Food Friday! Cinnamon Buns

Everyone always loves going to their grandma's house, and my brother and I (and our cousins) are no exception. We LOVE our grandma for a million reasons, but mostly just because she's awesome. And you better believe that the awesome she is everyday carries over into her cooking. Just like my mom, everything my grandma makes is delicious. The women in our family are pretty terrific at everything kitchen-related. It's got to be a genetic family thing or something, because it's all of them. And besides their better-than-delicious everyday cooking, they all have something they make exceptionally well. For my mom, it's her pumpkin cheesecake. Great-grandma's was sugar cookies. And my grandma's is cinnamon buns.

Even though she has them waiting for us almost every time we go to her house, everyone always gets excited about them because they're seriously that good. We all sit in the kitchen and take up space and talk over each other while eating them. I've gotten to associate good feelings with kitchens because so much of the time I've spent in them has been so great, especially at my grandma's with all the cousins, uncles, aunts, my parents and brother, and those delicious cinnamon buns.

The last time we were there, I asked her for the recipe so I could try making them, because Chris and I like to eat cinnamon buns for breakfast before church on Sundays. She told me it was in a cook book, which she'd given me for our wedding, so this past weekend I looked up the recipe and tried it out!

Ingredients for Dough:

• 2 & 1/2 cups flour
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 & 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 & 1/4 cups buttermilk
• 6 tablespoons melted butter

Ingredients for Filling:

• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon melted butter

Ingredients for Icing:

• 2 tablespoons cream cheese
• 2 tablespoons buttermilk
• 1 cup confectioner's sugar

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Grease round 8x8 pan and set aside
2. Combine the filling's sugars, spices, and salt in small bowl, then stir in melted butter and set aside.
3. Whisk the dough's flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in large bowl. 
4. Whisk buttermilk and 2 tablespoons melted butter in small bowl. Add liquid to dry ingredients and stir with wooden spoon until liquid is absorbed. Transfer dough to lightly floured work surface and knead until just smooth.
5. Pat dough into 9x12 inch rectangle, then brush with 2 tablespoons melted butter. Sprinkle evenly with filling, leaving 1/2 inch border. Press filling into dough.
6. Starting at long side, roll dough to form a tight log. Pinch seam to seal.
7. Roll log seam-side down and cut into 8 even pieces.
8. Place rolls in pan, brush with 2 tablespoons butter, and bake 23-25 minutes, or until golden brown.
9. Remove buns from pan and place on metal rack to cool.
10. While buns are cooling, whisk together cream cheese and buttermilk in large bowl. Mix in confectioner's sugar, and whisk until smooth. When buns are cool, cover with icing.

After making these, I realized how much time and energy goes into them. These are not easy or quick to make, and the fact that my grandma makes them almost every time we go see her really makes me realize how much she cares about us (not that I didn't already know that my grandma loves us- she only tells us all the time!). The amount of effort she puts into everything she does for us goes way above and beyond grandmotherly duty, and I'm so blessed to have such a wonderful person in my life. I love you Grandma!