Easy Morning Buns Recipe | Buttery Cinnamon Sugar Buns

5 from 4 votes

Easy Morning Buns Recipe | Buttery Cinnamon Sugar Buns

Morning Buns are a rich, buttery, and flaky pastry filled with cinnamon sugar that can be enjoyed for breakfast or brunch with coffee or tea. These buttery morning buns differ from classic cinnamon rolls and caramel sticky buns.

Prep Time30

Cook Time25

Resting Time7

Course: Breakfast

Cuisine: American

Diet: Vegetarian

Servings:

Calories: 225kcal

Author: Kushi

Equipment

Muffin tin

Ingredients

For the dough

3 ½ cups All-purpose flour ; add more as needed while rolling
¼ cup Sugar or honey
2 ¼ teaspoon Active dry yeast
1 teaspoon Salt or to taste.
1 ¼ cups Cold butter cubed
1 Egg
1 cup Milk
2 teaspoons Vanilla extract
1 tablespoon Orange zest

For the cinnamon sugar filling

½ cup + 2 tablespoon Butter softened
¾ cup Light brown sugar
2 tablespoon Cinnamon
¼ to ½ teaspoon Salt to taste

Optional ingredients for topping

4 tablespoon Butter melted
2 tablespoon Sanding sugar or Coarse sugar

Instructions

Making of the dough

Add flour, sugar, salt, yeast, and mix in a bowl.
3 ½ cups All-purpose flour, ¼ cup Sugar or honey, 2 ¼ teaspoon Active dry yeast, 1 teaspoon Salt
Add the cubed butter and rub it into the flour mixture using your hands or, fork or pastry blender.
1 ¼ cups Cold butter cubed
In another bowl, add milk, egg, and vanilla extract and whisk.
1 Egg, 1 cup Milk, 2 teaspoons Vanilla extract
Add these wet ingredients along with orange zest to the dry ingredients and mix quickly to form the dough. Do not overwork, as we do not want the butter to melt.
1 tablespoon Orange zest
Shape this into a rough rectangle, cover it in plastic wrap, and chill the dough anywhere between 4 hours and three days.

Creating layers

Transfer the chilled dough to a well-floured surface. Divide the dough into 2 equal parts. Cover and keep one half back in the refrigerator while we work with the other half.
Roll this into a rectangle roughly 8 * 15 inches. Fold the dough into thirds.
Roll this again into a rectangle of approximately 8 * 15 inches and again refold it into thirds. Use flour as needed if you find it difficult to handle the dough.
Repeat this for the third time, that is, rolling into a rectangle and then folding and wrapping it in plastic wrap and letting the dough chill for about 2 hours or upto two days. (This is similar to making croissants.)
Repeat the same procedure for another half of the dough.

Cinnamon sugar filling and assembling the breakfast buns

In a pan, mix together sugar, cinnamon, and salt.
¾ cup Light brown sugar, ¼ to ½ teaspoon Salt, 2 tablespoon Cinnamon
Grease 2 12 tin muffin pan or rectangular baking pan with butter and keep this aside. (I have baked 12 buns in a muffin tin and 12 in a baking pan.)
Roll each chilled dough into a rectangle of approximately 12 * 18 inches on a well-floured surface.
Spread the rectangle dough with butter and sprinkle the cinnamon sugar mixture, leaving one inch of the small end.
½ cup + 2 tablespoon Butter softened
Just like cinnamon rolls, start with a wide side and roll to form a log.
Now cut into 12 pieces and place the cut side up on your muffin pan or rectangular pan.
Cover this and let it rise in a warm place for about 1 hour.

Bake the morning buns.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Bake the morning buns for about 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. You will see melted butter all over the rolls in the pan, but that is completely ok.
Let this cool for 10 minutes, and then place them in a wire wrack.
You can brush the warm buns with melted butter and sprinkle sanding sugar only if desired. Serve and enjoy.
4 tablespoon Butter, 2 tablespoon Sanding sugar

Video

Notes

Any leftovers can be stored in an airtight conatiner in a room temperature for a day or refrigerator for three days. Reheat in the microwave or in the oven before serving.
Make sure your working surface is well-floured to prevent the dough from sticking during the rolling.
Both the dough and the butter should be cold. If you feel the dough is warm make sure you wrap it in plastic wrap and reeze for 10 to 15 minutes before you continue to work.
I have done it only three times, but you can repeat the roll and fold three more times if needed and then chill the dough before filling and assembling. You will get more flaky layers like croissants in that case.
Is this for the holiday season? You can add any nuts like toasted pecans, walnuts, or almonds with a cinnamon sugar mixture.
Want it ready for Christmas morning breakfast? You can make the cinnamon bun dough, fill it, roll it, and keep it in the refrigerator. In the morning, let it rest at room temperature 30 minutes before baking.
For best results, use frozen butter to make the dough.

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