Morning Buns

I found this recipe from one of my favorite food sites. I have kept these yummy little dough balls in the freezer and pull a few out whenever we want to eat something yummy and sweet for breakfast. I of course had to add a few of my own changes but they are great with or without the changes I have made.

Morning Buns


3 1/2 cups (14 3/4 ounces) fresh ground white whole wheat flour + 1/2 cup (2 1/4 ounces) cornstarch
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons (7/8 ounce) sugar
2 to 2 1/4 cups heavy cream

Coating
7 tablespoons butter, melted, OR 2 5/8 ounces milk
Cinnamon and sugar for rolling (I just mixed my own together)

Line a 9' X 13" pan with tin foil, and grease the tin foil lightly. Tin foil isn’t absolutely necessary, but it makes it easier to get the bubbly, sugary buns out of the pan once they’re baked and also makes the clean up so much easier.

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar. Add 2 cups of the cream all at once, then toss and stir the mixture till the dough comes together. If necessary, add additional cream to make the dough cohesive. Gather the dough in your hands and knead it a few times to make sure there are no dry spots. I mixed all of mine in my kitchen aid mixer with the dough attachment and it worked great.

Place the cinnamon sugar in a small, shallow bowl or pan; or in a plastic zip-top bag. Break off pieces of dough about the size of a ping pong ball, or about 1 1/8 ounces. Dip each piece in melted butter or milk, then roll or shake in the cinnamon-sugar to coat. Place the cinnamon-coated dough balls into the pan of your choice in a single layer; they’ll be touching one another, which is just fine.

Cover the pan with plastic, and place in the freezer overnight, or for up to a week or so. If freezing longer than overnight wrap the entire pan in plastic wrap, then in foil. I will also let the freeze in the pan then take them out and put them all in a zip lock freezer bag that way I can pull just a few out at a time and bake them.

Next day, remove the pan from the freezer, and let the buns rest at room temperature while you preheat your oven to 350°F. The buns don’t need to thaw.

If you’re baking the buns immediately (not frozen), bake them for 45 to 50 minutes, till the buns in the center are cooked through. You can asses this by taking a toothpick and actually digging into the center bun to take a look; it should look totally baked, not doughy. If the buns have been frozen, bake them for 65 to 70 minutes, testing for doneness as instructed above. Tent them with aluminum foil after 45 minutes of baking.

Remove from the oven, and serve immediately. Dust with confectioners’ sugar, if desired, right before serving.

Note # 1 - If you want to make these even less healthy (but oh so yummy)  pour a little bit of cream over the frozen dough right before baking and sprinkle with extra cinnamon sugar. This makes an ooey gooey sauce that bakes around them.

Note # 2 - If you want to make these healthier you can substitute honey for the sugar in the dough and use xylitol in the cinnamon sugar mixture instead of the sugar. I did this the last time I made these and they still turned out really good.

Click here to view original recipe