Cinnamon buns--and fast!

Fine Cooking has a recipe for cinnamon buns that can be made in an hour--and the recipe lived up to its promise! Not only were the cinnamon buns fast, but they were good, and gone fast too.




Cinnamon Buns (based on Fine Cooking's recipe)
- makes 12 buns

Dough:

3/4 c cottage cheese (I used 4%)

1/3 c soured milk

1/4 c sugar

4 Tbs uns. butter, melted

1 tsp vanilla

2 c flour

1 Tbs baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp baking soda

Filling:

1.5 Tbs uns. butter, melted

2/3 c brown sugar

2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp allspice

1/2 tsp cloves

1/2 tsp ginger

1 c pecans, chopped

Glaze:

2/3 c conf. sugar, sifted

2-3 Tbs milk

1 tsp vanilla

Heat oven to 400 degrees, and grease a springform pan 9 or 10 inches in diameter.

For the dough, combine the first five ingredients in a food processor, blending til smooth, about 10 seconds. Then add remaining ingredients (for the dough) and pulse til the dough comes together in clumps, being careful not to overmix. Pour the soft dough onto a lightly floured countertop and knead a few times til smooth. Then, using a rolling pin, roll the dough out til it is 12 x 15 inches.

For the filling, brush the melted butter across the dough, being careful to leave a 1/2-inch border all the way around. In a bowl, combine the brown sugar and spices, and then sprinkle this over the buttered parts of the dough. Sprinkle the chopped nuts over this mixture.

To roll, start at a long edge, and roll the dough up. Make sure it is fairly tight, with no gaps, and then pinch the bottom seam to seal it. Then slice the roll into 12 pieces -- I cut it in half, then quarters, and then each quarter in thirds, so they were all roughly equal. Place the slices in the greased pan; any gaps between the rolls will disappear as they bake. Bake until light brown, about 20 to 28 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes, and then carefully remove the rolls from the pan, transferring them altogether to a plate.

For the glaze, mix the confectioner's sugar, 2 Tbs milk and vanilla until smooth. Add up to 1 Tbs more milk to make the glaze thick but pourable. Carefully pour all of the glaze over the rolls, and let rest for 15 min., if you can wait that long. Enjoy!