Cinnamon Buns

ADAPTED from Smitten Kitchen and 101 Cookbooks

MAKES 40 buns or enough to feed a middle school staff Christmas breakfast

INGREDIENTS FOR DOUGH: 7 cups of flour, 2 cups of milk, 1 stick of butter, 2 packets of yeast, 1 teaspoon of salt, 1 cup of sugar, 2 eggs

INGREDIENTS FOR FILLING: 3/4 stick of butter, 1 cup of brown sugar, 2 tablespoons of cinnamon, zest of one lemon, pinch of salt

INGREDIENTS FOR GLAZE: 6 ounces of cream cheese, 1 cup of powdered sugar, 1/2 a stick of butter

DIRECTIONS: Melt butter in two cups of milk. Transfer to to stand mixing bowl or large bowl. Add sugar, yeast, salt, eggs, and 2 cups of flour and mix on low speed. Gradually add flour until completely incorporated and the dough is pulling from the sides of the bowl. Knead the dough for 8 minutes or continue mixing with a stand mixer until dough is shiny and smooth. Transfer to a big oiled bowl and cover. Let it rise undisturbed for 2 hours.

Meanwhile, mix the sugar, cinnamon, zest, and salt of the filling ingredients together. Let the butter come to room temperature and preheat the oven to 375F.

After two hours, divide the dough in half and roll out on a floured surface into a rectangle the size of a cookie sheet. Leaving a 1-inch margin on all sides, butter the dough and then coat with the sugar mixture. Roll into a log (a long log, not a short one) and slice into one inch slices.

Transfer to a lined cookie sheet. Here you can either freeze them for an hour and then put them in a ziplock baggie, or let them rise again for 45 minutes or until doubled in volume.

Bake for twenty minutes. Meanwhile, beat the ingredients for the glaze together. When the puppies are done, invert them on a tray and let them cool for ten minutes. Smear generously with glaze and enjoy.

NOTES: Best enjoyed while watching this video.

If you have chosen to freeze the buns, simply take them out of the freezer the night/ 5-6 hours before you would like to enjoy them/ feed them to other people. And then follow the previous instructions.