This weekend, for the first time since I was pregnant…
I baked.
{cinnamon rolls}
The occasion was Craig’s birthday.
{DIY card by Fern}
The last time I baked was when I was 6 months pregnant and went through a freak nesting stage where I made like six batches of muffins in one week…then it passed.
Apparently I only bake when I’m pregnant and on my husband’s birthday.
Craig isn’t really into birthdays so he wouldn’t let me do anything exciting for him, but a handmade card and cinnamon rolls are hardly to be argued with…especially since he loves cinnamon rolls.
Usually I hate making cinnamon rolls, because they take FOR.EH.VER. Let them rise, then roll them out, then let them rise again. It usually ends up being a six hour long endeavor. Not cool.
So, I decided to try the Quick Cinnamon Bun recipe from my America’s Test Kitchen cookbook (best cookbook ever AND there’s pictures!) and I thought I’d share it with you. Cinnamon rolls in a fraction of the time and they got the thumbs up from Craig, so I knew they were good (*my husband is a total food snob and literally will not eat food that is not delicious…even if he’s super hungry…he’d rather starve).
Quick Cinnamon Buns
(From America’s Test Kitchen Cookbook)
Makes: 8
Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
*Melted butter is used in both the filling and the doug. Mest the total amount (7 Tbsp.) all at once and then use it as needed.
INGREDIENTS:
Filling:
3/4 c dark brown sugar
1/2 c granulated sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp cloves (I didn’t have any so I subbed allspice)
1 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
Dough:
2 1/2 c. flour (plus some for the counter)
2 Tbsp sugar
1 1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/4 c buttermilk (*If you don’t have any, you can add 1 Tbsp. white vinegar or lemon to 1 cup milk and let it sit for 5 minutes)
6 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
Glaze:
3 Tbsp cream cheese, softened
3 Tbsp buttermilk
1 1/2 c powdered sugar
DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 425 and spray or rub vegetable oil on a 9″ non-stick cake pan
2. Mix filling: Combine sugars, cinnamon, cloves, salt and 1 Tbsp of the melted butter in a bowl until the texture is like wet sand.
3. For dough: whisk flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a bowl. Whisk buttermilk and 2 Tbsp of melted butter in another bowl. Stir the buttermilk mixture into the flour mixture. Then turn the dough out onto a floured counter and knead it smooth (*make sure to flour your hands. I didn’t and it was awful. I had to add SO much extra flour to make my dough less sticky. You may need to add a little flour still, but I think floured hands would’ve definitely helped.
4. Press the dough out into a 9×12″ rectangle using your hands.
5. Brush the dough with 2 Tbsp of melted butter, then sprinkle cinnamon mixture onto it and press it gently into the dough.
6. Roll it up into a log using a bench scraper to keep the dough from sticking to the counter. Then cut the dough into even pieces (about 8) and place the buns in your (sprayed) pan and cook for 20-25 minutes or until edges are golden brown.
7. While buns are cooking mix your glaze: whisk cream cheese and buttermilk together in a large bowl until thick and smooth. Then sift the powdered sugar over it and whisk until smooth.
8. When the buns are done, loosen then from a pan and put them on a cooling rack. Place a piece of parchment paper under the rack (to contain the mess) and after they’ve had about 5 minutes to cool, spoon the glaze on top.
9. Scarf. Nothing is better than a warm gooey cinnamon roll!
xo
Lauren
Happy Birthday to Craig! The Lawyer’s birthday is today…good men must be born in August.
Those cinnamon rolls look amazing; great job! And, The Lawyer is looking over my shoulder reading this and says that he likes Fern’s card…lol!
YUM! They look soooooooooooo good!
I love Cinnamon rolls. They look easy enough for me to challenge. I cannot wait to have a smell of it in my house. Happy birthday to Craig:)
Your mom has quick and easy cinnamon buns!
Sorry. I had to. 😛
xoxo
You had me at cinnamon buns.
What a nice birthday treat 🙂
And I love Fern’s card!
Yeah, even someone who isn’t into birthdays can’t say no to a cinnamon roll. Good idea 🙂
Totally going to try this recipe! It looks amazing!