When You Leave a Man in Charge...

It seemed so simple.

I wanted to treat Adam to Cinnamon Buns for breakfast. He makes us pancakes every Saturday, and I thought he needed a well-deserved morning off.

I prepared the dough late Friday night. It was just beautiful. It over doubled in size, and the inside was slathered with a thick layer of buttery-cinnamon-sugary goodness, sprinkled with pecans. These babies were going to be good.

I woke up early and got into my walking gear. Set the oven to preheat and pulled the buns out of the fridge...they just needed to warm to room temperature.

"I'm going to walk Dora and then pick up some confectioner's sugar for the cinnamon bun icing. Can you stick the rolls in the oven when it's done preheating? Just keep them in for 30 minutes."

"No problem, Ky."

Easy as pie. I even wrote it down in case he forgot.

One hour later I return...to a dried out, nearly blackened pan of flat, lifeless, cinnamon buns. And a husband glued to his computer screen...listening to NPR's "Science Friday."

Seriously?

He happily ate his cinnamon buns anyway, slathered with a little extra icing.

Needless to say, there had better be some pancakes in my future, friends. And by future, I mean Sunday morning. It's a good thing he's so darn cute.

Perfect Cinnamon Buns

(from Allrecipes.com)

These cinnamon buns were SO easy, and they rose just beautifully. Just make sure you don't leave someone else in charge of the baking...

Dough Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup milk (I used almond milk)
• 1/4 cup butter or non-hydrogenated vegan margarine, softened
• 3 - 1/4 cups flour
• 2 - 1/4 tsp. rapid rise yeast
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 egg

Filling Ingredients:

• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup butter or non-hydrogenated vegan margarine, softened
• 1 TBSP cinnamon
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans

Powdered Sugar Glaze

(these amounts are approximate, as--oops!--I didn't measure)

• 1 - 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 2 - 3 TBSP almond milk
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla
• 2 TBSP non-hydrogenated vegan margarine

Directions:

1) In a small saucepan, warm the milk and butter over medium-low heat until bubbles start to appear. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly.

2) In a large mixing bowl, combine 2 - 1/4 cups flour, yeast, sugar, and salt. Add the water, egg, and milk mixture and beat until well-combined. Add the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time. When the dough has just pulled together, turn onto a lightly floured surface and knead for about 5 minutes until it is smooth and elastic. Place dough in a bowl, cover, and let rest for about 15 minutes.

3) Meanwhile, combine the brown sugar, butter, and cinnamon from the "filling ingredients" in a small bowl.

4) Roll dough out into a 12 x 9 inch rectangle. Spread the filling on the rectangle and sprinkle with pecans. Roll lengthwise and slice into 10 - 12 rolls. Place in a greased 13 x 9 inch pan, about an inch or two apart. Cover and allow to rise in a warm place for 1 - 2 hours.

5) Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Bake rolls for 20 - 30 minutes, or until the tops are lightly browned (My guess is that it will be closer to 30 minutes, but only the heavens know the answer to this one since I wasn't around to find out how long they should have baked!).

6) Beat the frosting ingredients in a small bowl, adding more sugar or milk to reach your desired consistency. Frost rolls while they're still warm.