Cinnamon Date Sticky Buns Recipes

CINNAMON STICKY BUNS

Steps:

• In a saucepan, combine the brown sugar, corn syrup and butter; cook and stir until sugar is dissolved. Add the pecans. Spoon into a greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking pan., In a shallow bowl, combine sugar and cinnamon. Cut each biscuit in half; dip in cinnamon-sugar. Place, cut side down, over brown sugar mixture. , Bake at 375° for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. Invert onto a serving plate; serve warm.

CINNAMON-DATE STICKY BUNS

Steps:

• Prepare the dough: Combine 1 cup flour with the water, sugar, eggs, yeast and half-and-half in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Stir on low speed until combined. Let stand, undisturbed, 2 minutes, then gradually stir in 2 cups flour on low speed.
• Switch to the dough hook attachment, set the machine to medium speed, and add as much of the remaining flour as necessary (an additional 2 to 3 cups) to make a dough that just cleans the side of the work bowl. Gradually add the butter and salt, then continue beating on medium speed until the butter is no longer visible, 1 to 2 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl and the dough hook as necessary. Cover the finished dough with a clean towel, transfer it to a warm location and let it rest, allowing the dough to double in size, 1 to 2 hours. (You can also cover the dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. Let the dough come to room temperature for 30 minutes before continuing.)
• While the dough rises, make the date paste: Add the dates, lemon juice and 1 cup/235 milliliters water to a small saucepan. Cook over medium-low, stirring occasionally, until the dates are completely softened and the texture of applesauce, 6 to 8 minutes. Stir in the orange zest, cinnamon and cardamom. Transfer to a shallow bowl to cool.
• After dough has risen, remove the dish towel, punch the dough down and turn it out onto a floured work surface. Butter 2 9-inch cake pans. Using floured hands or a floured rolling pin, press or roll the dough flat and into a rectangular 15-by-10-inch shape. Use a spoon to spread the date mixture evenly over the dough, then roll the dough crosswise into a tight, 15-inch-long cylinder. Cut into 14 rolls (each a little wider than 1 inch) and transfer the rolls to the prepared cake pans, arranging 7 rolls in each pan so spirals are visible. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let the dough rise a second time, 20 to 30 minutes.
• While the rolls are rising, heat oven to 350 degrees. Once the rolls have risen, bake until deeply golden-brown, 30 to 35 minutes.
• As rolls bake, make the caramel sauce: Add the sugar, corn syrup and 1/4 cup/60 milliliters water to a medium saucepan. Cook over medium-high, undisturbed, until the sugar turns a light amber color, about 10 minutes. Remove saucepan from heat and whisk in the butter until melted and incorporated, then whisk in the cream and sea salt. When the buns are done, drizzle the caramel sauce on top, saving a little sauce to brush on any remaining dry spots. Serve the buns warm.

CINNAMON-DATE STICKY BUNS

Steps:

• Dough:
• Combine buttermilk and 6 Tbsp. oil in a small microwave-safe bowl (it won't get smooth and that's okay) and heat in the microwave in three 10-second bursts until just about body temperature (it shouldn't feel hot or cold to the touch); an instant-read thermometer will register about 98°F. (Alternatively, you can heat in a small saucepan over medium-low, stirring constantly, about 1 minute.)
• Whisk egg, brown sugar, and yeast in a liquid measuring cup to combine, then whisk into buttermilk mixture.
• Pulse flour, baking soda, and salt in a food processor to combine. With the motor running, stream in buttermilk mixture. Process until about 80% of the dough comes together into a ball (mixture will look very wet at first, then begin to pull away from the sides of processor), about 2 minutes.
• Using a bowl scraper or rubber spatula, scrape dough onto an unfloured surface. (It should still be pretty wet and sticky.) Knead, pushing it away from you, then pulling it back toward you, until a smooth ball forms, about 3 minutes. The dough will grow silkier, tighter, and easier to work with as you knead.
• Roll out dough into a rough 8" square. Fold dough over onto itself to make an 8x4" rectangle, then flatten it slightly and fold over once more to make a 4" square. Roll dough back out to an 8" square and repeat folding process (you should be back at a 4" square). Pour remaining 1 Tbsp. oil into a medium bowl and add dough (still folded); turn to coat. Cover bowl tightly and chill dough until doubled in volume, at least 8 hours and up to 1 day.
• Filling and assembly:
• Place dates in a small bowl and pour in 1½ cups hot water to cover. Let soak until softened, about 10 minutes.
• Drain dates and transfer to a food processor; discard soaking liquid. Add cinnamon, salt, and 2 Tbsp. oil. Purée, scraping down sides as needed, until smooth, about 4 minutes. (You should have about ½ cup purée.)
• Grease a 10" cast-iron skillet with remaining 1 Tbsp. oil. Transfer dough to a clean, unfloured surface and roll out to an 8" square. Fold in half into an 8x4" rectangle, then fold rectangle over itself to form a 4" square (same folding process as you did before). If dough feels tough and uncooperative, let it sit about 5 minutes to relax and try again. Roll out dough to a 12" square about ¼" thick. Dollop date purée all over. Using a small offset spatula, spread evenly over dough, leaving a ½" border without purée along edge farthest from you. Sprinkle brown sugar over purée.
• Starting at edge closest to you, roll up dough into a tight log. Using a sharp serrated knife and long sawing motions, trim about ½" of dough from both ends and discard. Slice log crosswise into 3 sections, wiping knife clean between slices. Slice each section crosswise into 3 buns (you should have 9 buns total that are each about 1" thick). Transfer buns to prepared pan as you go.
• Cover pan tightly with foil (or a domed lid if you have one) and place in a warm, dry spot. Let buns rise until they're doubled in volume and spring back when poked, leaving only a small indentation, 1-1½ hours, depending on how warm and humid your kitchen is.
• Place a rack in middle of oven; preheat to 350°F. Bake buns, still covered, until puffed, pale, and mostly set, about 20 minutes. Remove foil and continue to bake until golden brown, about 15 minutes if you prefer a soft and squishy bun and up to 25 minutes for a more toasted bun. Let cool slightly.
• Meanwhile, whisk powdered sugar, buttermilk, and vanilla in a medium bowl to combine.
• Brush glaze over warm buns and serve in skillet.
• Do Ahead: Purée can be made 3 days ahead. Place in an airtight container; cover and chill. Bring to room temperature before using.

STICKY DATE BUNS

Steps:

• Up to 3 days before you want to bake, mix the caster sugar, yeast, 400g of the flour and 1 tsp salt in a big bowl. Whisk together the milk, melted butter and egg, then tip into the dry ingredients and mix with a wooden spoon. Cover with buttered cling film and put in the fridge at least overnight or for up to 3 days.
• When you're ready to make the buns, put the dates in a bowl and pour over just enough boiling water to cover. Leave to soak for 15-20 mins. Drain, pat dry, stone and chop.
• Mix the remaining flour into the dough. Use your hands to bring the dough together, then tip out onto a lightly floured surface and lightly knead. Roll out with a little more flour to a large rectangle, about 50 x 30cm, with one of the short sides facing you. Spread over three-quarters of the soft butter, then sprinkle over three-quarters of the brown sugar. Fold the bottom third of the dough up and over the middle third, then the top third down over the other two.
• Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Rotate the dough 90 degrees, or a quarter turn one way. Roll out again to a similar-sized rectangle as before, this time with one of the long edges facing you. Spread over all but 1 heaped tsp of the remaining butter, scatter over the remaining brown sugar, and sprinkle over the dates. Roll up tightly like a Swiss roll from one of the long edges. Trim the ends a tiny bit, and slice into 12 roughly even portions. Lightly butter the holes of a muffin tin with the reserved butter, then push a roll, cut-side up, into each hole.
• Bake for 50 mins until golden and risen. Remove from the tin while warm, so they don't stick. Dust tops with icing sugar, if you like, or serve sticky-bottom up.

OOEY-GOOEY CINNAMON BUNS

Steps:

• In a small bowl, dissolve 1 teaspoon sugar and yeast in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes. Warm the milk in a small saucepan until it bubbles, then remove from heat. Mix in 1/4 cup sugar, 1/4 cup butter and salt; stir until melted. Let cool until lukewarm.
• In a large bowl, combine the yeast mixture, milk mixture, eggs and 1 1/2 cup flour; stir well to combine. Stir in the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, beating well after each addition. When the dough has pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes.
• Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.
• While dough is rising, melt 3/4 cup butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir in 3/4 cup brown sugar, whisking until smooth. Pour into greased 9x13 inch baking pan. Sprinkle bottom of pan with 1/2 cup pecans; set aside. Melt remaining butter; set aside. Combine remaining 3/4 cup brown sugar, 1/2 cup pecans, and cinnamon; set aside.
• Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface, roll into an 18x14 inch rectangle. Brush with 2 tablespoons melted butter, leaving 1/2 inch border uncovered; sprinkle with brown sugar cinnamon mixture. Starting at long side, tightly roll up, pinching seam to seal. Brush with remaining 2 tablespoons butter. With serrated knife, cut into 15 pieces; place cut side down, in prepared pan. Cover and let rise for 1 hour or until doubled in volume. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• Bake in preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes, until golden brown. Let cool in pan for 3 minutes, then invert onto serving platter. Scrape remaining filling from the pan onto the rolls.

CINNAMON ROLL STICKY BUNS

Steps:

• Combine 2 cups flour, yeast, and cinnamon for dough in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.
• Combine milk, sugar, and salt in a microwaveable bowl; microwave on high in 1-minute increments until very warm, but not hot to the touch, 2 to 3 minutes.
• Add milk mixture to the dry ingredients; mix on low speed until combined. Add melted butter; mix until well combined. Mix in eggs until incorporated.
• Scrape the paddle attachment and switch to the dough hook. Mix in the remaining flour until dough is fairly easy to handle. Turn out into an oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Place over a bowl of hot (not boiling) water and let rest until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
• Punch dough down and turn out onto a floured surface. Roll into a 1/2-inch thick rectangle. Spread softened butter evenly over the surface, then sprinkle with cinnamon, and finally brown sugar. Roll up the rectangle jelly roll-style and cut into 12 equal parts. Place the rolls flat on a parchment-covered cookie sheet and cover with plastic wrap and a towel. Let rise in a warm, draft-free place until doubled in size, 40 minutes to 1 hour. Don't worry if they don't touch, they will continue to rise when baking.
• While the rolls are rising, preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• Bake rolls in the preheated oven until golden brown on top, 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and brush with the remaining softened butter. Serve hot.

CINNAMON BUNS AND STICKY BUNS

Steps:

• Cream together the sugar, salt, and shortening on medium-high speed in an electric mixer with a paddle attachment (or use a large metal spoon and mixing bowl and do it by hand); if you are using powdered milk, cream the milk with the sugar, but add the water with the flour and yeast. Whip in the egg and lemon extract until smooth. Then add the flour, yeast, and milk. Mix on low speed (or stir by hand) until the dough forms a ball. Switch to the dough hook and increase the speed to medium, mixing for approximately 10 minutes (or knead by hand for 12 to 15 minutes), or until the dough is silky and supple, tacky but not sticky. You may have to add a little flour or water while mixing to achieve this texture. The dough should pass the windowpane test (page 58) and register 77° to 81°F. Lightly oil a large bowl and transfer the dough to the bowl, rolling it around to coat it with oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap.
• Ferment at room temperature for approximately 2 hours, or until the dough doubles in size.
• Mist the counter with spray oil and transfer the dough to the counter. Proceed as shown below in the Shaping Cinnamon Buns and Sticky Buns sidebar.
• For cinnamon buns, line 1 or more sheet pans with baking parchment. Place the buns approximately 1/2 inch apart so that they aren't touching but are close to one another. For sticky buns, coat the bottom of 1 or more baking dishes or baking pans with sides at least 1 1/2 inches high with a 1/4-inch layer of the caramel glaze. Sprinkle on the nuts and raisins. You do not need a lot of nuts and raisins, only a sprinkling. Lay the pieces of dough on top of the caramel glaze, spacing them about 1/2 inch apart. Mist the dough with spray oil and cover loosely with plastic wrap or a food-grade plastic bag.
• Proof at room temperature for 75 to 90 minutes, or until the pieces have grown into one another and have nearly doubled in size. You may also retard the shaped buns in the refrigerator for up to 2 days, pulling the pans out of the refrigerator 3 to 4 hours before baking to allow the dough to proof.
• Preheat the oven to 350°F with the oven rack on the middle shelf for cinnamon buns but on the lowest shelf for sticky buns.
• Bake the cinnamon buns for 20 to 30 minutes or the sticky buns for 30 to 40 minutes, or until golden brown. If you are baking sticky buns, remember that they are really upside down (regular cinnamon buns are baked right side up), so the heat has to penetrate through the pan and into the glaze to caramelize it. The tops will become the bottoms, so they may appear dark and done, but the real key is whether the underside is fully baked. It takes practice to know just when to pull the buns out of the oven.
• For cinnamon buns, cool the buns in the pan for about 10 minutes and then streak white fondant glaze across the tops while the buns are warm but not too hot. Remove the buns from the pans and place them on a cooling rack. Wait at least 20 minutes before serving. For sticky buns, cool the buns in the pan for 5 to 10 minutes and then remove them by flipping them over onto another pan. Carefully scoop any run-off glaze back over the buns with a spatula. Wait at least 20 minutes before serving.
• Shaping cinnamon buns and sticky buns
• Roll out the dough with a rolling pin, lightly dusting the top of the dough with flour to keep it from sticking to the pin. Roll it into a rectangle about 2/3 inch thick and 14 inches wide by 12 inches long for larger buns, or 18 inches wide by 9 inches long for smaller buns. Don't roll out the dough too thin, or the finished buns will be tough and chewy rather than soft and plump.
• Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar over the surface of the dough and roll the dough up into a cigar-shaped log, creating a cinnamon-sugar spiral as you roll.
• With the seam side down (see page 143), cut the dough into 8 to 12 even pieces each about 1 3/4 inches thick for larger buns; or 12 to 16 pieces each 1 1/4 inch thick for smaller buns.
• BREAD PROFILE
• Enriched, standard dough; direct method; commercial yeast
• DAYS TO MAKE: 1
• 15 minutes mixing; 3 1/2 hours fermentation, shaping, and proofing; 20 to 40 minutes baking
• COMMENTARY
• This dough can be used for other applications besides cinnamon and sticky buns. For instance, you can make thumbprint sweet rolls, filled with jam or jelly. You can also make pastry logs. Roll out the dough as you would for cinnamon buns, but instead of cutting pinwheel slices and baking them face up, load the logs with nuts, raisins, and cinnamon sugar and bake them whole, like bâtards. Slice them after they've cooled so all the goodies inside come tumbling out onto your plate.
• GRACE NOTES: (White Fondant Glaze for Cinnamon Buns)
• Cinnamon buns are usually topped with a thick white glaze called fondant. There are many ways to make fondant glaze, but here is a delicious and simple version, enlivened by the addition of citrus flavor, either lemon or orange. You can also substitute vanilla extract or rum extract, or simply make the glaze without any flavorings.
• Sift 4 cups of powdered sugar into a bowl. Add 1 teaspoon of lemon or orange extract and between 6 tablespoons to 1/2 cup of warm milk, briskly whisking until all the sugar is dissolved. Add the milk slowly and only as much as is needed to make a thick, smooth paste.
• When the buns have cooled but are still warm, streak the glaze over them by dipping the tines of a fork or a whisk into the glaze and waving the fork or whiskover the tops. Or, form the streaks by dipping your fingers in the glaze and letting it drip off as you wave them over the tops of the buns. (Remember to wear latex gloves.)
• Caramel Glaze for Sticky Buns
• Caramel glaze is essentially some combination of sugar and fat, cooked until it caramelizes. The trick is catching it just when the sugar melts and lightly caramelizes to a golden amber. Then it will cool to a soft, creamy caramel. If you wait too long and the glaze turns dark brown, it will cool to a hard, crackyour-teeth consistency. Most sticky bun glazes contain other ingredients to influence flavor and texture, such as corn syrup to keep the sugar from crystallizing and flavor extracts or oils, such as vanilla or lemon. This version makes the best sticky bun glaze of any I've tried. It was developed by my wife, Susan, for Brother Juniper's Café in Forestville, California.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine 1/2 cup granulated sugar, 1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 pound unsalted butter, at room temperature.
• Cream together for 2 minutes on high speed with the paddle attachment. Add 1/2 cup corn syrup and 1 teaspoon lemon, orange, or vanilla extract. Continue to cream for about 5 minutes, or until light and fluffy.
• Use as much of this as you need to cover the bottom of the pan with a 1/4-inch layer. Refrigerate and save any excess for future use; it will keep for months in a sealed container.
• BAKER'S PERCENTAGE FORMULA
• Cinnamon Buns and Sticky Buns %
• Sugar: 20.3 %
• Salt: 1.6 %
• Shortening: 17.2 %
• Egg: 10.3 %
• Lemon extract: 1.1%
• Bread flour: 100 %
• Instant yeast: 1.4
• Milk (approx.) 59.4 %
• Total: 211.3 %