Yummy Baked Elephant Ears

My husband's favorite sweet treat as a kid was one called Elephant Ears that he would get at the Home Industry Bakery in downtown Clarksburg, WV.  It was a little unusual in that it looked like a very large, flat cookie, but had the consistency of a type of bread dough.  I've tried to recreate them over the years using a variety of recipes but they were never exactly right.  I finally took bits of pieces of several recipes and came up with this unique version and it tastes exactly like the ones he would get at the bakery.  He claims the ones he got when he was a kid was HUGE and that the ones I made just seem so small in comparison.  I reminded him that what he might be remembering is the same size I made but in my tinier hands so it looked bigger.  He thought about it and agreed that might be the case.  The next time I make them I will try to make them bigger just to see if it will satisfy that idea of them, too.

YUMMY BAKED ELEPHANT EARS

2 1/4 tsp. active dry yeast (1 pkg./1/4 oz.)
1/4 cup warm water
2 cups all-purpose flour
4 1/2 tsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1/3 cup cold butter, cubed
1/3 cup fat-free milk (I used dry milk reconstituted)
1 egg yolk

FILLING
2 Tbsp. butter, melted
1/2 cup sgar
2 tsp. ground cinnamon

CINNAMON-SUGAR
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 tsp. ground cinnamon

1.  In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water.  In a large bowl, mix flour, sugar, and salt; cut in butter until crumbly.  Stir milk and egg yolk into yeast mixture.  Add to flour mixture, stir to form a soft dough.  Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate 2 hours.

2.  Preheat oven to 375.  Punch dough down.  Turn onto a light floured surface; cover and let rest 10 minutes.

3.  Roll dough into an 18x10-inch rectangle.  Spread with melted butter.  Mix sugar and cinnamon; sprinkle over butter evenly, spread out with hands if needed.  Roll up jelly-roll style, starting with a long side, wet end slightly with water to seal to roll.  Cut crosswise into 24 slices.  The easiest way to do this is to cut in half first, then cut each of those in half again, then cut those in half again, and finally cut those into thirds. 

4.  In a small bowl, mix cinnamon-sugar ingredients.  Draw a 4 inch circle onto a sheet of parchment paper and turn over onto the counter.  Sprinkle 1/2 tsp. mixture in the circle on the parchment paper, top with a slice of dough, cut side down.  Sprinkle with an additional 1/2 tsp. cinnamon-sugar.  Roll dough to a 4-inch circle.

5.  Place 2 inches apart on parchment paper lined baking sheets.  Repeat with remaining slices.  Bake 7-9 minutes or until golden brown.  Cool on wire racks.