How to make the best cinnamon buns

With Easter on our doorstep, I thought I would share this recipe for the best cinnamon buns a friend gave me that I have so lovingly tweaked. These are perfect for Easter morning, brunch, or any time you're craving something soft and cinnamony. 

Now between you and I, the secret to making the best cinnamon buns is adding the vanilla pudding mix package. This not only gives the dough much more flavour but it makes it softer. I am only sharing this with y'all because I know you can keep a secret. 

The Best Cinnamon Buns

Dough

¼ cup warm water

•        2 ¼ teaspoons active dry yeast or one package

• ¾ cup whole milk

• ⅓ cup softened butter

•        2 eggs at room temperature

• ⅓ cup granulated sugar 

• ½ teaspoon salt

•        ½ teaspoon allspice

•        3 tablespoons ground cinnamon

•        4 tablespoons of vanilla extract

• 4 ¼ cups all-purpose flour divided

•     1 package of vanilla jello pudding

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• Filling

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• ½ cup butter softened

• ½ cup of white sugar

•        ⅓ cup of brown sugar

•        3 tablespoons of vanilla

•        3 tablespoons ground cinnamon

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• Instructions

  1. Combine the water, yeast, 1 teaspoon of sugar, and 1 teaspoon of salt in a small bowl. Let the mixture sit for 10 minutes or until it becomes foamy.

  2. Next, you mix the wet and dry ingredients together but in separate bowls.

  3. Place all the wet ingredients such as the milk, butter, remaining sugar, vanilla extract, and salt in either a pan or microwave. Warm the mixture up to approximately 46-49℃. Not hot, just warm enough to melt the softened butter. (the eggs are not added in this step)

  4. In another bowl, mix all the dry ingredients; the flour, jello vanilla pudding package, allspice, and ground cinnamon.

  5. Add the room-temperature eggs to the milk, butter, sugar, salt, and vanilla extract mixture and mix well.

  6. Combine the wet and dry ingredients and knead the dough until it is soft and smooth. Once the dough pulls away from the side of the bowl, knead it into a ball.

     

  7. Gently sprinkle flour on the bottom of a bowl and place the kneaded dough ball in the middle. Cover with a cloth and place in a warm place to rise. The dough should double in size which could take approximately 1-2 hours.

  8. Once your dough has risen, gently sprinkle flour on the surface you're going to be rolling the dough out on. It should be about the size of a 17’’ x 14’’ rectangle to give you lots of room for rolling.

     

  9. In a small bowl mix the softened butter, cinnamon, sugar, vanilla, and brown sugar.

     

  10. Roll the dough into a rectangle about 15’’ x 12’’ or so. Then spread the filling evenly across the dough but not too close to the edges.

      

  11. Roll the dough lengthwise and cut slices that are 1.5 wide. 

      

  12. Line a pan with parchment paper and place the slices into the pan to rise for another hour. When putting the slices in the pan it is best to stagger them because they double in size.

      

  13. Preheat the oven to 370F,  brush rolls with milk, and bake for 25 minutes.

      
      I don't add icing on the top because it is sweet enough but my kids disagree and use vanilla cake icing sometimes.

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  Enjoy!

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Returning from being MIA

Hola, it's been a while since I have blogged about any of my adventures. Not to sound like a cliche pero everything and nothing has changed. One of life's perfect ironies I guess. 

One thing that seems to change is the colour I repaint the garden decorations and this year was a color that reminds me of the ocean.

Why don't you grab a coffee and come on through. 

First up is my recycled wood beach sign pointing to the pool aka beach.

This garden of orange daylilies will turn into 

this and stay until late Fall.

Both are such easy plants to have in the garden because they are low maintenance.

A win-win for everyone involved I say.

During the first lockdown I created this little trail by using the fallen trees cut into logs.

Which has become my favourite spot to wander about in and watch the sunrise peeking through the leaves.

The front garden bed has been converted into a vegetable garden.

It had the best location, and soil and was easiest to fence in.

An outer line of flowers was kept so it would blend into the garden.

This was the first pumpkin of the season.

The second pumpkin and every couple of days a new one would pop up.

On a side note, don't plant sunflowers alone on the edge of the fence as I found out the hard way. It not only blocked the sun but brought lots of birds.

Very pretty though!

I am always amazed by nature's beauty.

Hope y'all are too.

The Fall of Summer

Happy Fall Equinox! this marks the official fall of Summer but it really fell a couple of weeks ago when some of the Sumach leaves started turning red in the backyard. I took it as nature's way of giving me the heads up and heeded the advice by starting my fall cleaning. Cutting back all perennials, washing vents, walls and, ceilings in preparation for Falloween decorations.

With each passing day, more and more leaves are changing color.

The bursts of yellow, crimson red and orange leaves remind me of a Van Gough painting.

Which I predict within two weeks and one bad Fall wind storm will leave the trees bare once more. 

This was Abuela's favorite time of year and one of the selling features she used to get me to leave Venezuela. Telling me about the trees that change color in Canada and how beautiful it was, especially the yellow trees. Something I just had to see with my very own eyes.

Ironically enough there are more yellow trees on the property than any other color. Being surrounded by them feels comforting and serendipitous at the same time.

Greenacre is all ready for Falloween, been ready since mid-August, soon as I saw those Sumach leaves. Thought to myself, "yup, time to start the transition" and let go of Summer.

Now Summer 2020 will go down as the most epic Summer ever because of this little addition to the clan.

What started as a prank with a stuffed life-size husky, quickly turned into a real-life husky. When my reaction to "Mommy we got a dog" was the complete opposite of what was expected. The hunt began and by the next weekend, one of the twins came to tell me that Daddy messaged a person about a dog. Now the house is puppy proofed, the floors lined with pads and, littered with chew toys. 

Her arrival equaled my departure from the little sleep I got as Miss Luna loves long walks in the wee morning hours to smell the wind and every blade of grass until she finds the perfect one to pee on. A huge fan of three o'clock in the morning runs, soccer matches and long games of chase.

It's been the greatest learning opportunity for the girls, feeling under their own skin some of a parent's responsibility, unconditional love, and selflessness. Starting with the night we brought her home and she peed on us. Instead of getting upset, my girl told me it was okay because it was Luna's pee. Thank goodness because we were only half-hour into the 2 and a half-hour drive home. Took that moment to explain to her that is the unconditional love we feel for them. That no matter what they do, we love them no matter what. Hearing her say "now I get it", that's truly priceless.

Abuela always told me that everything has a price and for every credit, there will be a debit. Things have to die to make room for the new. Ironically, Luna was born on the 9th and Abuela died on the 9th. She would have adored her, especially when Luna jumped into the pool after the twins went underwater thinking she needed to save them. Never being in a pool before, she jumped in without hesitating and went underwater for the first time. Her expression says it all when she found out it was all in vain.

Her nocturnal schedule has me enjoying more of these breathtaking sunsets and

sunrises that remind me of how amazing Dios is. 

Blessing my home with such a sweet and brave puppy during such a strange time but it probably wouldn't have happened any other way. With the girls learning from home, it became the perfect time to get a puppy. It is easier just to flow with what is happening then fighting against it. Like wearing grey colored clothing to match her pet hair instead of trying to keep it off the clothing.

With age come acceptance and resignation. You get better at picking your battles because you realize that most things don't matter in the grand scheme of life.

 

Nothing stays the same anyhow so you savor and hold on to those moments that bring you joy while distancing yourself from that which does not.

 Here are some of mine.

Even though Autumn just has begun, it feels like it's falling too. The hail yesterday like the first red leaves on the Sumach is a sign of things to come. Winter is right around the corner so enjoy this bootiful time of the year and this compilation of the previous Falloweens because this year as you might know is a little different.

Keep moving and enjoy the view along the way.