Starting Simple and Sweet

My favorite meal of all time is breakfast.  I would eat breakfast 3 meals a day if my husband would allow it.  He'd prefer the simplicity of Frosted Mini Wheats and a glass of juice.  Usually because he is much like a hungry bear coming out of a state of hibernation in the morning, breakfast is quick and to the point.  I find this such a pity.  Such a missed opportunity to ingest large quantities of fabulous carbohydrates.

There is something wonderful about carbohydrates.  Carbs are soothing to the soul, warming the cockles of our nostalgia.  There is also something magical about how quickly they assimilate themselves to the seemingly ever-growing muffin top.  It is this literal addition to ourselves, that adds significant pressure to the baking of goodies - they need to be worth it.   What's often worth it are cinnamon rolls.  But, cinnamon rolls can be hard to make, and some recipes are tediously long.  This is a great cinnamon roll recipe that I've tweaked on for years.  It is quick (an hour from start to rolls), refridgeratable, freezable, and absolutely delicious.  

Cinnamon Rolls/Sticky Buns:
adapted from a recipe from Strange Manor B&B in LaGrande, OR

Dough:
3 1/2 - 4 cups flour
3 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
5 tsp (2 pkgs) yeast
1 cup milk
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup butter
1/2 tsp vanilla

Start by nuking together the milk, water, and butter until sticking your finger in it hurts, but doesn't burn.  We want to activate the yeasty friends, but not kill them.  Add vanilla to hot mix.  While nuking, put 1 1/2 cups flour and other dry ingredients into a mixing bowl (Kitchenaid is the best).  Add hot mix to the ingredients beating slowly.  Add 1/2 cup of flour at a time until the dough is a solid mass, and is no longer sticking to the sides.  Knead until dough is elastic (this is my favorite part, the dough is warm and wonderful to knead!)  Place back in mixing bowl, cover with a towel and allow to rise for 15 minutes.

While the dough is rising, its time to make caramel sauce.  Caramel sauce is awesome stuff to make a big batch of and stick in your freezer.  It's scrumptious on poached pears, apple tarts, ice cream, etc.  This recipe makes about 3 times as much as you need for sticky buns, but its worth making extra to save for later - or half it if you want less!

Caramel Sauce:
1 1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup whipping cream (I've also made with half and half and it turns ok well)

Whisk sugar and butter together until butter fully melts.  Add cream and whisk until sugar fully dissolves and reaches consistency you want.  Make sure to keep heat on med/low as you don't want to burn the sauce!

Place a thin layer of the sauce into a 9x13 pan.  Sprinkle the top with 1/2 cup chopped nuts (I use walnuts).  *I often use 2 smaller 8x8 pans and freeze one. The rolls freeze really well.*

 Now take the dough and roll in out into a big rectangle about 1/2 inch thick.

Filling:
2 Tbsp melter butter
1/2 cup sugar
3 tsp cinnamon

Mix cinnamon and sugar together. Spread butter on top of dough, then sprinkle sugar mixture on top of butter.  Roll dough tightly into a long tube.  Cut dough log into 1 inch thick buns.  Place buns into prepared pan, snuggled together, sides touching.  You can stick them in the fridge at this point as well if you want to save time in the morning!

Rolled up Buns Ready for the Oven

Bake at 375 for 25 minutes.  Flip the pan while buns are still warm.  ENJOY!!!!

Baking Away!