Cinnamon Buns with Cream Cheese Icing Recipe

Every Wednesday my son Bill comes over for dinner. I always make him a nice home cooked meal and send him home with some leftovers. I also make dessert every Wednesday too. It is the only night of the week that dessert is guaranteed.

On the menu last week:

Crispy Chicken Alfredo with Broccoli and Rigatoni

I used boneless skinless chicken breasts that I brined for about 4 hours then breaded with a standard 3 dredge method – flour & cornstarch, egg & milk, Panko bread crumbs. I fried the chicken breasts to a golden brown in vegetable oil using my beloved cast iron skillet. I mixed a classic parmesan and cream alfredo sauce with rigatoni and reserved some of the sauce for the top of the chicken. Rigatoni is the perfect pasta for alfredo because all of that creamy cheesy goodness fills up those fat noodles nicely!

And for dessert:

Cinnamon Buns!

This is one of my favorite baking recipes! I love cinnamon buns gooey and doughy and sweet and sticky!!! My kitchen smells so amazing when these are in the oven. I will not lie – I used to be afraid of using yeast but when I found out that I needed to use it to make these I overcame that fear really really fast!! I have tried a few different recipes and this is the one that I like best. I’m not going to say that these are easy – as with any yeast dough recipes they are time consuming and can be a little tricky. But the way I see it, there is NO SUCH THING AS A BAD CINNAMON BUN!! So go for it!!

Cinnamon Buns with Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients
Dough
2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast (1 package or 1/4 oz or 7 g)
1 cup milk warm (250 ml)
1/2 cup granulated sugar (100 g)
1/3 cup margarine I used softened unsalted butter (75 g)
1 tsp salt (5 mL)
2 eggs
4 cups all-purpose flour (500 g)
Filling
1 cup brown sugar packed (200 g)
3 tbsp cinnamon (45 mL)
1/3 cup margarine softened ( 75 g)
Cream cheese icing
6 tbsp margarine I used unsalted butter (113 g)
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar (187 g) Coupons
1/4 cup cream cheese (55 g)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract (3 mL)
1/8 tsp salt
Instructions
For the rolls, dissolve the yeast in the warm milk in a large bowl. Let it sit for about 5 minutes. If the yeast is good, it will start to froth up.
Add sugar, butter, salt, eggs, and flour to the bowl of a mixer and mix well.
Pour the milk/yeast mixture in the bowl and using the dough hook, mix well until well incorporated.
Place dough into an oiled bowl, cover and let rise in a warm place about 1 hour or until the dough has doubled in size.
Roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface, until it is approx 16 inches long by 12 inches wide. It should be approx 1/4 inch thick.
Preheat oven to 350 F degrees. Grease a 9×13 inch baking pan.
To make filling, combine the butter or margarine, brown sugar and cinnamon in a bowl.
Spread the mixture evenly over the surface of the dough. Alternatively you can spread the butter first on the dough and then the brown sugar and cinnamon mixture.
Working carefully, from the long edge, roll the dough down to the bottom edge. The roll should be about 18 inches in length. Cut the roll into 1 1/2 inch slices. You might find it easier if you use a piece of floss vs a knife.
Place the cut rolls in the prepared pan. Cover them with a damp towel. Let them rise again for another 30 minutes until they double in size.
Bake for 20 minutes or until light golden brown. Cooking time can vary greatly!
While the rolls are baking make the icing by mixing all ingredients and beat well with an electric mixer until fluffy.
When the rolls are done, spread generously with icing.

Recipe source: Jo Cooks

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The only thing I do differently with this recipe is that I use unsalted butter instead of margarine. My husband was away when I made these so my lucky son got to bring home more leftover dessert than usual. It was for my own protection. I can easily eat a disgusting amount of cinnamon buns!!

Thanks for reading!

~ Tami