cardamom buns, again

Bakers have got to be the most popular people around, what with all of the sharing they must do. Every time I venture back into baking world I am faced with the same inevitable challenge that follows: what do I do with all of the food afterward?? I am but one person and, although I have a sweet tooth that can rival most 3rd graders, I simply cannot finish two dozen cookies and an entire cake on my own. I’m sorry.

So, you can imagine my relief when I came across this recipe from Bon Appétempt. Swedish cardamom buns. Here’s why I’m happy — 1.) These are buns designed to be enjoyed during a relaxing tea time, among friends (read: they’ll eat what I can’t); and 2.) They freeze beautifully (or, more time for me to eat what others could not).

Cardamom has rapidly moved to the forefront of the favorite-spice race in my kitchen this past year. Any chance I have, I’m grinding those cute little seeds: into oatmeal, any cookies, sweet breads, even my coffee grounds.

These buns have more than a few steps, yes (more than I usually do), but they are very much worth it. Your entire home will fill with the smells of warm spices and buttery yeast.

Oh, and, nuking them for 15 seconds brings them right back to life after being frozen for weeks. Boom.

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Cardamom Buns

Dough:

• 1 1/2 packets dry active yeast

• 5 T butter

• 1 c milk

• pinch of salt

• 3 1/2 T sugar

• 1 t ground cardamom

• almost 3 c flour

Filling:

• 3 1/2 T butter, room-temperature

• 3 1/2 T sugar

• 1/2 t cinnamon

• 1/2 t ground cardamom

Topping:

• 1 egg, lightly beaten

• turbinado sugar (sugar in the raw)

– Make dough: Melt butter with milk in saucepan until luke warm. Add yeast and let sit a few minutes until foamy. Stir in salt, sugar, and cardamom.

– Transfer yeast mix to a mixing bowl or, if mixing by hand (as I did — it’s not too much work, trust me), a large bowl. Add 2/3 of the flour and mix until smooth and shiny, I just used my hands. Add a little more flour (save some for kneading later) and keep mixing until dough pulls from the sides of the bowl.

– Cover bowl with a towel and let rise in a warm place (like near the oven) until it has doubled in size, about 30 minutes.

– Make filling: Mix all filling ingredients together. That was easy.

– Prepare muffin cups — either use sturdy foil muffin liners that can stand up on a baking sheet (as I did) or fill each cup of a muffin tin with liners.

– Flour a work surface and turn dough out to knead. Knead until smooth and shiny again, then cut in half. Roll out each half into a rectangle of equal size, about 12″x12″. Evenly spread filling over one rectangle, (not quite to the edge), then top with the other rectangle.

– Roll up rectangle sandwich, long side-to-long side, and cut into equal-sized rounds. A sharp knife helps here.

– Place one round in each muffin cup. Cover filled muffin cups with a towel and let rise until doubled in size (again), about 30-45 minutes.

– Preheat oven to 425°F. Once buns have risen, coat each with a little egg wash and a generous sprinkling of turbinado sugar.

– Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until golden.

**Enjoy either that day or the next to avoid drying out. Or pop them into freezer bags and keep them in the freezer for…a long time. IF you don’t eat them by then.