buns in the oven

(that title’s for you, dm)

For about as long as I can remember, Christmas morning in the Mull household involves not just gifts and pajamas, but cinnamon rolls. I LOVE CINNAMON ROLLS. Eating little cakes, drenched in icing, and being able call it “breakfast?” Fantastic.

Last year, my family came out to Chicago so that we all could celebrate the holiday here in the city. It was a memorable visit for a number of reasons, the chief of which was having the chance to welcome them to a place that I’ve come to consider my home. And as any good hostess knows, celebrations and gatherings call for special touches. I decided to make our Christmas morning cinnamon buns from scratch and, instead of drenching them in creamy white frosting, opted for a sticky and sweet caramel pecan glaze.

Christmas mornings have never been the same. So long, rolls from a can!

This recipe is one of my favorites to make. It is super decadent–there is an unapologetically huge amount of sugar and butter involved, which is why these are so so good. It’s great for special occasions; the recipe makes a dozen rolls whose presentation is so nice and tempting that you’ll want to show them off. And while the recipe may seem involved, it really isn’t that difficult–it just takes a little planning and patience. But trust me, each step of this process is worth it! These lovelies are to die for.

gratitude

Thanksgiving is, hands down, my absolute favorite holiday. This may seem funny, considering I’m a vegetarian (but then again, everybody knows that the best part of the meal isn’t the turkey but, obviously, all the side dishes). A day full of good food, family, a little wine, and the likelihood of a post-meal nap? Love it.

As I get older, I’m realizing that maybe what I love  most is the sense of tradition that’s at the heart of this holiday. Thanksgiving would not be the same without Dad’s sweet potatoes, Mom’s corn casserole, the mashed potatoes, the gravy, the peanut butter pie. And while I’m all for a little innovation, I’m also a firm believer in the fact that our Turkey Day menu should–nay, must–be the same each year. Everything that this holiday represents is, for me, intimately tied to what we have each year at our dinner table. And anyway, I couldn’t even imagine what we could possibly leave out.

Except maybe the stuffing. Bread chunks cooked inside a carcass? Gross.

This year, I called dibs on baking the bread that would accompany dinner. I thought I’d try my hand at making some biscuits.

butter = flaky = yes!

Biscuits are fairly easy to make, and since the dough uses baking powder, you don’t need to wait for it to rise–which also makes it a quick recipe. In  about 30 minutes, start to finish, you can enjoy warm, buttery biscuits. How fabulous would they be at breakfast?

But they are also something to work at–to keep perfecting and tweaking until you can really nail the right recipe and technique. I rolled out mine a bit too thin, so while they still had several layers to them, I wish they had turned out a little thicker.

They still did a hell of a job wiping the last bits of gravy and casserole off my plate though, which is just what I like in a biscuit:

about 3 cups of flour
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1 Tablespoon salt
1 stick of butter, cold, sliced
1 cup milk

Mix dry ingredient together. Cut in cold butter until the dough is crumbly. While stirring, slowly add the milk. The dough should form into a ball.

Dust your working surface with flour. Lightly knead dough, adding a little flour, if needed, until dough is no longer sticky. Roll out dough to 1/2 inch thickness. Using a biscuit cutter (or the mouth of a small glass), cut biscuits and arrange on a greased cast iron skillet (a greased pan will also work). Brush biscuit tops with melted butter, and bake at 400 degrees for about 10-15 minutes, or until golden brown.

I imagine that substituting heavy cream or buttermilk for the milk, or shortening for the butter, would also yield tasty results. I fully intend to experiment and see.