Cinnamon Buns

 

Spread with cinnamon mixture

Then roll tightly. Make sure to pinch seams! Then cut.

You can put the cinnamon buns in greased muffin tins. I tried putting it in a greased pyrex dish.

 

 

 

I love the smell of fresh cinnamon buns, so I thought I would give these a try. They were a big hit with the family. I do the prep work the day before, and then bake it the next morning!

Here's what I did:
1) Heat milk until bubbles then remove heat. Mix in margarine until melted.
2) Combine 2 1/4 cup flour, yeast, sugar, and salt and put in kitchen-aid mixing bowl. Then add water, egg, and milk mixture. Just make sure that the milk mixture isn't too hot so that it won't kill the yeast. I accidentally used regular yeast instead of instant yeast, and it still seemed to work.
3) Add the remaining 1 cup of flour, 1/2 cup each time. Knead with the kitchen-aid using the extension used to mix dough.
4) Cover the dough with a moist paper towel and let it rest for 10 minutes.
5) Make cinnamon filling
6) after 10 min of resting, roll out the dough onto a 12 x 9 wood cutting board with flour.
7) Spread filling and then roll lengthwise. Make sure to pinch seams. Pinch really well or will unravel. Cut into 12 rolls
8) Sprayed a muffin tin with cooking spray and put the cut cinnamon buns in there.  Cover with saran wrap, sprayed with cooking spray so it doesn't stick. I also put 2 additional layers of saran wrap on top. I've made the dough in the afternoon or night, and baked it in the morning.
9) Next morning, take the dough out and let it sit at room temperature for 30 min.
10) Bake at 375 for 20 min.
11) Frost with cream-cheese frosting.
12) If baked in pyrex dish, make sure to remove the cinnamon buns when hot. If not, then it might stick to the pan!

Lessons learned:
1) Make sure to put something under the muffin tin because the cinnamon filling will bubble over
2) Baked with the muffin tin, but found it had a funny shape because it would be small on the bottom but expand at the top. Next time, might try just baking in a pyrex dish. I've also seen it baked in a round cake pan.
3) Make sure to pinch well or it will unravel!
4) Don't leave the cinnamon buns in the pyrex dish. Remove when hot or else it will be hard to remove them.

Ninety Minute Cinnamon Buns (~from allrecipes.com)

Ingredients

Dough

• 3/4 cup milk
• 1/4 cup margarine, softened
• 3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (Make sure to only initially combine 2 1/4 cups and set aside the additional 1 cup!)                   
• 1 (.25 ounce) package instant yeast (Note- Instant yeast as opposed to regular yeast)                   
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1/4 cup water
• 1 egg

Filling (Probably could make just half of this recipe)

• 1 cup brown sugar, packed
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 cup margarine, softened
• 1/2 cup raisins (optional)

Frosting
1 (4 oz) softened cream cheese
1/4 cup butter, softened (I used margarine and was ok)
1 cup confectioner's sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1.5 teaspoon milk

Directions

1. Heat the milk in a small saucepan until it bubbles, then remove from heat. Mix in margarine; stir until melted. Let cool until lukewarm.
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine 2 1/4 cup flour, yeast, sugar and salt; mix well. Add water, egg and the milk mixture; beat well. Add the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring well after each addition. When the dough has just pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth, about 5 minutes.
3. Cover the dough with a damp cloth and let rest for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, mix together brown sugar, cinnamon, softened margarine.
4. Roll out dough into a 12x9 inch rectangle. Spread dough with margarine/sugar mixture. Sprinkle with raisins if desired. Roll up dough and pinch seam to seal. Cut into 12 equal size rolls and place cut side up in 12 lightly greased muffin cups. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
5. Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes, or until browned. Remove from muffin cups to cool. Serve warm
6. Frosting (optional)- stir together ingredients and spread over warm cinnamon rolls