Homemade Cinnamon Buns

The smell of cinnamon wafting through the house.  The taste of buttery bun and gooey sugary cinnamon on your tongue.  Let's create some memories with this recipe! 

On one of my trips up to King Arthur Flour, I grabbed a bag of the Baker's Cinnamon Filling for cinnamon bread and buns.  I finally had a chance to use it to make some very tasty cinnamon rolls the other day.  Did I mention VERY tasty?  Warm, sticky, gooey tasty?  Maybe I did, but if not - they are!

I started with a recipe on the King Arthur Flour website called Carl's Cinnamon Rolls. This recipe made a few more than I needed, so I scrolled down the page to a reduced yield version that sounded a bit more like what I was looking for.

I tweaked the recipe a bit, so here it is:

Homemade Cinnamon Buns

Dough
1/4 cup water
2 teaspoons instant yeast
1 cup milk
4 3/4 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup melted butter 
optional: spray oil 

Filling 
1 cup KAF Baker's Cinnamon Filling
3 tbsp water

Icing
1/2 cup butter, melted
2 cups confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon orange extract

Directions
1. Pre-heat oven to 350.
2. Dissolve the yeast and 1/2 teaspoon sugar in the lukewarm water and set aside.
3. Combine the rest of the dough ingredients in a large bowl and mix. Once it's combined, you need to knead the dough for about 5 minutes.  I like using my mixer with the dough hook. It's fun to watch! The dough should be smooth when you are done. 
4. Turn the dough into a lightly greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and allow the dough to rise for 1 to 2 hours till increased in bulk.
5.  Once it's risen, roll out on a floured surface the size you want.  I filled my cutting board - so it was about 12" x 18".
6.  Make the cinnamon filling.  I purposely bought some of the KAF's Baker's filling for this purpose and have been dying to try it!  You mix 1 cup of mix with 3 tbsp water, stir and then spread on the dough.
7. Once it's covered, roll the dough into a log - starting at the long edge.  Pinch to seal the finished edges.
8.  Time to cut it - I cut the log in half, cut each of those halves in half and then each of those pieces in thirds to get 12 equal slices.  They were just over 1" thick.
9. Grease the pan you'll be using and then set the buns in it.  I sprayed them with coconut oil before putting them in the oven.
10. Bake for 30-35 minutes.
11. While they are baking, mix up the icing.  Taste test and adjust.
12. Remove the buns from the oven and drizzle with icing.  OMG... amazing!  

Note: 
We found these fantastic day old if you just pop them in the microwave for 45-60 seconds and frost.  I didn't ice them when I first made them because we weren't eating them right away.  (I know, crazy, right?)

Here's a couple more images for you... if you NEED more convincing!

Here is the cinnamon mixture spread on the dough.

In the oven, ready to go!  This is a 9" x 13" baking pan.

Enjoy and let me know how yours come out!
Carrie