Cinnamon Honey Buns

I go through a lot of honey in my house because it adds both sweetness and flavor. The majority of it probably gets used as a drizzle over my daily Greek yogurt addiction but I love baking with it as well. As you know, I also write the Middle Eastern cuisine column for About.com Food and honey is a common ingredient in Middle Eastern cooking. So, I guess I'm saying I should probably just buy it by the case.

 

Last month I was walking past one of the breakfast cart vendors (coffee, bagels and breakfast pastry) that are so common on New York streets in the mornings and I noticed the honey buns. Oh, I love those. Except that they're not really honey flavored. They're really a glazed, cinnamon doughnut/pastry thing but I guess they look like the old pre-wrapped honey buns we used to buy in convenience stores.
 

So I got to thinking that I should try to make a breakfast pastry that actually is a honey bun and, fortunately, I had plenty of honey around. I took a basic sweet yeast dough, added honey to the mix and honey to the filling and maybe a little more to the glaze. And I got a little creative by cutting the dough in thirds and braiding it. You can skip that part if it's too fussy for you but I promise it's not hard. If you're comfortable making cinnamon rolls then this will be no big deal. And if you haven't made any, this is as good a place to start. It's certainly a delicious place to start and my new favorite way to begin the day. Enjoy!

Yield: 8 Servings

Author: Anita Schecter

Cinnamon Honey Buns

Prep time: 1 HourCook time: 25 Mininactive time: 1 HourTotal time: 2 H & 25 M

Recipe for sweet yeast buns rolled with honey and cinnamon and topped with a cinnamon honey glaze.

Ingredients

For the Buns:

• 1/2 Cup milk (between 105 and 110 degrees F)
• 2 (1/4 oz.) packages yeast
• 1 Tablespoon sugar
• 2 Eggs
• 2 Tablespoons sugar
• 1 Tablespoon honey
• 1 Stick unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 2 1/2 Cups all purpose flour plus extra for kneading the dough
• 3/4 Teaspoon salt

For the Filling:

• 1 Tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
• 1 Tablespoon honey
• 1 Tablespoon sugar
• 12 Teaspoon cinnamon

For the Glaze:

• 1 Tablespoon unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• 5 Tablespoons powdered sugar
• 1 Tablespoon milk
• 1 Tablespoon honey
• 1/8 Teaspoon cinnamon
• Pinch of salt

Instructions

1. In a small bowl, stir together the warm milk, yeast and sugar. Let stand for 10 minutes until it's foaming.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix together the eggs, honey and sugar. Add the yeast mixture and beat until incorporated. Beat in the butter. Switch to the dough hook and beat in the flour and salt. Continue kneading for about 10 minutes.
3. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and continue kneading by hand for a minute until smooth. Place the dough in a buttered bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let sit in a warm spot for an hour to rise. The dough should double in size.
4. In a small bowl combine the melted butter and honey and, in a separate small bowl, the sugar and cinnamon. Punch down the risen dough and place on a floured surface. Roll out to approximately a 12" square. Spread the honey butter evenly over the surface and then sprinkle on the cinnamon sugar. Cut the dough into three even pieces, roll each piece like a jelly roll and loosely braid the three together. You can also skip the slicing and braiding and just roll the entire log.
5. Cut into 8 even pieces and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Cover loosely with a kitchen towel and let sit for about 15 minutes while you pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. Bake for 25 minutes.
6. Make the glaze by whisking together the butter, powdered sugar, milk, honey, cinnamon and salt. Drizzle over the warm baked buns.