A Sticky Situation

By now, you’ve probably caught on to Chowder‘s undying passion for all things sweet. Chocolate shop openings, cake batter ice cream, the ultimate vegan bakery treats—if it involves anything containing even a drop of vanilla extract, a dash of cocoa powder, or a dollop of whipped cream, we’re there faster than you can say “sugar rush.” And did we mention we’re pretty good in the kitchen, too?

But there is-for me at least-one confectionery road left untraveled until very recently: gooey homemade cinnamon buns, baked on a lazy late-winter Sunday morning.

In fact, for all the daring and even unreasonable recipes I’ve attempted over the years (a disastrously sticky butternut squash gnocchi, a chocolate cake so moist its three layers completely collapsed), I’d never before worked with yeast. It always seemed chemistry-heavy and fraught with frequent malfunction. But Alton Brown’s recipe for cinnamon buns is simple to follow—and yields otherworldly results: a fluffy, eggy bread, tangy-sweet from the addition of buttermilk and granulated sugar; a fragrant brown sugar and cinnamon filling.

The dough takes just two hours on the first rise, then chills overnight. On Sunday (or any day you’re in the mood for an extra-special breakfast), all you need to do is remove the buns from the fridge and complete a half-hour long second rise; then bake off and wait for the aroma to fill your kitchen

Try them out for yourself; I promise it’ll be a very sweet victory. All you’ve got to lose a couple hours in the kitchen—and, if your friends and family are like mine, a whole lot of flour and eggs.