Cinnamon Bubble Buns

Soooo these cinnamon buns were one of the recipes I made that I hated the way the picture turned out (must. get. my. Canon. soon!), but I decided they were just TOO good not to post.  I made them this past Sunday for a brunch I was having and I apologize as they are not the healthiest thing I've made, but sometimes a little indulging is a good thing!  Plus you deserve it after a long week!  (Least that's my justification....hehe)  I got this recipe from one of my favorite baking blogs Sprinkled With Flour and made it exactly the way she did so I take no credit!  They're really incredible and everyone enjoyed them!  You could definitely substitute the sugar for Splenda sugar blend, but I wanted to try these the good ol' fashioned sinful way :)  For that reason I decided to leave out the nutritional information since.....well, let's be real people, it's not gonna be pretty!  I promise I'll have some healthy dishes to share this week to make up for these, but just enjoy them!

Here are your ingredients:

For the dough:

1 package active dry yeast (2 1/4 tsp)

1/4 cup warm water

3 Tbsp. unsalted light butter, melted

2/3 cup low-fat sour cream

3 Tbsp. sugar

1 large egg

1 tsp. vanilla extract

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for kneading

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. baking soda

For the cinnamon-sugar coating:

2/3 cup packed light brown sugar

2 tsp. cinnamon

6 Tbsp. unsalted light butter, melted

For the vanilla glaze:

1 1/4 cups powdered sugar

1 Tbsp. unsalted light butter, melted

1 Tbsp. milk

1 tsp. vanilla extract

In a large mixing bowl, sprinkle the yeast over the water and let it stand until bubbly, 5 to 10 minutes.  Stir in the butter, sour cream, sugar, egg and vanilla.  Beat in 2 cups of the flour, salt and baking soda until combined.  Add the remaining 1/2 cup flour and continue mixing until a smooth, soft dough forms. 

Turn the dough out onto a lightly flour surface (keep your mixing bowl handy) and knead it until smooth, about 3 minutes.  As you knead, add more flour if the dough is sticky, no more than 2 Tbsp. though.  Place the dough back in the mixing bowl and cover with plastic wrap.  Let the dough rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.

Lightly grease a 12-cup muffin pan, then flour the cups and tap out the excess.  In a small bowl, blend the sugar and cinnamon for the coating.  Place the melted butter in a small dish and set aside.  Gently punch down the dough to deflate it.  Form it into a long cylinder and divide it into 12 equal portions.  Using kitchen scissors or a sharp knife, divide each of the 12 portions into 6 equal pieces, then roll each piece into a ball. 

To make a bun, dip six of the balls in melted butter, then roll them in the cinnamon-sugar mixture.  Arrange five of the balls in the bottom of the muffin cup.  With your fingertip, make a small well and press the sixth ball in the center.  Repeat with the remaining dough balls.  Loosely cover the buns with plastic wrap and let them rise in a warm place until they're puffy and double in size, about 40 minutes.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Bake the buns on the center rack until golden, about 20-22 minutes.  Transfer the pan to a wire rack placed over a sheet of waxed paper or aluminum foil to cool for about 5 minutes.  Now tilt the pan and gently tap it on the counter to release the buns.  If needed, you can use a knife to release them from the pan.  Place the buns on the wire rack.

In a small bowl, combine the ingredients for the glaze and stir until smooth.  If the glaze is too thick, you can thin it out by adding 1 tsp. water at a time.  Brush each bun with the glaze.  Serve immediately or at room temperature.

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