part, then switch to the dough hook, once you’re ready to add the flour. Next, add five cups of flour, mixing in one at a time. Your dough will look a little crumbly, but don’t worry about that. It’ll sort itself out once you add your potato mixture.

Step 4: After 30 minutes, of rising time, your potato mixture should have doubled in size. Mix it into your crumbly dough mixture for about five minutes. Your dough should be soft and a tiny bit sticky. If it’s too sticky, add more flour. Cover your dough and let it rise for an hour.

Step 5: Drink a mimosa. Mix together your filling ½ Cup brown sugar, ½ Cup granulated sugar, 2 Tablespoons of cinnamon. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

Step 6: Once your dough has risen for an hour, flower a surface and roll it out into a big rectangle, then cover it with butter and sprinkle on your cinnamon mixture.

Step 7: Roll the dough, the long way.

Step 8: Cut the dough, about an inch thick, using a string. Then add cinnamon rolls to a buttered baking dish. Try not to crowd them, because they’re going to get bigger when you bake them.

Step 9: Bake the cinnamon rolls on the middle rack of your over at 400 degrees for 20 minutes. If they’re super thick, leave ‘em in for five extra minutes with your oven turned off.

Step 10: While your buns are baking, mix together your cream cheese frosting. With a hand mixer, cream together ½ Cup of butter, 1 Cup of cream cheese, 4 cups of powdered sugar, vanilla, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg.

Step 11: After your cinnamon rolls are baked, take them out and drizzle the frosting on them while they’re still hot.

Step 12: Eat ‘em.