frosted with cream cheese icing spiced cinnamon buns with cream cheese glaze yield: 12 cinnamon buns (for the dough) 1/2 cup milk 1/4 cup butter (half a stick), room temp 1/2 cup water 1/2 tablespoon active dry yeast 1/2 cup + 1 teaspoon white sugar, divided 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 egg 1+ 1/2 cups flour (I used a mix of whole wheat and all-purpose) (for the filling) 1 cup brown sugar (double this & the butter if you want stickier rolls) 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon 1 star anise, ground 1 teaspoon ground cardamom 1/4 cup (half a stick) butter, very soft (double this & the sugar if you want stickier rolls) (for the glaze) 4 oz cream cheese, room temp 2 tablespoons butter, softened 1/2 cup confectioner's sugar (or to taste) 1 tsp vanilla 2 tablespoons milk 1. in a small saucepan, scald the milk and butter (don't boil!). remove from heat and mix in water and your 1 teaspoon of sugar. allow to cool until temperature reaches 90-100 degrees fahrenheit. sprinkle yeast over the mixture and allow to proof for 10 minutes, at which time mixture should become foamy. 2. in a large bowl, whisk together sugar, salt, 1 cup of the flour, eggs, and milk/yeast/butter/water mixture. gradually add in the remaining flour about 1/2 cup at a time, mixing well in between. after all the flour has been added, the dough should form a ball. allow to rest for about 10 minutes so the flour can absorb the liquid. 3. at this time, mix together the dry ingredients (all except the butter) for the filling in a small bowl. 4. turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and kneed until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes. roll the dough into a 9x12 rectangle and spread the butter evenly across the surface, then sprinkle the sugar mixture evenly across the buttered surface. 5. starting from the longer side, roll the dough carefully into a log and use some water to seal the seam. using floss or some thread, slice the log evenly into 12 rounds and place on a buttered 9x13 baking pan. 6. at this point, you can cover the pan with plastic wrap and place it in the fridge to rise overnight, or you can cover the pan with a damp towel and allow the buns to rise in a warm place until doubled, about 2 hours, or do both. i allowed my buns to rise before placing them in the fridge. 7. now you're ready to bake the buns. preheat the oven to 350 and bake until golden, about 25 minutes. (if you're taking the buns out of the fridge, let the buns warm up first. i removed the plastic wrap and covered the pan with a damp towel, then put them in the cold oven on the "warm" setting until the oven reached about 100 degrees, at which point i shut of the heat and let the buns sit in the warmed oven for about 10 minutes. remove the buns from the oven when they are warmed up.) 8. while the buns are baking, whisk the cream cheese and butter together until uniform, add in the confectioner's sugar to taste, then whisk in the vanilla and milk until the mixture is of spreadable consistency. 9. spread the glaze over the still-warm buns, slice, and enjoy!

cinnamon rolls after rising spiced cinnamon buns with cream cheese glaze yield: 12 cinnamon buns (for the dough) 1/2 cup milk 1/4 cup butter (half a stick), room temp 1/2 cup water 1/2 tablespoon active dry yeast 1/2 cup + 1 teaspoon white sugar, divided 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 egg 1+ 1/2 cups flour (I used a mix of whole wheat and all-purpose) (for the filling) 1 cup brown sugar (double this & the butter if you want stickier rolls) 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon 1 star anise, ground 1 teaspoon ground cardamom 1/4 cup (half a stick) butter, very soft (double this & the sugar if you want stickier rolls) (for the glaze) 4 oz cream cheese, room temp 2 tablespoons butter, softened 1/2 cup confectioner's sugar (or to taste) 1 tsp vanilla 2 tablespoons milk 1. in a small saucepan, scald the milk and butter (don't boil!). remove from heat and mix in water and your 1 teaspoon of sugar. allow to cool until temperature reaches 90-100 degrees fahrenheit. sprinkle yeast over the mixture and allow to proof for 10 minutes, at which time mixture should become foamy. 2. in a large bowl, whisk together sugar, salt, 1 cup of the flour, eggs, and milk/yeast/butter/water mixture. gradually add in the remaining flour about 1/2 cup at a time, mixing well in between. after all the flour has been added, the dough should form a ball. allow to rest for about 10 minutes so the flour can absorb the liquid. 3. at this time, mix together the dry ingredients (all except the butter) for the filling in a small bowl. 4. turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and kneed until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes. roll the dough into a 9x12 rectangle and spread the butter evenly across the surface, then sprinkle the sugar mixture evenly across the buttered surface. 5. starting from the longer side, roll the dough carefully into a log and use some water to seal the seam. using floss or some thread, slice the log evenly into 12 rounds and place on a buttered 9x13 baking pan. 6. at this point, you can cover the pan with plastic wrap and place it in the fridge to rise overnight, or you can cover the pan with a damp towel and allow the buns to rise in a warm place until doubled, about 2 hours, or do both. i allowed my buns to rise before placing them in the fridge. 7. now you're ready to bake the buns. preheat the oven to 350 and bake until golden, about 25 minutes. (if you're taking the buns out of the fridge, let the buns warm up first. i removed the plastic wrap and covered the pan with a damp towel, then put them in the cold oven on the "warm" setting until the oven reached about 100 degrees, at which point i shut of the heat and let the buns sit in the warmed oven for about 10 minutes. remove the buns from the oven when they are warmed up.) 8. while the buns are baking, whisk the cream cheese and butter together until uniform, add in the confectioner's sugar to taste, then whisk in the vanilla and milk until the mixture is of spreadable consistency. 9. spread the glaze over the still-warm buns, slice, and enjoy!