TODAY Food Club

My family absolutely loves this recipe for cinnamon buns. They are softer and a bit smaller than a traditional cinnamon roll. My husband prefers them this way! Every Christmas, I make these using the “to freeze” method for my mommy friends. What better gift to give my busy, exhausted mommy friends than the gift of not having to make breakfast at Christmas time?

I package up the rolls in round paper baking pans along with a container of powdered sugar and cinnamon for the glaze and a tag with directions to bake the buns and make the glaze. It is one of my favorite gifts to give! I also keep one batch in our freezer to have a simple Christmas morning breakfast.

Make Ahead Cinnamon Buns and Christmas Macarons

• Yield: 16 Cinnamon Buns
• Prep Time: 3 hr
• Cooking Time: 23 min

Dough Ingredients

• 3 ½ cups (14 ¾ oz.) Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
• 2 teaspoons instant yeast
• 2 tablespoons (¾ oz.) potato flour or ¼ cup instant potato flakes
• 2 tablespoons (¾ oz.) nonfat dry milk
• 3 tablespoons (1 ¼ oz.) granulated sugar
• 1 ½ teaspoons salt
• 4 tablespoons (2 oz.) soft or room-temperature butter
• ⅔ cup (5 ⅜ oz.) lukewarm water
• ½ cup (4 oz.) lukewarm milk

Filling Ingredients

• 2 teaspoons cinnamon

Topping Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons ( 1 oz.) melted butter

Glaze Ingredients

• 1 cup (4 oz.) confectioners’ sugar
• ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
• 3 ½ to 4 tablespoons (1 ½-2oz. ) cream or 2 to 3 tablespoons (1-1 1/2oz.) milk

Preparation

1. Combine all of the dough ingredients in a large bowl, and mix and knead — using your hands, a hand mixer, or a bread machine set on the dough cycle — to make a soft, smooth dough.
2. Place the dough in a lightly greased container — an 8-cup measure works well here — and allow the dough to rise for 60 to 90 minutes, until it’s just about doubled in bulk.
3. Gently deflate the dough, and transfer it to a lightly greased work surface.
4. Roll the dough into a 20″ long rectangle, about 12″ wide. This soft dough rolls easily, so you shouldn’t have much trouble with shrinking or “push back.”
5. Sprinkle 2 teaspoons cinnamon over the surface of the dough. A small sieve or tea strainer works well here.
6. Starting with a long side, roll the dough into a 24″ log; it’ll naturally stretch from its original 20″ to about 24″ as you roll. In order to make the neatest job of cutting out the buns, use a sharp knife to mark the log at 1 ½″ intervals.
7. Slice the dough into 1 ½″-thick buns. The neatest way to do this, by far, is by looping a piece of dental floss underneath the dough where you want to cut it, then pulling the ends in opposite directions. The floss will cut the dough neatly, without squashing it.
8. Lightly grease two 8″ round cake pans. Divide the buns between the two pans, spacing 8 in each pan.
9. Cover the pans, and allow the buns to rise till they’re crowded against one another and quite puffy, about 60 to 90 minutes. Towards the end of the rising time, preheat the oven to 350°F.
10. Uncover the buns, and bake them for 20 to 23 minutes, until they’re golden brown on top and the edges of the center bun spring back lightly when you touch it.

Recipe Tags

• Christmas
• Comfort Food
• Easy
• Winter
• Make Ahead
• Breakfast
• Dessert