The Best Pillowy Coffee Cinnamon Buns

Directions

• Coffee Buns
• In a pot over medium heat or a heatproof bowl into the microwave, melt 1/4 cup butter with 3/4 cup milk. Cool slightly. Butter and milk mixture should be warm to touch but not scorching hot, otherwise, the yeast can be killed.
• Add 2 Tbsp instant coffee, 1 egg and 1/4 cup sugar to butter and milk mixture and combine.
• In a stand mixer bowl with a dough hook or a large bowl, add 2.5 cups of bread flour, 2 1/4 Tsp instant yeast, and 3/4 Tsp salt. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and combine. When it forms a dough and you can no longer see any flour, knead for 6 minutes at high speed. The dough will be pretty sticky, but as you continue to mix it will become less sticky. If the dough is still too sticky, you can add 1-2 tbsp of additional flour. If kneading by hand, knead for an additional 2-3 min and make sure both hands are covered with flour before kneading as it may stick to your hands. The dough should be soft, smooth, and easy to form into a ball. Shape into a ball and place into a greased bowl, cover, and rest in a warm place for 1.5-2 hours or until doubled in size.
• Brown Butter Coffee Cinnamon Filling: While the dough is resting, make your brown butter for the cinnamon filling. In a light-coloured pot over medium heat, melt 1/2 cup of unsalted butter. Once melted, stir the butter often with a heat-proof spatula to evenly cook the milk solids (the white specks). After around 3-4 minutes, the butter will foam up. Stir the pan to see if the milk solids have browned to a golden brown colour and the butter smells nutty. Remove from the bowl into a heat-proof bowl, scraping all the brown bits immediately after it is done. Careful as it burns quickly! Pop the butter into the fridge to cool for 20-25 minutes until it solidifies but is still spreadable.
  
  Grind 2 Tbsp of instant coffee in a mortar and pestle till it is fine and powder-like. In a bowl, add 1/2 cup packed brown sugar, instant coffee, 2 tsp cinnamon and a pinch of salt and combine. Set aside.
• After 1.5- 2 hours, the dough should have doubled in size. If your dough has not risen, the yeast may be expired or have been killed. On a clean surface, dust some bread flour and place your dough on the surface. Dust more bread flour on top of the dough and roll out the dough into a rectangle, around 13 inches by long by 9 inches wide. The rectangle will not be perfect so don’t stress too much. The short side should be verticle. Roll the top edge slightly thinner so that when you roll the buns up, the end does not poof up.
• Take your cooled brown butter that has solidified but is still spreadable and spread evenly over the dough. If it is too hard, microwave the brown butter in 5 seconds intervals. Evenly sprinkle the brown sugar-cinnamon mixture over the butter, leaving a small border at the top edge.
• Starting from the bottom going up vertically, roll the cinnamon bun tightly until the end. Keep the seam side down. The middle of the roll will be slightly thicker, so stretch the roll out in the middle a bit. Using a sharp serrated knife, cut off around 1/2 an inch off each side, as the ends are usually thinner and aren’t evenly distributed with cinnamon sugar. Cut cinnamon buns into 1 -1.5 inch thick slices. Depending on your thickness you will get 12-16 buns. Place into a pan greased with butter of your choice (you can use a 9×13, round dish, or square pan). Ensure there is some space in between each roll as they will rise and spread. Cover, and let the buns rest until they double in size, around 30-40 minutes.
• Once doubled in size, preheat your oven to 375° Fahrenheit. Melt 2-3 tbsp of butter and brush the tops of the buns with some melted butter. Bake at 375° for 18-20 minutes in the middle rack, or until the tops are browned and buns cooked through. The top of the buns will be a darker brown, from the caramelization of the coffee and sugar, this is normal! While the buns cook, if the middle of the dough poofs up, push it down with a spoon slightly. Remove and let it cool while you make the coffee syrup.
• Coffee Syrup
• Combine 2 Tbsp of warm milk and 1 Tsp of instant coffee until the granules dissolve. Mix in 1/4 cup of powdered sugar. The mixture should be quite runny.
  
• Take half of your coffee syrup and carefully spoon some of the syrup on top of the slightly cooled buns. You want the coffee syrup to soak into the buns for maximal coffee flavour. Careful not to pour too much syrup otherwise they will be soggy, around 1 Tsp per bun is enough! Set the buns aside while you work on the cream cheese frosting.
• Cream Cheese Frosting
• In a bowl, add softened cream cheese and softened unsalted butter. Cream together until well combined. Add vanilla, powdered sugar, salt and combine. If the frosting is slightly too thick, add a splash of warm milk and mix.
• Assemble
• Frost slightly warm cinnamon buns with as much or as little cream cheese frosting as you like. If the cinnamon buns are too hot, the frosting will melt.
• With the remaining coffee syrup, drizzle on top of the cream cheese frosting. Using a knife or a chopstick, swirl the coffee syrup with the cream cheese frosting. Serve slightly warm for the ultimate soft, gooey and pillowy buns! Enjoy!