
Sometimes you just have to have that hit of coffee. I can't start a day without a cup of joe, so when I got an itch to make something coffee flavored I knew I had better scratch it!
The problem was, what to make?! I've already made a Coffee and Cream Sponge Cake, Mocha Whipped Cream and Mocha Frosting.
I even thought about making you a fun coffee drink. But a barista I am not, and I am sure you could find plenty of delicious inspiration elsewhere.
So I let it ruminate in the back of my brain for a bit and went back to daydreaming about Cinnamon Buns.
And that is when it hit me!
If you can do a cinnamon bun latte, why couldn't you do it the other way around?

The smoke started pouring from my ears as the gears started cranking on that one. It seemed like it would be easy enough to infuse some coffee flavor into that cinnamon bun recipe I loved so much.
So I went to the pantry and pulled out my trusty jar of instant coffee. I never thought I would use it nearly as frequently as I do.
I bought it for some recipe I really wanted to try and put it in the pantry where I thought it would linger until it looked old and dusty only to be thrown away. Boy was I ever wrong. I find myself putting it in almost any recipe that calls for chocolate.
That jar sees the light of day more than I ever gave it credit for and brings such a nice depth to so many fun chocolate recipes? Don't believe me? It's in probably darn near a third of my chocolate recipes!
I adjusted my cinnamon bun recipe a bit here and there and infused coffee flavor into each step. I added coffee to the milk in the dough.
There is plenty of coffee in the filling, in fact that is where the biggest coffee flavor is. Then a added some to the glaze as well.
They smelled so good as they baked. Just like your favorite coffee shop bakery.
Then I let them cool and got ready to bring them to the crew pouring cement at my mother-in-law's house. That is when the panic set in.
Did I add too much coffee? Were they bitter? Did I not add enough coffee? Were they good?

Of course I had to give them a try myself before I could know for certain. They were soooooo good!
The coffee in the dough was subtle, but the filling gave it that added punch without being too much. A non-coffee lover could still enjoy it but those of us who live by coffee would certainly love them more.
They were soft, just sweet enough and had that added layer of flavor from the coffee. I can't wait to make them again!
Yield: 12 servings

Coffee and Cream Cinnamon Buns
Your favorite coffee house drink and breakfast treat have now become one amazing thing! These coffee and cream cinnamon buns are a must try!
prep time: 2 H & 15 Mcook time: 20 Mtotal time: 2 H & 35 M
ingredients:
- 1 cup plain mashed potatoes, with 1/4 cup of the cooking water reserved if possible
- 1 cup milk
- 1 T instant coffee granules
- 1/2 cup + 1 T sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 4 T butter
- 2 1/2 tsp active dry yeast
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1 T cinnamon
- 1 1/2 T instant coffee granules
- 3 T butter, softened
- pinch of salt
- 1 1/2 T butter, softened
- 1 1/3 cup powdered sugar
- pinch of salt
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 tsp instant coffee granules
- 3 T cream
instructions:
How to cook Coffee and Cream Cinnamon Buns
- Start by getting your potatoes ready. I used one large potato. Peel it, cut it into cubes and boil it until it is soft. Pour 1/4 cup of that water into a small bowl or measuring cup to proof the yeast. Drain the rest of the water and return the potato cubes to the saucepan. Mash until smooth.
- Meanwhile dissolve the coffee granules in the milk and set aside.
- Once water is about 110 F, add the tablespoon of sugar and the yeast. Set aside.
- Add the coffee milk, butter, salt and 1/2 cup of sugar to the potatoes. Stir and warm over low heat until warmed through.
- Butter a large mixing bowl and set aside.
- Place the warm potato mixture in the bowl of your mixer. Stir in the egg, vanilla, and yeast mixture.
- Slowly add in the flour. You want to stop adding flour while the dough is still sticky, but it should at least come together into a dough. With the dough hook attachment, allow your mixer to "knead" the dough for about 5 minutes. Feel free to add a bit more flour if needed, but you don't want to add any more than you have to. If you notice my picture of my dough hook, it was still a pretty loose dough when I was done.
- Turn the dough into the buttered bowl, be sure to scrape all that goodness off of the mixer bowl and hook. Cover and allow to rise to at least double its size, about an hour or an hour and a half.
- Punch down the dough and give it a couple of quick kneads to make sure it is deflated.
- Place on a lightly floured surface. Let rest for about 10 minutes, then roll into a 18" square.
- Butter a 10x15x1" jelly roll pan. (Two 9x13's or or half sheet pan would work as well.)
- In a small bowl, mix together the sugar, cinnamon, coffee, butter and salt. Sprinkle over dough.
- Roll dough into a log and cut into 12 equal pieces. Place on buttered baking dish. Cover loosely with a towel and let rise for another hour.
- Preheat oven to 375 F.
- Bake for 20 minutes, rotating the pan half way through. The tops should be a light golden brown.
- Let sit for about 5 minutes, then put together the glaze.
- In a small bowl, use your hand mixer to beat together the butter, coffee, powdered sugar, salt, vanilla and cream until smooth. You want it to be a thick consistency, barely thin enough to pour.
- Drizzle glaze all over warm cinnamon rolls and spread a bit if necessary, then let cool.
Copyright: Cooking With Carlee 2020
I am all for a gooey treat! I bet the coffee adds a really nice flavor and keeps the buns from being too sweet.
ReplyDeleteThe coffee really does help balance the sweetness and gives it just enough coffee flavor. Thank you!
DeleteCinnamon buns are my favorite and your coffee version looks amazing. I love there's coffee in the glaze too!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Ellen! I figured in order to really have the coffee come through, I should put it in ever step. Then I panicked that maybe I had done too much and they'd be bitter. All of that worry for nothing. I wouldn't change a thing next time I make them!
DeleteLove that the cinnamon rolls have coffee flavor in them!
ReplyDeleteThank you! It really goes well with the cinnamon and creamy glaze!
DeleteOh, man, Carlee! You almost, alllllllmost, wouldn't need a cup of coffee with these. But wouldn't a cup be perfect with them!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Stacy! You could almost get away without, but it would feel slightly blasphemous! ;-)
DeleteWhat what WHAT?! How did I not think of this?
ReplyDeleteI know, right? We've been missing out all of this time!
DeleteMmmm...I love that you added so much yummy coffee flavor to these buns!!
ReplyDeleteI really worried I might have overdone it for a minute... then I took a bite and the worries melted into a smile! Thanks, Liz!
DeleteHi Carlee, OMG those buns looks so good and I bet are delicious. Thanks for the recipe!!
ReplyDeleteEnjoy the week.
Julie xo
Thank you, Julie! They are definitely worth the effort!
DeleteGreat idea using mashed potatoes, must be unbelievable! Nettie
ReplyDeleteI love how soft the potato dough is! Thank you!
DeleteI can only imagine the aromas when you bake these and then eating a warm bun? I'm in heaven just thinking about it!!!!
ReplyDeleteThey smelled soooo good baking, Monica. It was hard to keep from diving into one as soon as it came out of the oven! Thank you!
DeleteI just learned about putting mashed potatoes in cinnamon roll dough last week. I'll have to try your recipe!
ReplyDeleteYou will be amazed how much the yeast likes the potato water if you boil a potato. You can also use instant though if you're in a hurry. The plain cinnamon bun recipe definitely stole my heart, but these give them a run for their money!
DeleteCarlee, bring me one!! Lol. Heck I'll even drive over to Illinois for one of those cinnamon buns!! I'm leaving the yeast to you, I don't why I'm so terrible with it. In fact I've got some upcoming pumpkin cinnamon rolls without yeast since I suck at ur, lol. But oh how I love the notion of a good cinnamon roll!!
ReplyDeleteLet's meet half way and go shopping! I love the idea of a pumpkin cinnamon roll. I can't wait to see them!
DeleteThese look so sinful I suspect I would have to go to confession after eating them! However, we all need some sin in our lives...
ReplyDeleteYou do have to live a little every once in a while ;-) Thank you!
DeleteHoly cow do these look good!!! Thanks for joining the Family Joy link party this week! I'm going to pin this to our group board now!! Have a great week
ReplyDeleteMelissa
Thanks, Melissa! They were delicious!
DeleteThese cinnamon buns look delicious and who doesn't love a great cinnamon bun.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Candy! There is just something about a good cinnamon bun, isn't there?
DeleteAhh amazing! I love cinnamon buns. so delicious!
ReplyDeleteThank you!
Deletemashed potatoes?! Interesting! Never would have thought that would be in the dough! These look incredible! Perfect for a lazy sunday!
ReplyDeleteIt's a lot like making potato rolls. They yeast loves the potato starch and the resulting bread is so soft and yummy!
DeleteWow - I could not say no to these cinnamon buns for sure! So good!
ReplyDeleteIt's impossible to say no! Thank you!
DeleteI love this kind of treat. Mouth watering! Yay! Delicious!
ReplyDeleteThank you!
DeleteOh my these look so good. Cinnamon buns are my favourite!! They are a great breakfast treat.
ReplyDeletehttp://xoxobella.com
Thanks, Bella!
DeleteOh my gosh! This looks like such an amazing treat. I love everything coffee and if a cinnamon bun is involved I'm 100% there!!!
ReplyDeleteAren't the two together just perfect? Thank you!
DeleteI know what I will be making this weekend! So yummy!!
ReplyDeleteThank you! I hope you love them!
DeleteOh yum! Those look delicious!
ReplyDeleteThank you!
DeleteThese sound so amazing! YUM! Pinned!
ReplyDeleteI would love for you to share this with my Facebook Group for recipes, crafts, tips, and tricks: https://www.facebook.com/groups/pluckyrecipescraftstips/
Thanks for joining Cooking and Crafting with J & J!
Thank you!
DeleteWoah!!! Look soooo yummy! can't wait to try and make it at home!
ReplyDeleteThank you! They are definitely worth making. I hope you love them!
DeleteThese look great, and I can imagine lots of great coffee flavor.
ReplyDeleteI really love how they turned out. Enough coffee to definitely know it's there but not too much. Thanks, Caroline!
DeleteThese sound amazing, I can't wait to give these a try!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Lauren! I'm sure they'll knock your socks off!
DeleteYummy Cinnamon Buns, a great treat for Sunday Supper. Thanks so much for sharing with us today at Full Plate Thursday and have a great weekend!
ReplyDeleteMiz Helen
Thanks, Miz Helen!
DeleteThis is brilliant! Coffee flavored cinnamon buns? OMG I am in love! They make for a great combo together for breakfast, but to marry these flavors is genius! I wouldn't be able to stop at just one!
ReplyDeleteI love coffee flavored baked goods, desserts and ice cream, this may be my new favorite! Right up there with tiramisu!
Thanks, Nikki! I was so worried when I set out. I wasn't sure if it was just something that seemed like a good idea, but would be a flop. Worry not, it was a great idea! (Other than potentially being a slippery slope towards having my three year old like coffee... which is something none of us needs!)
DeleteI love coming up with new ideas by myself! Such a great feeling 😀 I have a hard time relating to people that don't like the flavor of coffee as it's one of my favorite flavors. How can some people not like coffee? I don't get it!! These look amazing Carlee, I'll be trying them for sure!
ReplyDeleteIsn't it fun when something works out like you want it to?! I'm not sure about non-coffee drinkers either... like what do they do in the morning? It doesn't even make sense!
DeleteGenius! I had to read the title twice to make sure I read it right! These are definitely company worthy, and ONLY happening when we have company for fear I would eat the whole pan if I didn't have to share :)
ReplyDeleteThat is definitely a valid worry! I hope you have a great occasion to give them a try soon!
DeleteCarlee! You must stop with these scrumptious posts! Just kidding! These would go so great for dessert after the slow cooker apple cider pulled pork recipe! I think I have a dinner menu all pulled together! THanks for sharing @ Country Fair Blog Party! Jan
ReplyDeletePerfect! It sounds like a great dinner! Thanks so much for hosting!
Delete