Aren’t these just the most delicious things you’ve ever seen??? Who isn’t a sucker for a nice, fresh, warm cinnamon bun…but a homemade one guys – am I right?!? I am excited to share this lovely, fellow Canadian food blogger Kristie over at the Sweet & Simple Kitchen blog! This beautiful lady has the most droolable Instagram feed {found here} and totally gets my baking hands itching, head over and give her a follow and show her some love…you’ll never be struggling to think of a Sunday morning scrumptious recipe ever again, I promise. She is also a fan of cooking with butter, just like us – I think if we baked together it would be dangerous! These cinnamon buns are from her beautiful blog, homemade and made with love – just the way we like it over at Bonjour Bliss Blog! She’s so graciously shared the recipe with you guys and I simply had to include a mini interview with her, we asked Kristie 10 questions about her love of food and you can find the recipe for these gorgeous cinnamon buns at the end of the post too. xo

1. What is your favourite thing about cooking & baking?

My favourite thing about cooking and baking is getting to share my creations with people around me. For me there is something so special about creating food from scratch, making it with a whole bunch of love and then getting to see the joy it brings to people when they taste it. Food is such a universally special thing that brings people and families together, and I love being able to make that happen.

2. Where do you find inspiration for your recipes?

My recipes are often inspired by the changing seasons. I love to bake and cook with ingredients that are fresh, grown locally, and honestly simple in their ingredients. I want my recipes to be simple enough to inspire people to bake – even if they never have before – and at the same time I want them to always be comforting and delicious.

3. What is your favourite food & least favourite food?

My favourite food hands down would have to be cinnamon buns – no joke. I absolutely love them. I am a sucker for a good old fashioned, ooey, gooey, cinnamon bun that has been loaded up with cream cheese frosting; that is pretty much as good as it gets for me. My least favourite food would probably be seafood.

4. Is there one recipe in particular that your family requests you to make for them?

If there is one recipe that my family always requests that I make – it would be my Chocolate Mousse Layer Cake; my brothers are absolutely obsessed with it and they can never seem to get enough.

5. Do you do your own photography? What tips do you have for food bloggers and photographing their recipes?

I take all of my own pictures and even though I’m not a professionally trained photographer by any means – I absolutely love to do it! I think my top three tips for food bloggers doing their own photography would be; 1. To buy a good quality, high resolution camera – I have a Canon Rebel t5i and I just love it; 2. Try to shoot in a bright room with lots of natural day light – something this is really challenging to do, especially in the winter time when the days are so short, but it really makes all the difference; 3. Try to tell a story or a mood for your pictures – and what I mean by that is try to take photos that will resonate with your audience, and make them fall in love with what you have made.

How adorable is she guys !!??? 

6. Since you are Canadian, do you have one favourite Canadian ingredient you enjoy working with?

Well I mean this is going to sound super cliche, but my favourite Canadian ingredient to work with would have to be hands down Maple Syrup – I mean is there anything better than pure Canadian Maple Syrup?

7. Who taught you your way around the kitchen?

My mom taught me everything I know and love about the kitchen. She was always whipping up homemade baked goodies for my brothers and I, and I can remember helping her when I was just a little girl. She instilled in me the belief that there is truly nothing better than homemade food that is made with lots of love, and that is still my mantra to this day.

8. If you could cook with anyone in the world, who would it be?

If I could cook with anyone in the world – I know this is going to sound a bit cheesy – but it would be my mom. We always have the most amazing time coming up with new recipes, and I truly cherish the time we spend in the kitchen together. However; Giada De laurentiis is a close second 😉

9. If you could travel anywhere in the world and enjoy their culinary presence, where would it be?

If I could travel to Italy to enjoy their culinary presence – that would be my idea of the ultimate trip. Not only to I absolutely LOVE Italian food (pasta, bread and good cheese are my idea of the perfect meal), but I just love their philosophy around food as well.

10. What are you making in the kitchen right now?

Every Sunday night we have a family dinner at my Fiance’s Aunts house, and I usually bring the dessert – so this morning I am baking a Pineapple Upsidedown Cake… one of my fav’s!

Skillet Pecan Cinnamon Buns with Cream Cheese Frosting

Makes: 12 Cinnamon Buns

Things you need…
1 pckg dry instant yeast
1/4 cup whole milk, warmed
1/4 cup buttermilk, warmed
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 egg, room temp
1/4 cup butter, room temp
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt

Brown Sugar -Pecan Filling
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 tbsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup toasted pecans, chopped {optional}

Cream Cheese Frosting
1/4 cup butter, softened
1/2 package cream cheese, softened
3 cups icing sugar
1 tsp vanilla

How to make…
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook add your yeast and a couple tsp of the sugar. Pour the warmed milks over the yeast and sugar and lightly whisk to combine. Allow your yeast to sit in the warm milk like this for 5-10 minutes to proof. When you come back to your yeast after 5-10 minutes it should be frothy – this indicates that your yeast is active and good to go. If you come back and your yeast hasn’t gotten frothy or foamed up, discard the contents in your bowl and start over with new fresh packages of yeast and proof again using the same technique.

Once you have proofed your yeast, add the remaining sugar to the mixture as well as the softened butter and turn your mixer onto low to begin combining the ingredients. Mix for a minute or so until the softened butter is broken up into chunks. Add your beaten egg and allow to mix until combined. Slowly begin to add your flour 1/2 cup at a time allow the flour to incorporate slightly before each addition.

Once you have added all of your flour, turn your mixer onto medium speed and allow it to mix the dough until a large smooth mass forms. The dough should be soft and a bit sticky, but not so wet that it is sticking to the sides of the bowl. If you find that your dough is sticking to the sides of your bowl, add a bit more flour 1 tbsp at a time until it comes away from the sides of the bowl. Allow to turn on medium speed for 5 minutes.

Remove dough from bowl – it should be smooth and elastic. Knead with your hands for an additional 2 minutes on a lightly floured surface. Next, place your dough into a large greased bowl, lightly grease the top of your dough and cover with a dry tea towel. Set your dough aside to rise in a warm place for 1 1/2 – 2 hours or until doubled in size.

** My oven has a warming function, so I usually set the warming function to low and let my dough sit in here to rise. If your oven has this feature, this is a great way to let your dough rise. If not, simply preheat your oven to about 200 degrees, shut it off and place the dough in there to rise as there will be enough residual heat in your oven to keep it nice a warm.

Brown Sugar Filling
In a small mixing bowl beat together butter, brown sugar, cinnamon and vanilla until fluffy. Add flour and beat until combined.

Assembly
Once your cinnamon bun dough has risen, punch dough down and turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Roll out into a rectangle that is 1/4 inch thick.

Spread brown sugar filling out across the dough, leaving a 1 inch border at the bottom. Sprinkle the toasted pecans (if using) across the surface of the dough evenly and gently press down into the sugar filling.

Roll dough up jelly-roll style and pinch the end together to seal. Cut into 12 even 1 inch rolls. Place rolls into two parchment lined 9×9 inch cast iron skillets – 6 per skillet. Set aside to rise again in a warm place for another 30 – 45.

While your rolls are rising, preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Sprinkle with granulated sugar and bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden. Remove from oven and allow to cool 5-10 minutes before frosting with cream cheese icing.

Cream Cheese Frosting

While your cinnamon buns are baking, whip up your cream cheese frosting.

In a medium bowl, beat together butter and cream cheese using an electric mixer until completely smooth and there are no lumps. Add in icing sugar 1/2 cup at a time, beating until combined before each addition. Once all of your icing sugar is mixed in, add in vanilla and turn the mixer onto high and beat for 3-4 minutes until pale and fluffy. Set aside until your cinnamon buns are ready to be frosted.

Spread a generous helping on top of each cinnamon bun, serve warm, and enjoy!

Happy cinnamon bun baking <3 – Kristie

To see more delicious recipes and how to make them visit the Sweet & Simple Kitchen Blog {here}!