CINNAMON BUNS!!

I set out this morning to test two different doughs for my cinnamon buns, each a little different. The first was going well until I realized it didn't even rise! And when they baked they were hard as a rock. Let's just say it was not going well and my hopes of a perfect cinnamon bun were going in the rubbish bin. Although a little discouraged I decided to test my other dough. Everything seemed to be going well. While I let it rest for an hour I went on a bike ride to clear my head. So nice outside!! Cinnamon bun testing can be frustrating! Magically when I got back the dough had risen and the smell of yeast filled the kitchen. A good sign. So I rolled out the dough on a lightly floured surface. If you have too much flour on your work surface it will incorporate into your dough and alter the texture. Too much flour can be bad, so light with the dusting flour people. Then I spread the filling, leaving a 1 inch border and rolled her up. This dough rolled up very nicely, I was excited! I made big buns and cut the roll into 6 even pieces. You could cut smaller ones but I think cinnamon buns should be extremely large. Think of the ones at the mall! For their second resting period I lined a cake pan with a circle of parchment and lightly oiled it. Then placed the cut buns in and covered the pan with a towel. 45 minutes later they were ready for the oven. Before baking I brushed them lightly with some melted earth balance. I baked them at 375 for about 35 minutes, just till they were lightly golden on top. While they were still warm I spread the glaze over top. These smelled sooo good! I had to of course test them so thats why one is half eaten in the pictures! I am extremely happy with these buns but ultimately I want these buns to be completely agave sweetened. I am very close, just have to alter the dough a little bit. The dough only had 1/3 cup of sugar so that shouldn't be too hard. Yay!!!!

These buns have been one of the hardest things to recreate. 
I gave myself a pat on the back : )
This week I will post the recipe for banana muffins and I'm working on a thin-mint style cookie. Gotta love those girl scout cookies!    - kb