Kelly Rossiter
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I remember a mother's day breakfast in bed where one of my kids bounced a bit too hard and a full pot of tea shot off the tray and onto the carpet. Now I have hardwood floors and eat my breakfast at the dining room table. But that's me. If you like a lie in with the newspapers on a lazy morning, then you might like to have your breakfast in bed, especially on Valentine's day. Given that it falls on a Saturday this year, breakfast in bed is a definite possibility.
If you want to give your sweetheart a little more time sleeping while you put these cinnamon buns together as a surprise, it won't take you long. There is no yeast involved, and they bake in about 20-25 minutes. The recipe called for pecans, which I didn't use, but you could substitute raisins (soak them in warm water while you make the dough to plump them up) if you prefer. I just made them straight. The original recipe called for 1/2 teaspoon of allspice and it was too much. I think really a 1/8 or 1/4 teaspoon of allspice is all that is required. I gave my mother some of the buns and after the first bite she said "too much cinnamon" then the second bite she said, "nope, too much allspice".
Don't be put off by the length of the recipe. The dough was really easy to make, it rolled up with no trouble at all and the end result was pretty addictive. I made mine in a cake pan because my springform pan was too large, and it worked out perfectly.
Cinnamon Buns
For the dough
3/4 cup cottage cheese (4&perc; milk fat)
1/3 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 oz. (4 Tbs.) unsalted butter, melted
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
9 oz. (2 cups) unbleached all-purpose flour; more for rolling
1 Tbs. baking powder
1/2 tsp. table salt
1/4 tsp. baking soda
For the filling
3/4 oz. (1-1/2 Tbs.) unsalted butter, melted
2/3 cup packed light or dark brown sugar
1-1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground allspice
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
1 cup (4 oz.) chopped pecans, chopped finely
For the glaze
2-1/2 oz. (scant 2/3 cup) confectioners' sugar
2 to 3 Tbs. cold whole or low-fat milk
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
- Heat the oven to 400°F. Grease the sides and bottom of a 9- or 10-inch springform pan.
- In a food processor, combine the cottage cheese, buttermilk, sugar, melted butter, and vanilla. Process until smooth, about 10 seconds. Add the flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda and pulse in short bursts just until the dough clumps together. The dough will be soft and moist.
- Pour the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead it with floured hands 4 or 5 times until smooth. With a rolling pin, roll the dough into a 12x15-inch rectangle.
- Brush the dough with the melted butter, leaving a 1/2-inch border unbuttered around the edges. In a medium bowl, combine the brown sugar, cinnamon, allspice, and cloves. Sprinkle the mixture over the buttered area of the dough and pat gently into the surface. Sprinkle the nuts over the sugar mixture. Starting at a long edge, roll up the dough jelly-roll style. Pinch the seam to seal, and leave the ends open. With a sharp knife, cut the roll into 12 equal pieces. Set the pieces, cut side up, in the prepared pan; they should fill the pan and touch slightly, but don’t worry if there are small gaps.
- Bake until golden brown and firm to the touch, 20 to 28 minutes. Set the pan on a wire rack to cool for 5 minutes. Run a spatula around the inside edge of the pan and remove the springform ring. Transfer the rolls to a serving plate.
- In a small bowl, mix the confectioners' sugar, 2 Tbsp milk, and vanilla to make a smooth glaze. It should have a thick but pourable consistency, so add up to 1 Tbsp more milk if necessary. Drizzle the glaze over the rolls. Let stand 15 minutes and serve.
Difficulty Level: Easy
From Fine Cooking via The Kitchen Therapy.
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