Make It Monday- Cinnamon Buns

You don’t know this, but my family tends to get a little obsessed with cinnamon buns. There used to be a bakery in Gimli that had these huge, delicious cinnamon buns that we would get every single weekend at the lake, and bring some home to freeze. Fast forward to roughly 2010, and the bakery closed. *cue weeping and uncontrollable shaking from cinnamon bun withdrawal* We have since found another bakery on the way to the lake that makes the same old fantastic cinnamon buns, but in the meantime, I’ve discovered that I kind of like making them myself. And I do!


I keep trying for those elusive giant cube cinnamon buns, but no such luck yet! This recipe isn’t quite giant cubes, they are more medium cubes. However, they are delicious and super easy to make, so I would certainly recommend giving this recipe a try if you are interested in venturing out into the cinnamon bun world!! A friend from work posted these on her snapchat and I knew that I had to give it a try.
Ooey Gooey Cinnamon Buns (from All Recipe)

Ingredients

Dough
-1 teaspoon white sugar
-1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
-1/2 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
-1/2 cup milk
-1/4 cup white sugar
-1/4 cup butter
-1 teaspoon salt
-2 eggs, beaten
-4 cups all-purpose flour
Sticky Topping
-3/4 cup butter
-3/4 cup brown sugar
-1 cup chopped pecans, divided
Filling
-3/4 cup brown sugar
-1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
-1/4 cup melted butter

Directions

1. In a small bowl, dissolve 1 teaspoon sugar and yeast in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes. Warm the milk in a small saucepan until it bubbles, then remove from heat. Mix in 1/4 cup sugar, 1/4 cup butter and salt; stir until melted. Let cool until lukewarm.
2. In a large bowl, combine the yeast mixture, milk mixture, eggs and 1 1/2 cup flour; stir well to combine. Stir in the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, beating well after each addition. When the dough has pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes.
3. Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.
4. While dough is rising, melt 3/4 cup butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir in 3/4 cup brown sugar, whisking until smooth. Pour into greased 9×13 inch baking pan. Sprinkle bottom of pan with 1/2 cup pecans; set aside. Melt remaining butter; set aside. Combine remaining 3/4 cup brown sugar, 1/2 cup pecans, and cinnamon; set aside.
5. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface, roll into an 18×14 inch rectangle. Brush with 2 tablespoons melted butter, leaving 1/2 inch border uncovered; sprinkle with brown sugar cinnamon mixture. Starting at long side, tightly roll up, pinching seam to seal. Brush with remaining 2 tablespoons butter. With serrated knife, cut into 15 pieces; place cut side down, in prepared pan. Cover and let rise for 1 hour or until doubled in volume. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
6. Bake in preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes, until golden brown. Let cool in pan for 3 minutes, then invert onto serving platter. Scrape remaining filling from the pan onto the rolls.
 
What I Did Differently/Recommend
-I labelled the recipe between dough, sticky topping, and filling- it was a little confusing on the original recipe to see butter listed as three separate ingredients with no explanation.
-I omitted the pecans. I’m really not a huge fan of pecans, so I didn’t bother with them.
-Make sure you have a good three hours to make these! There are two full one-hour rises, and half an hour of baking. You will need at least an extra 30 minutes to do all of the in between work, possibly a little more.

Overall, this was fairly easy! Sure, it took most of my Friday night, but a lot of that is just waiting for it to rise! If you have laundry or other chores to do, the rises are the perfect time to do it. If you haven’t worked with yeast before, this is a good starting place. Like the recipe says, use warm water and a little sugar and your yeast will rise no problem! The butter/brown sugar mixture that you pour in the bottom of the pan caramelised a little bit, depending on your preference, you may want to take it out a bit earlier. (It’s still delicious!) And while they aren’t necessarily huge cinnamon buns, they are the perfect size to eat on the go and still feel like you’ve eaten something.

What is your favourite cinnamon bun recipe? 
Until tomorrow,
The Historian!