Super-Duper Secret Lemonade Recipe

Our lemon tree over-produces. We ended up with over 1,000 lemons this year and each of the lemons were the size of small grapefruits. What do you do with so many lemons, you ask? GIVE THEM AWAY! And I tried. But nobody wants that many lemons. I probably gave away about 600 of them before people stopped being interested. A little lemon goes a long way. So what do you do with the rest, you ask again? RECIPES! There are lots of creative ideas for lemon recipes, but I'm still looking for ones that my family will eat. However, they will drink lemonade. I have tried so many lemonade recipes that I could probably come up with my own version, but as my husband so kindly states, a followed recipe is usually better. My kids were selling lemonade over spring break, and most everyone who tried it said it was the best lemonade they had ever tasted. Because of the revenue it was creating, I'd been keeping the recipe a secret, but then I realized that there were really no secret recipes anymore. Plus it wasn't my recipe in the first place. This one comes from Hot Dog on a Stick. I believe the trick is to use real and fresh ingredients.

Lemonade

1 cup Lemon juice
1 cup sugar
7 cups water

Mix all ingredients together. Serve chilled and/or over ice. Makes 2 quarts.

Best-Ever Cinnamon Rolls

I like sugar... Way too much. I eat too much of it too. But how could I not when I have recipes like this? I ate more than half the pan of these rolls all by myself. Just a little bit here... just a little nibble there... Before I knew it my kids were asking me if they were ever going to get any. I suppose I should have shared sooner. So, are you ready for the recipe?

BEST-EVER Cinnamon Rolls
"All you have to do is turn your clothes dryer on high for about 10 minutes, then turn it off. Immediately put your bowl of yeast dough in the dryer for about 20 minutes, until the rolls triple in size. I am always thinking of shortcuts, so I tried this and it works great." -Mary Mills
(Great idea, Mary!)

For rolls:
2 (1/4 oz.) env. rapid-rise or active dry yeast
2 1/2 c. lukewarm water
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 (18.25 oz.) box yellow cake mix (without pudding)
5 to 5 1/2 c. all-purpose flour, divided, plus more for kneading
3 eggs
About 1/2 c. (1 stick) butter, melted
3 Tbsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 c. granulated sugar

For glaze:
1 (1 lb.) box powdered sugar
1/4 c. (1/2 stick) butter, melted
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 to 3/4 c. milk

To prepare rolls: In large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water; let sit 3 minutes. Add salt, cake mix, 1 cup flour, and eggs. Beat well until bubbles appear. Slowly add 4 to 4 1/2 cups flour. Stir until ball of soft dough forms. Knead on well-floured board about 5 minutes or until dough is smooth and elastic. Place in greased bowl; let rise until doubled in bulk. (Perhaps this would be a good time to do the dryer trick.)

Punch down dough, then divide into 2 equal parts. Roll out each piece of dough on lightly floured board. Spread with softened butter. Combine cinnamon and sugar; sprinkle over dough. Roll up dough like a jelly roll. Cut with sharp knife or dental floss into slices 1 inch thick. Place on greased cookie sheets; let rise until doubled. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Bake rolls for 25 to 35 minutes or until golden brown.

Just before rolls are done, prepare glaze: Combine powdered sugar, butter, vanilla and milk. Drizzle over hot rolls. Yield: 3-4 dozen rolls.

(I squished my entire batch into one pan. Next time I will use two pans.)

****
Now, I ran out of powdered sugar, so I made my own:

Powdered Sugar
1 c. sugar
2 Tbsp. cornstarch
In blender add sugar and cornstarch gradually, while blender is on. (SERIOUSLY! ADD IT SLOWLY!) Blend for 5 minutes.

Here is what was left over:
I also ran out of milk, but I just reconstituted powdered milk:


Here is the glaze all mixed up:
There was so much glaze that it over-flowed and puddled on the counter!
So yummy! What was so cool about these rolls is that they stayed moist for a LONG time after I made them. I would definitely use this recipe again.