Passport & Plate - Buttermilk Cinnamon Sticky Buns
USA | Tuesday, March 3, 2015 | 4 photos
Ingredients
For the entire recipe
8 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
Cinnamon-Sugar Filling
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon table salt
Dough
2-1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1-1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1-1/2 cups buttermilk
Glaze
4 tablespoons cream cheese, softened
2-3 tablespoons buttermilk, room temperature
3-4 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar
1/2 teaspoons Vanilla Bean Paste (optional)
How to prepare this recipe1. Adjust oven rack to the middle rack and heat oven to 425 degrees. Pour 1-2 tablespoons of melted butter in a 9-inch nonstick cake pan; brush to coat pan (you can also use oil or shortening)
2. Combine Cinnamon-Sugar filling ingredients in small bowl. Add 1-2 tablespoons melted butter and stir with fork or fingers until mixture resembles wet sand; put the filling mixture aside
3. Whisk flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in large bowl. Whisk buttermilk and 2 tablespoons melted butter in small bowl. Add liquid to flour mixture and stir with wooden spoon until liquid is absorbed and just combined. Transfer dough to lightly floured work surface and knead until just smooth and no longer shaggy, about 5 minutes.
4. Roll dough into approximately a 12 by 9-inch rectangle. Brush dough with 2 tablespoons melted butter. Sprinkle evenly with filling, leaving 1/2-inch border of plain dough around edges. Press filling firmly into dough.
5.Using a scraper or spatula and loosen dough from work surface. Starting at long side, roll dough, pressing lightly, to form a tight log. Pinch seam to seal.
6. Roll log seam-side down and cut evenly into eight pieces. Turn pieces onto its side so spiral pattern faces up. Slightly flatten each piece of dough with palm to seal open edges and keep filling in place.
7. Place one roll in center of prepared nonstick pan, then place remaining seven rolls around perimeter of pan. Brush with remaining 2 tablespoons remaining melted butter. Bake until edges are golden brown, about 25-28 minutes. Cool buns in pan for 5 minutes.
8. While your buns are cooling, whisk cream cheese, buttermilk, and vanilla bean paste in small bowl until thick and smooth. Add confectioners’ sugar 1 tablespoon at a time; whisk until smooth glaze forms, about 30 seconds. Drizzle glaze evenly over buns and enjoy!
The story behind this recipeSome of my most cherished memories while growing up entailed numerous weekends spent at my old English grandmother’s home, where I learned the real tricks and trades of the kitchen. I was seven years old when my parents divorced and it dawned on me that my grandmother’s cozy little New Jersey cottage, was actually my weekend safe haven. Each weekend was entirely spent in the kitchen learning recipes passed down for generations, eating the junk food that I never knew existed, and staying up later then I should’ve been allowed.
The first recipe my grandmother taught me was her mother’s classic, sticky and superior cinnamon buns- hailed all the way from England (according to her). Each sentimental detail that goes into making one wholesome batch of buns corresponds with a guaranteed rich, heavenly feeling after every bite. I chose this recipe because these delectable cinnamon buns remind me of my grandmother in every way; she was the sweetest woman I knew, with a sticky healing power, whose laughter warmed your soul in just one dose.
When I was sixteen, my Grandmother was diagnosed with leukemia and passed away. I will never cease to admire how much pride she took in her cooking. To this day, the many aromas that linger from a kitchen instantly bring me back to those weekends with my grandmother. This recipe represents more than just a decadent dessert; it represents the memories of my grandmother, the spark she had on my culinary future, and that warm, irreplaceable feeling of her presence characterized by every bite of this bun.
