{ cinnamon swirl buns }

Baking is relaxing, and is always a guaranteed stress reducer for me. This is why it shouldn't be done only on the weekends; it's the best Monday night activity after the first day back to work. And these cinnamon swirl buns make you extra happy to wake early the next day. The left-overs are perfect with morning coffee.

Ingredients (makes 16)

- 1 cup (2.4 dl) milk
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- 3  1/2 cups (8.3 dl) flour
- 1/2 cup (1.2 dl) sugar
- 1 egg
- 2  1/2 teaspoons dry yeast
- 1 teaspoon salt

Filling

- 3/4 cup (1.8 dl) brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons cinnamon
- 1/4 cup (0.6 dl) unsalted butter, room temperature

Frosting

- 4 ounces (115 g) cream cheese
- 1 cup confectioner's sugar
- 1/4 cup (0.6 dl) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

First, prepare the dough. You can use a mixer or do it by hand. Combine melted butter and milk. Add 1 cup flour, sugar, egg, yeast and salt. Fresh yeast works great as well, just follow the package instructions to use the right amount for the flour and the liquid.

Beat for a few minutes, and add the rest of the flour. Reduce the speed in the mixer, and beat until the dough is moist and sticky. Add more flour if the dough is too moist until it comes off the sides easy. Knead for 5 minutes on floured surface. Transfer the dough into an oiled bowl, cover and let rise for 2 hours.

For the filling, mix brown sugar and cinnamon in a separate bowl. Roll out the dough on well floured surface. Spread butter on the dough and sprinkle with the cinnamon sugar mix. Roll and cut the bar of dough into 16 pieces.

Place the buns into a buttered square oven dish (deep, around 10 x 13 inches/25 cm x 33 cm). Cover and let rise for 40 minutes. The buns should double in size.

Bake at 375 F (190 C) for 25 minutes until golden. Remove from the pan, and place on a rack to cool down while you make the frosting. Using an electric mixer, beat the frosting ingredients together until even. Spoon frosting on top the buns.

Serve the buns when still a bit warm with a glass of milk at night, and with that super needed cup of coffee in the morning. What a stress eliminator!

{ recipe }
adapted from smitten kitchen

Comments

[Outi / White Country]

What a great idea to add frosting to cinnamon buns!

[Katja]

mmmm, näyttävät tosi hyviltä. näistä olen haaveillut jo pitkään, en ole syönyt niitä ikuisuuksiin! (Onko se outoa että mun haaveet pyörii ruokien ympärillä?!:))

[tiina]

Outi and Katja, Finnish people have a lot of memories of cinnamon rolls, don't you think! I thought I would try a new version of them, and this recipe truly merges my two home cultures, Finnish and American. I like to call the glaze 'the cheesecake frosting'. Kannattaa kokeilla!

[Cookie Cutter]

Oh, I love cinnamon rolls! There was a huge craze when the Saint Cinnamon chain brought cinnamon rolls to Singapore many years back. Yours just looks so much healthier and packed with goodness. Yum!