Quick Cinnamon Buns with Buttermilk Icing

Name: Quick Cinnamon Buns with Buttermilk Icing
Yield: Makes 8 buns
Ingredients: 1 tablespoon, unsalted butter, melted, for pan; 3/4 cup, dark brown sugar (packed, 5 1/4 ounces); 1/4 cup, granulated sugar (1 3/4 ounces); 2 teaspoons, ground cinnamon; 1/8 teaspoon, ground cloves; 1/8 teaspoon, table salt; 1 tablespoon, unsalted butter, melted; 2 1/2 cups, unbleached all-purpose flour (12 1/2 ounces), plus additional flour for work surface; 2 tablespoons, granulated sugar; 1 1/4 teaspoons, baking powder; 1/2 teaspoon, baking soda; 1/2 teaspoon, table salt; 1 1/4 cups, buttermilk; 6 tablespoons, unsalted butter, melted; 2 tablespoons, cream cheese, softened; 2 tablespoons, buttermilk; 1 cup, confectioners' sugar (4 ounces)

40 comments

Appears in Cook's Illustrated May/June 2002, America's Test Kitchen TV

Desserts or Baked Goods

Breakfast & Brunch

Quick Breads

Yeasted cinnamon buns take hours to make, and store-bought are dreadful. Could we transform a recipe for baking-powder biscuits into quick, high-rise breakfast buns?

SERVESMakes 8 buns

TIME1¼ hours

has video

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS

In search of an easy, foolproof cinnamon bun recipe, we discovered a few shortcuts, none of which compromised texture or taste. First, we prepared a quick biscuit dough with buttermilk, melted butter, and flour, adding baking powder for lig...

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