Daring Bakers Challenge: I think I have a problem!

For any of you who have been reading my Daring Baker's posts since January, you may have noticed a trend with me. Whenever the new recipe becomes available to us Daring Baker's, I print out the recipe and tape it up to my kitchen cupboard. Usually before wonderful Mary has a chance to make the printable version, I have faked it and taped it. Yes, even when I was the host, I still put it up on the cupboards.

This way it is nice and handy for reference, and it is available for me to jot notes down on it while actually making the recipe. Plus with it being front and center in my kitchen, there is no way I can forget to make it.

So when Marce decided we were making Cinnamon or Sticky Buns for the September challenge, I was thrilled and hit print! The recipe has been up on my doors for several weeks. Which is where I run into a problem. A big one.....

I don't want to take it down!

And if I don't take it down, where will I put the October challenge recipe from Mary?

See? That's a problem.

Marce, I think the recipe you picked was so good that I will be making it on a regular basis. As soon as I pick up some more instant yeast and whole milk. So maybe this afternoon.

Having given us a choice between the cinnamon and sticky bun variations, I decided to start with the sticky buns. I knew I would be making both versions, but wanted to start with the caramel since caramel and I are soul mates together.

OMG was this dough ever a pleasure to work with! Soft and supple, it mixed together much quicker than the recipe said it would, it rose beautifully and it rolled out to a nice rectangle in about 2 rolls of my rolling pin. Heck it took longer to cream the original butter and sugar than it did to roll out this dough!

And if I thought waiting for the second rise to occur was torture, I was wrong. It was smelling the amazing smells from my oven while they cooked that was the real torture. Knowing I would have to wait for the buns to finish cooking, then to let them cool a bit so I wouldn't burn my tongue eating them. Mmmmm and when we could eat them, melt into your mouth softness and caramel! These were so good I instantly decided to banish the families traditional Pillsbury cinnamon buns from our home at Christmas to replace them with these!

A few survived the initial assault of 6 of us on those buns, to be enjoyed the next morning for breakfast. Warmed up quickly in the microwave with a touch of butter, they were still absolutely divine!

With such a roaring success, I had to immediately made the cinnamon buns and see how they compared. And luckily did not have to go far to find the recipe again.

Again, the dough was a pleasure to work with. If every dough was that lovely, I would not be adverse to working with it more often. Yes, like some of the other Daring Baker's, I lost some of the cinnamon to the counter when I picked up the rolls, but having pressed it into the dough a bit, my loss was minimal.

Again the smells from the oven were wonderful and torture at the same time. To distract myself from them, I mixed up the glaze of icing sugar and milk. Holy cow is there alot of glaze for one little batch of rolls! Four cups of icing sugar is waaay too much.

These buns were good, very good, but nothing compared to the sticky buns. But then again, how oh how could a simple cinnamon bun with an icing sugar glaze dare to compare to the sweetness that is a caramel sticky bun? It just can't. Perhaps if the icing had been a cream cheese based version instead of just icing sugar, there might have been a comparison. Afterall, the basic dough and cinnamon sugar is the same, it is just the topping that is different.

Still, these were wonderful as well and will also be made again.

Oh, yes, typical of me, I made yet another batch of the recipe, back to the sticky buns. This time, though, instead of the raisins, I used apple. Chopped fine, I put apple inside the bun, with the cinnamon sugar, as well as sprinkling the tiny pieces all over the caramel before putting the buns on top to rise. Again the flavors were wonderful, but if I were do to the apples again, I would have to leave them in larger pieces as the little ones almost melted into the buns and the glaze, leaving only a hint of apple flavor in the caramel. Still very good, still the same almost divine softness of the buns.

I think I'm getting hungry just thinking about those buns!

By far this has been my favorite recipe that I've done with the Daring Baker's. The first that I made multiple times because I wanted to, rather than because I thought something needed fixing or changing. The first that I will be keeping and making over and over and over and over again. And did I mention I will be making them again?

Thank you so much Marce for your wonderful choice!

Now you have two choices - either go make some now (see Marce's blog for the recipe), or go read about the buns and experiences of the other Daring Baker's by heading on over to the Daring Baker's Blogroll! Then you really will want to run to your kitchen and start baking!