Quick and Easy Baking Powder Cinnamon Buns
I have had this cinnamon bun recipe for decades. I don’t know where it originated from so I thank whoever it was who I got it from all those years ago. These are a family favourite! It’s a recipe that is wonderful for all ages to make and enjoy together! It’s easy and quick to make and since it uses baking powder to rise the dough, there is no working with yeast and waiting for the dough to reach a certain height. These are more cake-like in nature and not bread-like as a yeast cinnamon bun would be. You can use raisins or, as I do, chocolate chips that are gooey and delicious right out of the oven. These are a really wonderful treat! I’m working on a gluten-free, dairy-free version of this recipe with a delicious center so look for it in the weeks to come.
With Mother’s Day this Sunday, why not make a batch of these to celebrate the mothers in your life – past, present, new, expecting! And to all the mothers out there, may your day be happy and bright and filled with love.
As always, when you make this recipe, please post a photo of your Cinnamon Bun goodness and tag my IG account #RenataCollective or leave a comment with your thoughts!
Prep Time: 10 minutes / Cook time: 20 minutes / Makes: 12
Ingredients:
2 Cups All-Purpose Flour + Extra to flour the surface where you will roll out the dough (I use unbleached flour)
3 Tablespoons Granulated Sugar
4 teaspoons Baking Powder
1 teaspoon Sea Salt
¼ cup Butter – cut into small cubes
1 Cup Milk
½ Cup Butter – softened
1 cup Brown Sugar – packed
1½ Tablespoons Cinnamon
½ Cup Dark or Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips – (Alternate: raisins or currents)
How It’s Made
Preheat your oven to 400°F. Have your non-stick 12 cup muffin baking tray ready.
In a large bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, baking powder and the salt.
Add the cold butter cubes and with a pastry blender, two knives or a fork, cut/mix the butter into the flour mixture until the butter is broken up into as small pieces incorporated into the mixture as possible.
Add the milk and stir gently with a fork until you have a soft dough. It shouldn’t be too sticky.
Flour the surface where you will roll out the dough and scrape the dough from the bowl onto the surface.
Gently knead the dough about 15 times – take a side and bring it into the middle and with the heel of your hand push it out. Continue this the 15 times or so until you have a smooth dough. If it’s very sticky, add a couple of tablespoons of flour to the dough as you knead until it is no longer sticky.
Add more flour under the dough and roll it out to form a rectangle 12” x 8” or so. You don’t want it too thin or else it will fall apart as you roll it up in a few steps.
Now make the cinnamon middle mixture. In a bowl, cream the butter, brown sugar and the cinnamon together until it is smooth.
Drop a teaspoon of this cinnamon sugar butter deliciousness into each muffin cup.
Spread the remaining mixture over the dough rectangle, leaving a ½” part on one of the 12” sides free of the filling mixture. This will help to seal the cinnamon bun together when it’s baking.
Sprinkle the chocolate chips (or raisins/currents if you are using those) all over the rectangle.
Roll up the dough, starting at the 12” side – see the photo. The dough might stick so take a sharp knife and carefully slide the knife under the dough and continue rolling. You will end up with a long roll.
Now you will cut the roll into 12 pieces as equally as you can. I cut the roll in half and each half in half again, then each section I cut into three pieces to finally have 12 pieces.
Drop a piece, spiral side down, into each muffin cup.
Place the muffin pan on a cookie sheet to catch any drips. Bake for 20 minutes. The cinnamon buns should be golden brown and the filling should be bubbling.
Remove from the oven and immediately flip them onto another cookie sheet or a tray. I do this by putting the tray on top of the buns, then taking the muffin pan, the pan it rests on and the new try on top and turn the whole thing over – then removing the now top tray and the muffin tray, gently shaking it to get the cinnamon buns to drop out.
These are best served warm from the oven. Leftover cinnamon buns can be reheated in the oven at 350°F, wrapped in foil, for 10 minutes, or in a microwave for 30 seconds (always test how hot they are before biting into one right out of the microwave!).
Enjoy!
