About the Recipe
These are everything cinnamon buns should be: a fluffy, light bun with gooey layers of cinnamon and butter... crisp edges and a luscious cream cheese icing. It's impossible to stop at just one.
Ingredients
Cinnamon Buns:
All-purpose flour, for rolling
1/4 cup unsalted butter, at room temp.
1 cup lightly packed dark brown sugar
1-2 Tbs. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. Kosher salt
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg, cardamom, ginger, or other spice, optional
Cream Cheese Icing:
1/4 cup unsalted butter, at room temp.
4 oz. cream cheese, at room temp.
1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
1/4 tsp. Kosher salt
1/2 tsp. lemon juice
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
Preparation
Prepare dough as directed through Step 4 ("Cover and refrigerate for an additional hour or up to 24 hours if that works better for your schedule").
Dust a clean countertop with flour and roll dough to a 1/4" thick, 12 by 18" rectangle.
Spread butter evenly over the surface, leaving a clean 1/2" border along the edges.
Sprinkle brown sugar over the butter, then cinnamon (1 Tbs. for less intense flavor, 2 Tbs. for more intense flavor), salt and any other spice you like (I used nutmeg).
Roll dough up (nice and gentle, not too tightly!) and place seam-side down. Cut into 8 equal pieces and transfer to a 9" cast iron or baking pan. You should fit 7 buns around the pan with 1 in the center. Cover and set aside for about 1 hour to rise. After 30-45 min. of proofing, preheat your oven to 375 °F. The buns are ready when they've puffed in size and your finger leaves an indent behind when you poke one of the buns.
Bake for 30-35 min. until golden brown.
While baking, prepare icing: Beat butter and cream cheese to combine. Add remaining ingredients and beat until smooth.
Spread icing over warm buns and serve.