Cinnamon Buns

My boyfriend and I have a guilty pleasure: cinnamon buns. Alas, over the last 8 years, cinnamon buns haven't quite reciprocated the love. More times than not, our "let's have cinnamon buns!" turns into "well that was disappointing". Usually, it's because they get burned, even when we follow the instructions on the Pillsbury tube TO.THE.LETTER. Hell, we've even tried non-Pillsbury brand, thinking that somehow that was the problem. We've only recently figured out how to make sure they come out delicious every time, but it requires a lot of babysitting.

Sick of the incessant teasing by cinnamon buns, I decided I'd show them who's boss and make them myself. For some reason, I had always envisioned that making homemade cinnamon buns would be really difficult and time consuming. I was right in that it's time consuming, but like with other yeast bread recipes, most of the time isn't active and I spend it doing other things or waiting for the dough to rise so I can get on with the next steps.




Cinnamon Buns

For the dough:
1 package active dry yeast
1 c. warm milk
3 eggs
1/3 c. white sugar
4 Tbsp butter
1/4 tsp. salt
4-5 c. flour, plus more for kneading

For the filling:
1 c. brown sugar, packed
2 Tbsp cinnamon
4 Tbsp butter, melted

For the glaze:
1/2 c. confectioner's sugar
1-2 Tbsp. milk

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the flat paddle attachment, add yeast to the warm milk and let sit for 5 minutes, until foamy. Add butter, sugar, eggs and salt. Switch to the dough hook and add flour, one cup at a time, until you get a smooth and elastic, but not sticky, dough. Depending on the size/capacity of your mixer, you may need to knead the dough by hand around cup 4.

Put the dough in a greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap or a plastic grocery store bag. Let rise until doubled in size, approximately one hour.

Punch dough down and let rest for 10 minutes. While you're waiting, combine the brown sugar and cinnamon.

On a well floured surface, roll the dough out into a large square or rectangular shape (mine was about 12" x 6", but the exact size here doesn't really matter - you just need to roll it out into something large enough for you to roll back up). Brush the dough with the melted butter and top with the cinnamon-sugar mixture.



Starting with the long end, roll the dough into a cylinder. Pinch the seam. Leaving the seam side down, cut the log into equal size pieces.



Place each roll onto a greased cookie sheet about 1-2 inches apart.



Bake at 350°F for about 20 minutes, until light brown. The filling will be melted and a toothpick inserted into the center should come out clean.



Let cool on the pan for 5 minutes. Combine the glaze ingredients, then drizzle over top of the cinnamon buns. Serve warm.

Yields 8-10 cinnamon buns, depending on size.



Wanna see what else I'm up to in the kitchen or get printable versions of my recipes? Head on over to Elfie's Edibles!

x-posted to bakebakebake