A recreated recipe from an 80's bakery on the East Coast.
"These cinnamon raisin buns are absolutely delicious. A recreation from my child hood. I like to make them the night before, take them out in the morning and let them rise. I have also played with the recipe and made them into sticky buns. You have to check them out!"
I have recreated a favorited treat that was part if my childhood. I would get to take a walk with my Dad to the little local Italian bakery (that has been gone since the early 90's) about 6 blocks from my house on a Sunday morning when he returned home from work. We would always get 6 Cinnamon Raisin Buns (They were aout 5" long each!), 6 pizza strips, and 3 lace cookies for me. (Daddy knew they were my favorite). This recipe brings be back to those perfect memories. It males me happy to now share it with you!
Cinnamon Raisin Buns
Servings – 16 Prep Time – 30 Minutes Cook Time – 20 Minutes
Additional Time - 1 Hour & 10 Minutes
Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups warm water
3 - .25 oz packages active dry yeast, I use Fleischmann's like my Mom and Nana used to.
1 - 15.25 oz package white cake mix, I prefer Duncan Hines
4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup chopped walnuts, or to taste - optional
1 1/2 cups raisins
Honey Cream Cheese Frosting:
4 cups powdered sugar
2 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup - 8oz brick of cream cheese, softened - I use Philadelphia
1/2 cup butter, softened - I like Land O'Lakes
2 tablespoons pure honey
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Grease a 9x13-inch baking pan.
Cinnamon Raisin Rolls:
Add warm water into a bowl; add yeast and let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.
Combine yeast mixture, cake mix, and 3 cups of flour in a large bowl; stir well. Add remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring well after each addition until dough pulls together.
Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes.
Lightly oil a large bowl; place dough in the bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 30 minutes. You can place this in your oven, with it turned OFF.
In a small bowl mix brown sugar, cinnamon, raisins and walnuts (if using). Mix to combine and set aside.
Deflate dough and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Roll the dough into a 10x16-inch rectangle.
Spread softened butter over the rectangle; sprinkle on brown sugar mixture evenly across the spread butter . Starting from one of the long sides, roll up the rectangle and cut into 1-inch wide rolls.
Arrange each roll snugly in the prepared pan. (You may need two pans depending on the size you are using) Pour over melted butter evenly over all rolls followed by the cream.
Cover rolls with a damp cloth and let rise until doubled in volume, about 30 minutes.
Bake in a 350 degree preheated oven until golden brown, about 20 minutes.
Frosting:
Start by sifting the powdered sugar. Set it aside.
Cream the softened cream cheese and butter together in the bowl of an electric mixer, for about 2 minutes, until light and fluffy. You can cream together by hand if you do not have a stand or hand mixer. This will take about 5 minutes of whipping.
Add vanilla extract and honey. Mix to combine.
Add powdered sugar to the bowl.
Incorporate the powdered sugar with the cream cheese and butter, slowly. This will prevent the cloud dust of sugar poofing all over your kitchen! Trust me, I have made this mistake more than once! Add milk a little at a time and mix until you do not see anymore streaks of loose powdered sugar.
This frosting will store well in the fridge for up to 5 days, covered.
Make sure to always leave your frosting covered. Cover the bowl with a lid or plastic wrap, pushing it on and around the frosting; otherwise, the surface will dry out and get hard.
Nutrition:
Calories 399 | Fat 14g | Saturated Fat 6g | Cholesterol 23mg | Sodium 278mg | Carbohydrate 64g | Fiber 2g | Sugars 28g | Protein 6g | Calcium 81mg | Iron 2mg | Potassium 122mg
“You can play with your food and try using other flavored cake mixes you'd like.”
CWT is not a certified dietician or nutritionist. Any nutritional information shared on this site is an estimate counted through measurements and package nutritional information used in each recipe. If calorie, macro counting and other nutritional values are important to you, I recommend running the ingredients through your choice of nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories can vary depending on national brands used per recipe.