Now you can make a small batch of cinnamon buns, perfect for a lazy Sunday morning breakfast or midweek treat for the family. Loaded with cinnamon and brown sugar on the inside and covered in a sweet vanilla icing.
I am a total fan of cinnamon buns! I mean, who can resist that soft sweet dough with the magic swirls of brown sugar and cinnamon and the sweet vanilla topping? Usually If I was making cinnamon buns at home, I'd use a 9x13 in baking pan. This would be perfect for 12 big buns and 12 hungry mouths. But what if you don't need 12 giant sweet buns?
Well you could try and save any leftovers but cinnamon buns aren't as good the next day so that's why this smaller recipe works out perfectly. Baked in an 8x8 pan and creating only 9 smaller-than-normal cinnamon buns keeps everyone happy and hopefully with no leftovers. And becuase weekday mornings are always so busy, it's nice to have the time on the weekend to make something special. Another popular recipe I love for this reason is my cinnamon crumb breakfast bread, perfect sliced and toasted with lots of butter and syrup spread on top!
How to make easy cinnamon buns
Step 1
AFTER THE FIRST RISE
Like most dough, these buns require two rises. I always try to use a dry yeast that works quickly. Red Star Yeast Platinum or Quick Rise Yeast are two varieties I find work well. After the first rise the dough needs to be flattened out and rolled into a rectangle. This is where you’ll spread the buttery brown sugar filling and then roll the dough up tightly into a long tube. Slice the dough into 9 evenly sized pieces and place in your 8×8 pan.
Step 2
DURING THE SECOND RISE
Depending on the strength of the yeast you used, your dough might take anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour to rise to the correct size for baking. It also depends a lot on the humidity of the kitchen or place that the cinnamon buns are sitting at. Keep a close eye on them because if they rise too high they’ll become over-proofed and begin to collapse ending up with flat cinnamon buns.
Cinnamon buns should always be served warm in my opinion, with a heavy glaze of either cream cheese frosting or a simple powdered sugar glaze. These are perfect for a lazy weekend with some hot coffee on the side!
