Homemade Cinnamon Buns with Walnuts

There's nothing like a nice hot cinnamon bun in the morning with a cup of coffee or milk. Usually I just open up a package of Pillsbury buns, but recently my friend found a recipe for homemade ones and they looked so good I had to try it. Now getting up at 6 in the morning to make breakfast that wouldn't be ready until 9 wasn't the best idea. By the time they were done I was so starving for food that I could barely wait for them to cool to eat one. Not to mention the last thing anyone wants to be doing at six in the morning is baking. Especially not for three hours. But I didn't want to run the risk of them being stale if I made them the night before and I have to say that I'm glad I waited. They were worth the wait.

Dough:

• 1/4-ounce package yeast
• 1/2 cup warm water
• 1/2 cup scalded milk
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup butter or shortening
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg
• 3 1/2 to 4 cups all-purpose flour 

Take yeast and dissolve it in the 1/2 cup warm water. Let that sit there for a while until you're ready for it. In a large bowl mix the milk, sugar, egg, salt, and butter. Add two cups of your flour and mix. Add yeast mixture, mix that, and the rest of the flour until the dough is easy to handle. Kneed dough on floured surface for about 5 or so minutes. Spray a large bowl with non-stick spray and place dough in the bowl to let it rise. Cover bowl and set in a warm place. Let it sit for 1-1.5 hours or until it is about twice the size it originally was.

Filling:

• 1/2 cup melted butter
• 3/4 cup sugar, plus more for pan
• 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
• 3/4 cup walnuts or pecans *optional*

Once the dough has risen roll it out on a floured surface in about a 24x5 inch rectangle. Spread butter all over the surface of the dough until it is evenly spread. Mix together the sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl and then sprinkle that over the buttery surface. Make sure you save some for the pan! Add walnuts/pecans if you'd like. The ones I made had crushed up walnuts in it. Starting with the longer side roll it up so that you have a long log. Fold in the ends as you go so that your filling doesn't fall out. Pinch the seam together too!

Spray baking pan with non-stick spray and then sprinkle the pan with the remaining sugar mixture. Cut your dough log into 10-12 slices (or however thick you want them to be.) Sit them in the pan about an inch or so apart, and let them rise some more for about 10-15 minutes. While they're sitting set your oven for 350 degrees F. Once both are ready, stick them in the oven for about 30 minutes. 

The smaller ones are the ends of the roll. I didn't roll in the edges originally, so I let those for last and then re-rolled them.

While the buns are in the oven you can mix up a very simple icing. There aren't any measurements for this since I just eyed the amount based on the amount of buns I had. All you do is take some confectionary sugar and milk and wisk together. You can make it as thick or thin as you want it by the amount of milk you put in.

Spoon the icing on top of the buns while they're still in the pan and then scoop them out and enjoy!!

Yum!