whole wheat cinnamon buns

my friend becky posted this recipe on her blog, so i immediately snatched it up. i made them this weekend for michael & i - and they are so delicious.

another reason to love this recipe? you make them ahead of time and then bake them in the morning. perfect!

give them a try:

whole wheat cinnamon buns

ingredients:

2 1/2 tsp dry yeast (1 pkg)
1/4 cup warm water
3-3 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups buttermilk (if you don't have buttermilk - which I almost never do.. use regular milk and add either white vinegar or lemon juice - 1 tbsp of vinegar or juice to 1 cup of milk - then stir and let it sit for at least 5 minutes)
1/4 cup butter, melted and cooled
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 tsp salt

directions:

In a large bowl, stir together yeast and water, let stand 5 minutes, until bubbly.
Add in 2 cups flour, sugar, buttermilk, butter, vanilla and salt.
Stir well, until dough is smooth.
Gradually add in remaining flour until dough comes together into a slightly sticky ball and pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Turn out onto lightly floured surface and knead until dough is smooth.
Add flour as needed - dough should be "tacky" but not wet. (keep it nice and tacky for the softest buns)
Place dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with a tea towel and let rise until doubled in size: 1 1/2 - 2 hours (**again, my trick is to put the bowl into a sink of very hot water, helps speed up the rising process)

You will soon need:
1/4 cup butter, room temperature
2 tsp cinnamon
2/3 cup brown sugar
3 tbsp coarse (or regular) sugar (see photo below)

**side note from becky, and i agree: cinnamon buns are a treat! why not make them the treatiest? i just slather a bunch of butter and pile on the sugar and cinnamon**

lightly grease a 9 x 13 pan.
turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. press dough into a rectangle, roll dought out into a sheet about 12x6 inches.
spread dough with softened butter, leaving a 1/4 inch border. sprinkle evenly with cinnamon, brown sugar and coarse sugar. working with one of the long sides, roll dough up tightly into a log. pinch seam and divide log into 12 even pieces with a sharp knife. place in a prepared pan, leaving space between rolls.
cover with plastic wrap and REFRIGERATE overnight

here's the part where you get to feel like spouse/mom of the year... set your alarm,
place refrigerated rolls on counter for about 30 minutes.
preheat oven to 400 degrees
go back to bed and set your alarm again...
bake for about 20-25 minutes, until golden brown.
cool for at least 5 minutes before serving.

** i topped the cinnamon buns with a salted caramel sauce as soon as they came out of the oven. it was a nice touch. see this post if you want to add it!

this is the 'coarse sugar' i use. i also use it in drinks and sometimes on top of muffins or cupcakes. a nice treat to have in your pantry.

apparently i can't count. i was sure i had 12.. until i put them in the pan. oops!

all ready to go into the fridge for the night.

hot out of the oven!

all iced and ready to enjoy!!