CINNAMON STICKY BUNS

Breads and Pastries|Brunch|Vegetarian

Ingredients

The Buns:

1¼ cups milk

¼ cup sugar

2, ¼ ounce packages active dry yeast

½ cup butter, softened

5 cups flour

1 teaspoon salt

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

The Filling:

4 tablespoons butter, very soft at room temperature

1 cup sugar

¼ cup cinnamon

1 ½ cups raisins and/or chopped nuts

The Icing:

2 cups powdered sugar

2 teaspoon vanilla

4 tablespoons milk

Instructions

Heat the milk and sugar in a medium saucepan, whisking to dissolve the sugar, until the temperature reaches 115-120°. Remove from heat and pour this mixture into the bowl of a stand mixer. Add the yeast and stir once with the dough hook attachment. Let stand for 5 minutes until yeast becomes foamy on top of the milk mixture.

Add the butter, salt, and half of the flour to the bowl and mix until combined. When blended, add one egg and mix until combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add the remaining egg and vanilla and mix well. Add 2 cups of the remaining flour and mix until combined and the dough begins to pull away from the edge of the bowl. Gradually, add the remaining ½ cup of flour and until the dough no longer sticks to the side of the bowl. Turn onto a lightly floured countertop and need for 5 minutes until the dough is smooth and bounces back when you push your finger into the center of the dough.

Place in a greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise in a warm, draft-free, place for 2 hours until doubled in bulk.

Punch dough down, knead briefly, and cut into 2 pieces. Cover and let rest for 10 minutes while you prepare filling.

Mix sugar and cinnamon together with raisins/nuts. in a small bowl.

Roll each piece of dough into an 9″ x 13″ rectangle. Spread 2 tablespoons of the softened butter evenly over each rectangle (I use my hands, but you can also use an offset spatula) and then top each with half of filling ingredients.

Starting on the long side, roll each rectangle tightly, jelly-roll style, pinching the edges to seal. Cut each roll into 12 even pieces (Cut in half – each half in half – and each quarter into 3 pieces). Place pieces from each roll in a greased 9″ pie plate or cake pan in a circular design. Sprinkle the tops with any remaining cinnamon and sugar mix.

Cover and let rise again until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour. Bake at 350° for 25-30 minutes until browned. Remove, cool for 15-20 minutes. Whisk all of the icing ingredients together until smooth. Drizzle all over warm buns.

AKA Cinnamon Rolls!