Oh hey there!  Today we're drooling over cinnamon buns.  Eggnog cinnamon buns to be exact!  The best part about them?  They take less than 90 minutes!  Heck yeah!

I don't bake a ton of bread, mostly because I lack the patience it takes.  I'm hoping that this is something I get better at, since my mom makes buns every Saturday, and it is basically heaven.  So, the fact that these cinnamon buns don't take a million years makes me a very happy girl!

Of course, since it's nearly Christmas, I used eggnog in the place of milk in both the dough as well as the glaze.  I'm not even the biggest fan of eggnog, but it's pretty darn delicious when it's baked into bread!

Eggnog Cinnamon Buns

recipe: adapted from GoofyDebbie
yields: 12 cinnamon buns

ingredients:

1/4 cup water

2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast 

1/4 cup white sugar (1 tablespoon for yeast mixture, 3 tablespoons in the rest of the dough)

3/4 cup eggnog

1/4 cup butter

3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 egg

filling:

1 cup brown sugar, packed

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

1/2 cup butter, softened

directions:

In a small bowl, add water, a tablespoon of white sugar, and yeast.  Stir together and set aside to rise.

In a small saucepan, melt together eggnog and butter on a medium heat, stirring constantly.  Allow to cool slightly.

In a large mixing bowl, add 2 1/4 cups of flour, remaining 3 tablespoons of white sugar, and salt.  Stir in yeast and egg, and mix well.  Add in eggnog and butter mixture.  Add in remaining cup of flour, 1/2 cup at a time.  Stir well until dough comes away from the sides of the bowl.

Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface, and knead for 5 minutes until smooth (it's better if you're dough's a little sticky here, rather than adding too much flour).

Cover with a clean, damp cloth, and let rest for 10 minutes.

Mix together the brown sugar, cinnamon, and soft butter.

Roll dough out into a 9x12 rectangle (*hint: the pan you'll be placing them in is a 9x13 in case you need an idea of measurements).

Spread butter-sugar mixture evenly across the dough.  Then, roll up the long side of the dough as tight as you can.  Pinch the seam where it ends, so that it doesn't come apart.  Use either a serrated knife to cut the roll into 12 even pieces, or you can use a piece of plain floss (slide it under the dough, bring it up, cross over each other, and cut).  

*Hint: I often trim the ends of the roll off and bake it in a mini pan to help the buns stay more even!

Arrange the twelve buns into a greased 9x13 pan.  (stop here and follow instructions below for overnight buns). Cover with a clean dish towel, and allow to rise for 30 minutes in a warm place.

Bake at 375 degrees F for 18-20 minutes, or until the buns are nice and golden brown on top.

Overnight instructions: After placing buns into the pan, do not let them rise again! Simply cover and refrigerate overnight. The next morning, remove and let them rise for about 45 minutes, or until nice and puffed. Bake as directed.

Serve warm with a generous drizzle of eggnog glaze (recipe follows).

Tip: Want to bake them ahead of time? These buns freeze very well. Simply place in an airtight container in the freezer as soon as they’re cooled from baking (don’t glaze them yet), and store for up to 3 months in the freezer. Remove from freezer, thaw, and warm slightly in the oven and serve!

Eggnog Glaze

recipe: from Moirianne
yields: 1 1/2 cups

ingredients:

2 cups icing sugar

2 tablespoons butter, softened

1 teaspoon vanilla 

3 tablespoons eggnog

directions:

In a medium bowl, mix together softened butter, icing sugar, vanilla, and eggnog.  Add eggnog or icing sugar as needed until the desired consistency is reached.

Spread on slightly warm cinnamon buns and serve!