Friday, June 28, 2013

cinnamon yumyums

Yes, I did find these in the "cooking with kids" section of a cookbook this morning. But from what I've found those are the best sections of a cookbook. The recipes are quick, simple and always delicious. After all, if you proclaim its good for cooking with kids, it has to please a kid. And they are tough to please (if spending all day with 6 year olds has taught me anything).

These are not quite traditional cinnamon buns, as they are made like a biscuit or scone rather than like a bun, which is made using yeast and left to rise. Basically they are simple and super quick to make. I love cinnamon buns, but I've only made them once before and that was mostly just to try it out. I can rarely predict my cravings for cinnamon buns, so the whole "rising overnight" thing isn't really practical (or even a recipe that calls for rising 2 hours before I want them, gosh forbid, is far too long). My patience for dough is thin and my forethought in making it is rare. If I wake up in the morning craving cinnamon buns, then this is just the recipe.

Because of the lack of yeast, it's not quite fair to call them cinnamon "buns". The texture really is different, but I was actually quite the fan of the cinnamon scented biscuit like rollup thing.* Therefore, cinnamon "yumyums"* they shall be called. So go ahead and try them, they are indeed quite yumyummy with a cup of tea and super fun to eat by unwinding each buttery, cinnamony layer.

Cinnamon YumYums
adapted from Buttercup Bakes at Home

Dough:
1 1/4 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tbsp sugar
1/4 cup butter, cut into small pieces
1 egg
1/4 cup milk

Filling:
2-3 tbps brown sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tbsp butter, cut into small pieces

Icing:
Mix together ~1/2 cup confectioners sugar with a few drops of milk. Stir and add slightly more milk for a thinner icing.

For the dough, mix together the flour, baking powder and sugar. Mix in the butter with your fingertips until the mixture is crumbly and resembles a coarse oatmeal. It's okay if there are some larger chunks and some smaller bits of butter. Mix the egg into the milk and then add to the flour mixture until just combined.
Turn the mixture out onto a floured surface and gently knead it together until it forms a dough. Pat or roll it out into a 10 inch square. Spread the butter, brown sugar and cinnamon onto the surface of the dough, leaving some space at the top and bottom edges. Roll the dough into a log and cut in half. Cut each half in half again until you have 8 even pieces.
Arrange the dough on a baking sheet or in a pie pan (I like using a pie pan, it reminds me of making the PIllsbury rolls), allowing the sides to touch. Bake at 375 for 15-18 minutes until golden brown. Drizzle the icing over the buns before serving.

*sometimes my eloquence in descriptive language astounds me too 
* there's the eloquence thing again. But that is actually what they were named, I can't take credit for it even though I would love to

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