Cotton Candy Sweet As Gold...
LET ME SEE THAT CINNA-ROLL.
I considered a more modern "Don't want none unless you got buns hun" title sequence, but as cinnamon buns are an underrated classic, I felt the song should be the same. Tootsie Roll was the obvious choice.
Cinnamon rolls are also the obvious choice. So obvious they are constantly overlooked, underrated, and assigned nothing but sad Louis CK shoutouts and kiosk serving stations. Cinnamon buns can be pitiful when they come from vending machines or airports, but they can also be decadent, warm, and sincerely gratifying.
Hand to God, there is not even a filter on this delicious photograph.
Last week I made mini vanilla scones, and the vanilla flavor and scent left me with a cinnamon craving. When I bake I never cut corners, so I made the dough, filling, and icing all from scratch. The whole process takes about 2 hours but the product is a baker's dozen cinnamon buns and a house full of sweet, sweet smells. The jury's in. The verdict? WORTH IT.
THE DOUGH:
- 1 package of Bob's Red Mill Pizza Dough
- 1 c. warm water
- 1/2 c. white sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1/4 c. brown sugar
- 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract (none of that imitation crap, s'il vous plait)
THE FILLING:
- 1/4 c. butter, melted
- 1/2 c. brown sugar
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 1 1/2 tbsp. honey
THE BEST PART (the icing, if you aren't human & therefore did not know):
- 2 c. powdered sugar
- 1 tbsp butter, melted
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- 2 tbsp. milk
Did I mention that these babies are gluten free? It wasn't intentional, but it just worked out that way so do with that info what you will. I found the recipe for the dough on the Bob's Red Mill website, and tweaked it slightly to add a little bit of a richer flavor for dessert making purposes. It's actually a pizza dough and if you want to make your own pizza at home (which is MAD easy, I guarantee), you can just nix the brown sugar and vanilla.
I love making overnight oats with the Bob's Muesli Mix, and I've just bought Bob's Almond Flour to make French Macarons this weekend. Obsessed with whoever Bob is and everything he stands for as a grain miller or whatever it is that he does (idk, is he like Burt of Burt's Bees? I picture him literally living in a red mill. Am I wrong to assume?)
I added honey to the filling recipe in order to give the buns that "sticky bun" quality. As they baked, a lot of the honey and butter melted out and coated the bottom, soaking the buns in a sticky sweetness underneath, and caramelizing around the edges. Hashtag: MMMMMM.
The icing is a classic simple icing recipe, and it's the perfect consistency for cinnamon buns, because it's super thick when you ice them, but melts perfectly without becoming too much of a glaze. If you want a glaze, by all means double or triple the milk quantity, who am I to stop you from your bliss, amiright?
THE RECIPE:
Preheat oven to 375 F. Grease 2 round 9" or 2 8"x8" pans or one big long thing, or really whatever you want, get creative.
In a small or medium bowl, add 1 tbsp of the 1/2 c of white sugar into the cup of warm water and stir until the sugar has dissolved. Sprinkle the yeast packet on top of the sugar water and let it sit for 5 minutes. It'll start to smell like bread and you'll be happy. In a separate large bowl, cream together the butter and white sugar. Be sure that the brown sugar is very fine with no chunks, then add that and the vanilla extract as well. Add the eggs one at a time and make sure to blend thoroughly.
Has it been 5 minutes? Wunderbar! Add the yeast mixture to the creamed butter/sugar/eggs and blend. Add in the pizza crust mix; blend for two minutes. ***Beware, if you're using a tiny hand mixture it will not be able to handle this dough after the first minute of blending. The dough will wind itself around the mixer paddles and all the way up to jam the electronic handheld part which I actually found cool and amusing but don't try it at home unless you want to.
Heavily dust a foot-long sheet of wax paper with flour (rice flour if you're gluten free). Spread the batter over the length of the paper. I stretched mine out to about 18" long by "12" high. Using warm water, wet your hands and press the batter outward to fill the sheet (trust me, the water is important). Make sure your hands stay wet when you work with the dough. Once the batter is spread out evenly, brush melted butter over the batter from edge to edge.
Combine the cinnamon, sugar, and honey in a small bowl. Spread this relatively evenly across the dough, but perfection is unnecessary.
Roll the dough lengthwise over itself like a jelly roll (or tootsie roll, just bringing that idea full circle). Cut the roll into pieces and place the disks into the greased pan(s). Sprinkle the tops with some brown sugar for a lil' something extra. If you want really big, thick cinnamon buns you can make the cuts 1 1/2" but I made mine about 3/4 of an inch.
Let the rolls sit out in a warm place to rise for 30 painfully slow minutes. Bake for 20-25 minutes (slightly less if your rolls are cut thinner than an inch).
While you've got the buns in the oven (lol), you can make the easiest and bestest icing ever. Combine the powdered sugar, butter, vanilla and milk. Blend until thick (about a minute). DOOOONE.
Remove the now heavenly-scented buns from the oven, cool just until the butter stops bubbling, then ice and eat at will.