I may or may not have shared previously that I was scheduled for and since, had undergone major surgery a week ago. It was a successful procedure, but to be completely honest, I was truly scared about it. And I could never have prepared myself for the consequences. It was an abdominal surgery, and so as you can imagine, any small movement could trigger pain. Fortunately, I had no adverse effects to the anesthesia, and my pain was relatively tolerable without much movement.
So for the last week and a half, I’ve had to force my usual high energy getup-n-go-self to literally sit and rest, with little movement all day. ALLLL.DAAAAY.LOOOONG. Just me and the couch mostly, with my at-home nurse/husband at my beck and call. It’s been the perfect harmony of simultaneously feeling spoiled and being held in captivity!
By day 11 post-surgery, I was of course going a little stir-crazy. Not gonna lie, though, I do love being home. I’m not the cabin-fever type. I mean, I loooove staying home. I love enjoying my home. Especially since most days my 9-5 (from which I’m blessed to have time off for this surgery) keeps me away from home, you know, the way most jobs do. 🙃
Back to my stir-crazy: I realized how beautiful the weather was outside after a number of grey and rainy skies. And I wanted to enjoy some fresh air. So the hubs and I took a little drive to the center of town and had a lovely stroll through the park while snapping a few pictures. I may have pushed it a bit moving around so much, but it was a nice break to be outside.
When we returned home, I felt inspired to come back to life in the same way the weather resurrected itself by baking something to make me feel alive again.
CinnaBOMB Cinnamon Buns
Ingredients
- 3¾ c AP flour
- 1 package (1¼ oz) active dry yeast
- ½ c whole milk
- ½ c sour cream or greek yogurt (full fat)
- ¼ c sugar
- 6 TB unsalted butter
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
- ½ c plus 4 TB unsalted butter, softened & divided
- ¾ c packed dark brown sugar
- 2 TB ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp ground cardamom (optional) -1½ c chopped walnuts or walnut pieces (optional)
- 4 oz cream cheese, softened
- 1¼ c powdered sugar
- 4 TB whole milk
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
Cinnamon Bun Dough
Filling & Frosting
Directions
- Use a standing mixer and paddle attachment to combine flour and yeast on low speed for 30 seconds.
- In a small saucepan over medium low heat, combine milk, sour cream (or gr yogurt), sugar, butter and salt. Melt ingredients together, stirring often, until mixture heats to 115° F (a candy thermometer works best). Remove from heat.
- Turn mixer to low speed, and slowly add milk mixture and egg to flour and yeast until dough begins to form.
- Switch to the hook attachment on the standing mixer, and mix dough on medium speed for approximately 4-5 minutes, until the dough is elastic and no longer sticking to sides of the bowl.
- Spray nonstick cooking spray into a large bowl, and place dough into bowl, flipping it once or twice to cover it with nonstick spray. Cover bowl with a kitchen towel, and place in a warm place, allowing dough to rest and rise for 1 hour 30 minutes – 2 hours. Dough should double in size.
- After dough has doubled in size, punch the dough down into the bowl (just once with a close fist). Remove the dough from the bowl, and place it onto a lightly floured surface.
- Delicately roll the dough into a rectangular 12″X14″ shape. (Try not to overwork/press down too hard on the dough with rolling pin – we want fluffy cinnamon buns!) Use an offset or regular spatula to spread the 1/2 c softened unsalted butter evenly on the dough.
- In a small bowl, combine the brown sugar, cinnamon and cardamom together. Sprinkle the mixture over the buttered dough evenly, and follow by sprinkling the walnuts evenly as well.
- Slowly and tightly roll the dough starting from the long 14″ side into a log. Pinch the final long edge to form a closed seam across the roll. Cut the roll into 9-10 even pieces.
- Spray a 9″X13″ baking dish or an 8″ (or 10″) cast iron skillet with nonstick cooking spray. Evenly space the 9-10 cinnamon buns into the baking dish or skillet. Cover again with a dish towel, and place in a warm area in the kitchen for 45 minutes-1 hour to rest and rise a little more.
- Preheat oven to 350° F. Uncover cinnamon buns, and bake for 30 minutes until they are golden in color.
- In a medium bowl, on medium speed use a hand mixer to beat 4 TB of softened butter and cream cheese together. Add powdered sugar, milk and vanilla extract, and whip for 1-2 minutes until icing is smooth.
- Remove buns from oven and cool for 30 minutes on a baking rack while still in the baking dish or skillet.
- Use a spatula to add icing on buns while they are warm. Enjoy as much or as little icing as you desire.
Cinnamon Bun Dough
Filling & Finishing
Eat and enjoy, because Cinnabon aint got nothin on your homemade CINNABOMBS!
♥ – G2GS
