Cinnamon Buns with Buttermilk Icing

Recently, I've been getting more and more into baking. Blame my cold in December, or a sudden interest in being a more useful wife, but it's a new hobby that's testing both my patience and my ability to stay petite in spite of all the sugar and butter I'm eating these days.

After a few frustrating attempts at trying to find a good source for recipes, I finally caved and purchased Baking Illustrated, published by Cooks Illustrated Magazine. Thanks to Susan/Alfred for introducing me to this amazing magazine! I'll have to get a subscription soon.

Our first attempt is their recipe for Cinnamon Buns without yeast! Yes, you CAN make cinnamon buns with just baking powder.

What I like about this book is that there's always a narrative before each major recipe that describes the steps and thought-process that were taken to develop the recipe. For example, for the below recipe, they went through a series of different options for the liquid base: heavy cream, whole milk, skim milk, and buttermilk. They concluded that whole milk made the buns too heavy, and skim milk made the dough too rough and bland. Buttermilk won out.

You'll need exactly one stick of melted butter. Melt it all at once and use as you need it. The buns are best eaten warm, but can hold up well for up to 2 hours.

Ingredients
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted, for greasing the pan.

Cinnamon-Sugar Filling
3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted

Biscuit Dough
2 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, plus additional flour for work surface
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups buttermilk
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled

Icing
2 tablespoons cream cheese, softened
2 tablespoons buttermilk
1 cup confectioners' sugar

Instructions
1. Adjust an oven rack to the upper-middle position and heat the oven to 425-degrees. Pour 1 tablespoon of the melted butter into a 9-inch nonstick round cake pan, brush to coat the pan.

2. FOR THE FILLING: Combine the sugars, spices, and salt in a small bowl. Add 1 tablespoon of the melted butter and stir with a fork until the mixture resembles wet sand. Set aside. This is key - make sure the mixture is like wet sand. Ours turned out a little too dry with this and as a result, our filling had a hard time staying inside the buns.

3. FOR THE DOUGH: Whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Whisk the buttermilk and 2 tablespoons of the melted butter in a measuring cup or a small bowl. Add the liquid to the dry ingredients and stir with a wooden spoon until the dough is absorbed for 30 seconds. The dough will look very shaggy. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface and knead until just smooth and no longer shaggy.

4. Pat the dough with your hands into a 12 by 9-inch rectangle. Brush the dough with 2 tablespoons of the melted butter. Sprinkle the filling evenly onto the dough, leaving a 1/2-inch border of plain dough around the edges. Press the filling firmly into the dough. Using a bench scraper or metal spatula, loosen the dough from the work surface. Starting at the long side, roll the dough, pressing lightly to form a tight log. Pinch the seam to seal. Roll the log seam-side down and cut it evenly into 8 pieces. With your hand, slightly flatten each piece of dough to seal the open edges and keep the filling in place. Place 1 roll in the center of the prepared nonstick pan, then place the remaining 7 rolls around the perimeter of the pan. Brush the remaining 2 tablespoons butter.

5. Bake until the edges of the buns are golden brown, 23-25 minutes. Use an offset metal spatula to loosen the buns from the pan. Wearing oven mitts, place a large plate over the pan and invert the buns onto the plate. Then, place a greased cooling rack over the plate and invert the buns onto the rack. Cool for about 5 minutes before icing.


we didn't realize we needed to roll the dough so tight, so our filling made a bit of a mess


but it's nothing a little sugar buttermilk glaze can't hide

6. While the buns are cooling, line some parchment paper underneath the buns/cooling rack to avoid making a mess. Whisk the cream cheese and the buttermilk in a large bowl until thick and smooth. It will look like cottage cheese at first. Sift the confectioners' sugar over the mixture and whisk until a smooth glaze forms, about 30 seconds. Then, spoon the glaze over the buns. Serve immediately.



Enjoy!