Quick & Easy Bacon Cayenne Cinnamon Buns with Maple Glaze

yeah, I kind went overboard on the sugar here.....

Ok, don't have a heart attack....I did not make these for Grumpy although I do believe he ate one of them.  These will give you a sugar high.  Seriously.  Everyone once and a while I want quick, bread-y, sweet/heat and cinnamon-y somethin' somethin'.  A lot of times when I want something like that I grab a can of Pillsbury Orange Sweet Rolls and just kill the craving.  Yesterday morning I didn't have that can and I, like a bad girl, did not go to the gym that morning so I didn't have opportunity to go to the store next to the gym afterward.  The weather deterred me - so don't judge me for skipping out of exercising yesterday - or all week for that matter.  The weather has stunk this last week.  I promise, tomorrow I'll be right back there.  We are supposed to warm right up to 45 by tomorrow and getting out in rain is a little easier than getting out in ice and snow.  Anywho.....

I was craving sweet heat and salt and I had just come across this recipe on Pinterest for Quick and Easy Cinnamon Buns.  BTW, Have you joined my at Pinterest yet?  If you haven't please do so I can follow you too!

I knew as soon as I saw it I would try it because guess what they have in them? Ricotta cheese!  That was different and her rolls looked so good I couldn't resist.  You have those moments too...I know you do!  Anyway, I went ahead and made them.  They were better than canned rolls but I have to admit, they were not better than a good old yeasty cinnamon roll.  If I had a choice, I would choose a yeast roll over a quick one - but hey, these were still good and they hit the spot.  I shared with my sweet neighbor Jill and her family so they wouldn't hang around my house all morning tempting me.  Now that I've had my  naughty treat for the week I promise to be good for a while.  I've found a  breakfast cookie recipe on Peanut Butter and Julie's site that I intend to try out this week - its a definite healthy cookie and hopefully it will counteract kill my bread-y sweet/heat desire that I caved into.  I do like to think I'm cheating by eating cookies for breakfast but being sneaky about it because they are healthy!

just look at all that maple frosting yumminess and brown sugar goodness!

Quick & Easy Bacon Cinnamon Buns with Maple Glaze
adapted from Don't Forget Delicious - Fastest Cinnamon Rolls

Printable Recipe

Dough:

3/4 cup part skim ricotta cheese
1 tsp lemon juice with enough Almond milk added to make 1/3 of liquid
1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 cups white whole wheat flour, lightly spooned into measuring cup and then leveled off
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. baking soda

Filling
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2/3 cup packed brown sugar  (I would actually use 1/2 cup instead of 2/3- it seemed like way too much after it was baked)
1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
couple dashes of cayenne pepper

4 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled (I use the pre-cooked bacon for this, microwave it for 30 seconds and its ready to use!)

Maple Glaze
1 cup powdered sugar

1 tablespoon melted unsalted butter
2 tablespoons maple syrup- more if needed to make frosting of spreading consistancy (of you can use extract for flavor and milk to loosen the frosting up)

Instructions


Heat the oven to 400°F. Spray the sides and bottom of a 8 or 9″ baking pan with cooking spray.

Combine the ricotta cheese, almond milk mixture, splenda, melted butter, and vanilla in food processor and process until smooth, about 10 seconds. Add the flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda and pulse in short bursts just until the dough clumps together.  The dough may look like biscuit crumbles, that's ok it will come right together when kneaded.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead it with floured hands 4 or 5 times until smooth. With a rolling pin, roll the dough into a 12 x 15" rectangle.

Brush the dough with the melted butter, leaving a 1/2' border unbuttered around the edges. In a medium bowl, combine brown sugar, cinnamon and cayenne. Sprinkle the mixture over the buttered area of the dough and press gently into the surface.  Sprinkle with cooked bacon pieces.

Starting at a long edge, roll up the dough jelly-roll style. Pinch the seam to seal, and leave the ends open.
With a sharp knife, cut the roll into equal pieces - I was able to get 9 rolls. Set the pieces, cut side up, in the prepared pan, touching slightly.

Bake until golden brown and firm to the touch, 20 to 28 minutes. Set the pan on a wire rack to cool for 5 minutes.


To make the glaze:
In a small bowl mix the melted, powdered sugar, and maple syrup to make a smooth glaze. Add more syrup as needed to achieve desired consistency. Spread onto warm rolls.  These, like the canned biscuits are best served warm and eaten the same morning they are made.  I had a couple left over at the end of the day and it reminded me a lot of the canned rolls that just dry out and aren't as good as they are when freshly baked.  You could probably microwave a few seconds (like 15) and warm it up some and it would be fine.