"Sinful" Cinnamon Buns

So after coming off a pretty successful Homemade Buns experiment in baking I decided that my sweet tooth couldn't be ignored... and what better than to try making some Homemade Cinnamon Buns...mmm.  So this is the first time I've ever tried making homemade cinnamon buns, so I didn't really know what to expect and I did find it a bit of a challenge to find a recipe that didn't involve a bread maker or a big-ass blender with dough attachment thingy.   Blah.  But I did find the cinnamon bun recipe at Cooks.com and it didn't require any equipment I didn't have and apart from waiting for the dough to rise... it was pretty easy.

The recipe:

4 1/4 to 4 3/4 c. all-purpose flour
1 pkg. active dry yeast
1 1/4 c. milk
1/4 c. granulated sugar
1/4 c. butter
1 tsp. salt
2 eggs
6 tbsp. butter, softened
1/2 c. packed brown sugar
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 recipe Maple Nut Glaze or Powdered Sugar Glaze

Step 1: In a large mixer bowl combine 1 1/2 cups of the all-purpose flour and yeast. Heat the milk, granulated sugar, the 1/4 cup butter and salt just until mixture is warm (120 to 130 degrees) and the butter is almost melted, stirring constantly.

Step 2: Add milk mixture to flour mixture; add eggs. Beat with an electric mixer on low speed for 30 seconds; scrape sides of bowl constantly. Beat on high speed for 3 minutes. Using a spoon, stir in as much of the remaining flour as you can. (Dough will be soft.) Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead in enough of the remaining flour to make a moderately soft dough (3 to 5 minutes total). Shape dough into a ball.
 
Step 3: Place dough in a lightly greased bowl; turn once. Cover; let rise in a warm place until double (about 1 to 1 1/2 hours). (The dough is ready for shaping when you can lightly and quickly press two fingers 1/2 inch into dough and indentation remains.)
 
Step 4: Punch dough down. On a lightly floured surface, divide dough in half; shape each half into a smooth ball. Cover; let rest for 10 minutes.
 
Step 5: On lightly floured surface roll half the dough to 12x8 inches. Spread with 3 tablespoons softened butter. Combine brown sugar and cinnamon; sprinkle half over rectangle. Roll up from a short side. Seal edges. Make a second roll with remaining dough, butter and sugar mixture.
 
Step 6: Slice each dough roll into 8 pieces. Arrange slices, cut side down, in a greased 13x9x2 inch baking pan. Cover; let rise until nearly double (about 30 minutes).
 
Step 7: Bake rolls in a 350 degree oven for 25 to 30 minutes or until light brown. Invert at once onto a wire rack. Cool slightly. Drizzle rolls with Maple Nut Glaze or Powdered Sugar Glaze. Serve warm.
 
Makes 16 rolls.

MAPLE NUT GLAZE:

In small bowl combine 1 cup sifted powdered sugar, 2 tablespoons maple syrup or 1/2 teaspoon maple extract and enough water or milk (2 to 3 teaspoons) for drizzling consistency. Stir in 1/4 cup coarsely chopped pecans.

POWDERED SUGAR GLAZE:

Combine 1 cup sifted powdered sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla, and enough milk (about 3 to 4 teaspoons) for drizzling consistency.

FREEZING AND REHEATING:

Bake and cool rolls as directed, do not glaze. Wrap in moisture and vapor proof wrap. Seal, label, and freeze for up to 3 months.

To reheat in a conventional oven, wrap frozen rolls in foil. Place in a 350 degree oven for 20 to 25 minutes or until warm. Drizzle with your choice of glaze.

 

To reheat in a microwave oven, wrap 2 of the frozen rolls in microwave-safe paper towels. Micro-cook on 100% power (high) for 1 to 1 1/2 minutes or until warm. Drizzle with glaze.

Letting the dough rise... waiting to knead it

Rolled with cinnamon and brown sugar.  I added some with raisins... yum.

Baked up and now waiting for some powdered sugar icing

Yes... they were dee-lish and completely gone in record time

Yup, they lasted 2 days and they were gone.  They were a hit here and I gave some to my Mum and Dad and they said they were really good.   So two sets of thumbs up on this recipe and if you have the time and feel like getting right back to the basics and making food that is truely done by your own hands - this recipe isn't hard... just a bit of waiting for the dough to rise.  After that part is over with - the fun part for me began.... loved putting it all together and even better when everyone loved them.

Hiding out in the land of Homemade Buns

Wow, I can't believe it's been over a month since I posted here... my bad.  I've been busy creating new beads, pendants, focal beads and just basic faffing around... is that a word?  ANYHOO!  Lately I've been baking like a mad woman.  I'm not sure what it was that made me feel like I just HAD to do it... I just really wanted to make something with my hands and I guess I was a bit fed up with feeling like I was getting nothing accomplished.

The other day I had a wicked craving for homemade buns.  I didn't have to look far and I found a really good recipe from a most unexpected website.  I found it at Expecting Mom... and no I'm not expecting a baby.. just some awesome buns!

Yummy Homemade Buns!

The recipe from the lovely Mom Mom on the Go:

Ingredients
1 1/2 cup of LUKEWARM water
4 TBS sugar
1/4 cup oil
1 egg
1 TBS yeast
1 TSP salt
4 cups (or so) flour

Now lets get mixing.....

Take the lukewarm water and place it in a nice size bowl. My Mom always said that the bowl should be a special one because the bowl that the dough is mixed in helps make the bread good. I agree with this and so I always mix my bread in my Royal Worcester large mixing bowl. Superstition I guess! Also, make sure the water is lukewarm.....too hot or too cold will make the yeast not work as well. 

With the lukewarm water in your gorgeous bowl, put in the 4 TBS of sugar, the 1/4 cup of oil (vegetable is what I use) and 1 egg. Mix all that together. I use my whisk and get it all good and mixed up. 

Now go get that TBS of yeast and sprinkle it over your mixture. Let it sit for a few seconds and then just gently mix it all together with the whisk. Don't get all excited and kill the yeast mixing it too hard though! Now put the 1 TSP of salt in the misture and gently mix it in again with your whisk. 

Now we are ready for the messy part to start.....so far so good and easy though right?!

Take a cup of flour and pur it in the mixture. Get a plastic or wooden spoon and stir it in. Once it is mixed well add another cup of flour and mix it too. Sounding repetative, but grab that third cup of flour and pour it in there and mix it in as best you can. Ok now you have to ditch that spoon cause it just will not be able to mix well enough anymore.

Get two more cups of flour ready in a measuring cup on the counter beside your bowl. I know I said it only takes cups of flour, but it usually takes a wee bit more than that to make the mixture perfect. 

Add a fourth cup of flour and mix with your hands. You should have a cup of flour still in the measuring cup sitting beside our bowl. Now we are having fun and we are also at the important part. You have to mix that dough with love. Get it all nice and mixed evening and together. You probably have dough stuck to you hands and that is a sure sign that you need to reach over and grab that cup of flour in the measuring cup on the counter and put a BIT in. Do not put the entire thing in. Mix in a bit at a time until the dough is smooth and you can handle it without it sticking all over our hands.You will now when the dough is perfect because it will be smooth as a baby's bum. 

Now put the dough in the special bowl. Put some oil or melted butter, whatever you prefer, into your hand and rub the top of the dough you have placed in the bowl. Cover it with a clean dish towel and let it rise for 15 minutes. 

After 15 minutes go punch that dough down. Pick it up and knead it a bit and it should feel smooth and you might even hear some air pop out of it. Perfect! Now get your non-stick pan out and grab chunks of dough and roll it into smooth balls. Make the top look good, because any cracks will be seen on the top of the bun when cooked. I like my buns smooth! Make the buns whatever size you want. I like to make 12 buns with this recipe because I like a good sized bun. As you have each one ready, place it in your non-stick pan. once all of your buns are in their pan, then get your oil or melted butter again and rub the tops of the buns. 

Now cover the buns with a clean dish towel and let rise for one hour. When you return in an hour, your buns should have grown and look awesome. 

Preheat the oven to 350 degress F and when ready put them in the oven for 18 to 20 minutes. You will know that the buns are ready when the tops are a nice golden brown. Take them out when ready and get them out of the pan and cooling on a cooling rack. 

There you have it.....amazing buns.

 .... She's totally not kidding.  They were substantial - to the point that I only needed one for my lunch.  They weren't heavy but just enough to make me feel like homemade was the way to go and seriously where have the been all my life!  If you give the recipe a try I'd love to hear about it - and I'm sure if you popped by Mom Mom on the Go, she'd love to hear about it too.

Risen to puffy, squishy goodness... now off to the oven!



Fresh out of the oven

So good I just wanted more.. but I was soo full after one

Missing in Action

Yeah, I'm not exactly sure where all the time went but before I knew it February was over and I'm rolling through March already.  What just happened???  LOL.

As you can tell my 28 days of charms didn't get very far... 12 days... hmmm.  I realized that I just am not working that well under that kind of pressure... haha.  Well, it's self imposed but you know I did manage to do a few things while away from this blog.

My first little adventure was to make some homemade lasagna and I have to say that I really enjoyed making it.  Its from a recipe my Mum gave me and it reminds me every time I have it of her and Christmas time... it just seemed that it was that time of year that she would make it and it was so yummy ... and it never seemed to be enough.

Well, I can get 8 big slices out of it and I have to say that it does a great job in a pinch when I have to make supper during a week night when we're super busy.

This night that I made this Lasagna I also made a caesar salad and made some garlic bread - all on the super easy pre-made/pre-packaged kind, as I know me and I'm not going to want to make all the extras after putting in the time with the lasagna - I just want to get it done and eat it - and enjoy the time I have with my family over some good food!

Well, I don't know if it was something in the air or in the water, but I didn't stop there.  My hunny really wanted some Maritime Brown Bread as he can't get it out here on the west coast.  So we looked online to see if there were any stores...anywhere nearby that had it - nope.  Dempsters makes it, but nothing available... so being that we were out of luck to buy it pre-made, he found a recipe online to try.

The House of Simon had the recipe - THANK YOU!! and we put it together and baked it up and it turned out absolutely yummy!  I cut myself some big door step slices, but some butter on it... and as that melted into the warm bread I put some jam on it.... and wow!  That is all I have to say about that.  It is a great little recipe and if you have been to the Maritimes, or have someone in your life who just misses that sort of bread... try the recipe... you won't be disappointed.  I mean if I can do it, anyone can!

So between working, baking and cooking up a storm I've not had a heck of a lot of time for my crafts.  My polymer clay is in the cupboard and my paints are on a shelf... my jewelery making bits and pieces are also away in a closet. 

Its not that I don't want to get back into my creative mode it is just feeling really hectic... and I"ve been tired and a bit unwell over the past week.  That lovely cold/flu is going around work and school so we all got slammed with it.  Oh the good times!

I think fluffy kitteh knows were all not feeling so well because she's been very clingy.  Which I love... because I'm a softy and I love to smoosh my cat :).