Back to my roots.

When life gets scary sometimes the most comforting thing to do, is well... eat.

Over the holidays, I made Cinnamon Buns from scratch. I had a couple of weeks off of work and I wanted to spend time baking something totally new. So I found these and decided to make them for Christmas morning. One bonus about this recipe is that the dough requires quite a bit of resting....and to be honest, I do too. So when it needed to rest, I napped. It was lovely.

One, kinda scary thing about these is that you need active dry yeast. I am, well, was, afraid of yeast. The whole idea that is active and alive is just strange to me. But, it turns out not to be such a big deal. Really, you just snip open the envelope and dump it into the bowl. The other thing about these buns is that it makes like 200, so if you are expecting a crowd for brunch this IS your recipe. I only made one cake pan of them and threw the rest of the dough away, eek. I felt badly about that part....but I did it anyway. I am sure that I could have froze the dough or something. But I didn't.

Mike and I give these two sticky thumbs up.


DOUGH
2 cups 2% milk
½ cup granulated sugar

½ cup canola oil
1 package (2 1/4 Teaspoons) active dry yeast
4 cups + ½ cup flour, divided
1½ teaspoons salt
½ teaspoon (scant) baking soda
½ teaspoon (heaping) baking powder
Cooking spray

FILLING
1½ cups (3 sticks) butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar
4 tablespoons ground cinnamon
raisins (optional)
nuts (optional)
long strand of unflavored waxed dental floss or a plastic knife

ICING
3 cups of powdered sugar
4 tablespoons butter, softened
8-10 teaspoons of milk
2 teaspoon of vanilla

Directions

Make ahead: Combine milk, 1/2 cup sugar and oil in a large pot over medium heat. Heat, stirring to dissolve sugar, until just before boiling. Remove from heat and set aside to cool for about an hour or until lukewarm. Sprinkle the yeast into the warm milk mixture and allow to sit for a few minutes. Add 4 cups of flour and stir together until a sticky dough forms. Cover loosely with a kitchen towel and let rise somewhere warm for about an hour.

In a small bowl, whisk together remaining ½ cup of flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add to dough and combine thoroughly to form an elastic dough. Spray the inside of a large bowl with cooking spray. Put dough in the bowl, cover tightly, and store in the refrigerator overnight, or up to a day.

Assembly: Spray a 9-inch round cake pan with cooking spray. Generously flour a clean, dry surface. Place half the dough on the floured surface and using a rolling pin, roll out into a large rectangle. Gently spread ¾ cup of softened butter over the dough with a butter knife. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of cinnamon and 1/2 cup of brown sugar over the buttered dough. Add any raisins, nuts or other fillings.

Starting on the longer side of the rectangle, roll dough in a tight spiral toward the other end and pinch the seam shut. Slide a strand of dental floss under the rolled dough 1-1½ inches from the end. Cross the ends of the floss over the top of the roll and pull in opposite directions, slicing off a section of dough. Repeat with the rest of the dough, placing buns in the prepared pan. You will have space between the buns.

Repeat with the second half of the dough.

Set aside to rise for 30-45 minutes. Bake in 350°F oven for 15-18 minutes, or until lightly browned on top.

To make the glaze, combine powdered sugar, butter, 6 teaspoons of milk and vanilla in a small bowl. Continue adding milk one teaspoon at a time until you get a thick frosting. (It will thin when spread on the warm buns.)

Top warm buns with glaze. Serve warm.