Easter Sunday Brunch

Happy Easter Sunday! One of my favorite parts of the special day is serving up brunch and a must have is oozy, gooey sticky buns. I'm serving up a batch this morning and sharing my recipe with you! Enjoy with a mimosa or some French pressed coffee. 

Cinnamon Rolls

Yields 12 rolls

For dough:

3/4 cup cottage cheese

1/3 cup buttermilk

1/4 cup sugar

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour plus more for rolling

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

For filling:

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

2/3 cup packed dark brown sugar

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

1 1/4 cup chopped walnuts

For glaze:

2 ounces cream cheese, softened

1 cup powdered sugar

2 tablespoons fresh orange juice

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

To make dough:

Combine cottage cheese, buttermilk, sugar, butter, and vanilla in food processor until smooth, about 15 seconds.  Add flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda to food processor.  Pulse in short bursts just until dough clumps together.  The dough will be quite moist. 

Place the dough on a floured surface and use floured hands to knead just until smooth, four to six times should be sufficient.  Use a rolling pin to roll dough into a 15x18-inch rectangle.

Preheat oven to 400º.  Grease the sides and bottom of a 9-inch pan with cooking spray.

To make filling:

Brush the dough with melted butter to within 1/2 inch of the edges. Combine brown sugar, cinnamon, and pumpkin pie spice in the food processor for a few seconds.  It is not necessary to wash the food processor first.   Sprinkle sugar mixture onto buttered part of dough.  Press the mixture into the dough careful to maintain the dough’s even thickness.  Sprinkle with nuts and press again. 

Next, roll up the dough starting with a long edge.  Seal the seam by pinching it and then roll onto seam.   Leave ends open.  Slice the roll into twelve uniform pieces using a sharp knife.  Place the pieces in the greased pan, cut side up.  The pieces should fill the pan and touch each other but small gaps are fine.

Bake until rolls are golden brown and firm to the touch, 22 to 28 minutes.  Cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes.  Turn over onto a piece of foil and then place serving plate on top of rolls and flip rolls over onto plate.

To make glaze:

Combine cream cheese, powdered sugar, orange juice, and vanilla in a mixing bowl.  Beat with an electric mixer until glaze is smooth.  The consistency should be thick but pourable.

After rolls have cooled for 5 minutes, pour glaze over the rolls.  You can reserve some of the glaze to serve with the rolls.  Cool for an additional 15 minutes and serve.