Things were a bit tight for our family this past Christmas. I know we weren’t the only ones pinching pennies to try and give our kids a Christmas. We were honest with the kids. “Don’t be disappointed if your pile under the tree is small this year.” We are small business owners. We own a home remodeling company and with the recession, not a lot of people were doing home beautification projects. But, our kids were so understanding and gracious. They said, “It’s okay. We understand. You don’t have to do much, BUT…it won’t be Christmas if we don’t have homemade cinnamon buns!”
Every Christmas, for at least the past 10 years, I have made homemade, ooey, gooey, cream cheese slathered, cinnamon buns. There was even a year we were in Baguio, Philippines for Christmas. The kitchen we were using had a tiny oven. I emailed my mother in law back home for the recipe and I made those cinnamon buns for my family and the other 30 people that were with us for Christmas. I even left the recipe behind for friends to continue the tradition.
Usually, these bad boys are reserved for Christmas. But, I have to admit, with all the snow…all the days in doors…and then, all my boys who shoveled and shoveled and shoveled…I wanted to make something that would put a smile on some faces. My daughter had her bff over and the two girls got to work!
They added the yeast to the warm milk.
They added the flour and formed the dough into a ball.
They put it in a “warming oven” to proof. (Warming oven: turn oven on 250 degrees for five minutes. Then turn it off. It’s a great environment to proof dough.)
They rolled out the dough and spread the softened butter on the dough.
They sprinkled cinnamon sugar.
They rolled it into a long log.
They sliced the log into buns (Ok, I did this part.)
They proofed again and headed into the oven.
Seriously, this is what came out!
Can you taste it? Can you smell it? Yup! It’s Christmas in your mouth…good anytime of year!
Cinnamon Bun Recipe
Rolls:
1 package of active dry yeast
1 C. warm milk (105-110 degrees)
1/2 granulated sugar
1/3 C. butter, melted
1 tsp. salt
2 eggs
4 C all purpose flour
Filling:
1 C. packed brown sugar
2 1/2 Tbls. cinnamon
1/3 C. butter, melted
Icing:
8 Tbls. butter, softened
1 1/2 C. powdered sugar
1/4 C. cream cheese
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/8 tsp. salt
Rolls: Dissolve the yeast in the warm milk in a large bowl. Mix together the sugar, butter, salt and eggs. Add flour and mix well. Knead the dough into a large ball, using your hands dusted lightly with flour. Put in a bowl, cover and let rise in a warm place for about 1 hour or until the dough is doubled in size.
Roll the doughout on a lilghtly floured surface. Roll the dough flat until it is approximately 21 in. long and 16 in. wide. It should be about 1/4 inch thick.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Filling: Combine the brown sugar and cinnamon in a bowl. Spread the softened butter evenly over the surface of the dough and then sprinkle the cinnamon and sugar evenly over the surface. Make sure you spread it all the way to the ends.
Working carefully from the top (the 21 inch side), roll the dough down to the bottom edge.
Cut the rolled dough into 12 slices and placein a lightly greased baking pan. Let the rolls rise again until double in size (about 30 min). Bake for 10-15 minutes or until lightly brown on top.
Icing: While the rolls are baking, combine all icing ingredients. Beat well in an electric mixer until light and fluffy.
When the rolls come out of the oven, coat each, generously with icing.
Note: I will make these Christmas Eve. After I have sliced the rolls and put them in a pan, I cover them and put them in the fridge. Christmas morning, I pull them out first thing. They have to come to room temperature than rise until doubled in bulk. It can take about 2-3 hours. But, then after all the gifts are opened, I pop them in the oven and we have them for breakfast!
(this recipe was given to me by my mother in law…it’s not original, but I’m not sure where she got the recipe.)
