One of the great things about yeast doughs—aside from the fact that they’re way easier than they’re made out to be—is that they all seem to have multiple uses. My Kolache dough makes kickass Cinnamon Rolls, my Babka dough is really just a filled brioche, and my quickest sweet roll dough can be used for King Cake, Monkey Bread and these Cinnamon-Sugar Pull-Aparts!
Love a multitasker ❤ ❤ ❤ 
If you’ve never heard of pull-aparts, they’re basically a loaf of bread made of individual pieces layered with a filling (sweet or savory) and baked so that the whole can be pulled apart with your fingers instead of sliced with a knife.
Achieving this is really simple. The process begins like you’re going to make cinnamon rolls. Make a dough, make a cinnamon-brown sugar filling. Roll that dough out and top it with the filling. Nothing you haven’t (probably) done before.
Then, though, things get a little wacky. Instead of rolling the filled dough into a cylinder, it’s sliced into 36 squares, which are then piled into six stacks of six and arranged in a line(-ish thing) down the center of a loaf pan. The assembled loaf is allowed to rise for about an hour and then baked for 40 minutes, until deeply browned on top and cooked through in the center.
Let your pull-aparts cool for 20 minutes or so before removing them from the pan. Put the loaf on a serving platter and then blow it a kiss goodbye because it’s going to be quite literally pulled apart in front of your eyes. And it will be glooooorious.
I mean, it’s basically the center of a cinnamon roll’s swirl cut into squares and baked into a loaf shape so that it’s soft and gooey on the inside and crisp and brown on the outside and how could that be anything but glooooorious?
Cinnamon-Sugar Pull-Aparts
makes one 9×5” loaf
Dough:
2 2/3-3 cups all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 packet (2 1/4 teaspoons) instant yeast (I use Fleischmann’s Rapid Rise Yeast)
1 teaspoon Kosher or sea salt
1 cup whole milk
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 large eggs, beaten, room temperature
Filling:
3/4 cup light or dark brown sugar, packed
2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
pinch of Kosher or sea salt
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
Grease a 9×5-inch loaf pan. Line with parchment, leaving overhang on the long sides for easy removal. Grease again. Set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, sugar, instant yeast, and salt. Set aside.
In a small saucepan, heat whole milk and butter until hot to the touch, about 110F.
Use a silicone spatula or wooden spoon to fold milk mixture into dry ingredients , followed by beaten eggs. Add more all-purpose flour until dough starts to pull away from the sides of the bowl. Knead 5-6 minutes before forming into a ball. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest for 10 minutes (you may do this in a bowl, but I just do this on my surface).
Prepare the filling. In a small bowl, whisk together brown sugar, cinnamon and salt.
On a lightly floured surface, roll dough into a 14×14-inch square. Drop filling over the dough by the spoonful. Brush exposed dough with melted butter, leaving a 1/4-inch border on all sides. Sprinkle with cinnamon-sugar mixture. Roll floured rolling pin lightly over filling to adhere.
Use a pizza cutter or sharp chef’s knife to cut square in 6 strips. Then slice it in 6 strips in the opposite direction, resulting in 36 squares. Pile squares, filling-side-up, in stacks of 6 (you’ll have six stacks of six).
To assemble, take one stack and place in the pan with the plain side (the bottom of the stack) against one of the small ends of the pan. Place 4 more of the stacks in the same position against each other. Turn the remaining stack in the opposite direction so that its plain side (bottom of the stack) is against the remaining small end of the pan.
Cover pan with a clean, dry tea towel (not terrycloth) and let rise in a warm, draft-free environment for 60-90 minutes, until doubled in bulk. You know it’s ready when you poke it with your finger and it doesn’t “bounce back.”
Preheat oven to 350F. Place pan on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until well-browned. If you are concerned about it being done in the center, a thermometer should register at 190F.
Let cool 15-20 minutes. Run a thin, flexible knife around the edge of the pan to release, then use the parchment to lift the loaf onto a surface. Peel off parchment, set on a serving platter and enjoy.
Cinnamon-Sugar Pull-Aparts are best served warm or room temperature on the day they are made. Leftovers will keep covered at room temperature for up to 48 hours.
There is a time for large-batch, super-shareable baking, and then there is the time for a cookie for one (or two, if you’re feeling generous) that can be measured in tablespoons instead of cups, mixed with a fork, and baked to crisp-chewy perfection all in the span of 25 minutes.
I started making these One Big Cookies about a year ago; you can find the 
This is a cookie designed to be made on the fly. Yes, you’ll need baking basics (sugar, butter, flour), but you likely have all of them and even if you don’t, swaps can be made in the moment. Trust me. I did nine test rounds of this recipe, so I know all the ins and outs.
As you can see, adaptability is the name of the game! It’s such a rarity in baking, but this Snickerdoodle allows for it in spades. Who doesn’t need that sort of cinnamon-sugar-coated positivity in their life?
A few weeks ago, there was a 
Of course, there are exceptions to every rule and, oh, do I love finding an exception. Today’s recipe, Cinnamon Roll Doughnuts, are exactly what they sound like: fluffy, brown sugary cinnamon rolls made from doughnut dough, fried ‘til golden and dunked in a classic sugar glaze. They are both cinnamon roll and a doughnut and they are exactly as delicious as they sound.
The inspiration for these comes from my childhood doughnut shop, Dale’s Donuts #9.* They made (and I assume that they still make) a version of these, and since I didn’t grow up with much home baking, I just assumed that all cinnamon rolls were doughnuts. As has been established, they are not, but I didn’t know at the time and I don’t think I would have cared…unless there wasn’t one left for me after a Sunday doughnut run.
Anyway…I’ve since learned to make great cinnamon rolls and doughnuts, but the cinnamon roll doughnuts of my youth have eluded me. I’ve looked for something comparable in every doughnut shop I’ve encountered over the years (which has been a lot), but have come up empty-handed…so I figured it out myself.
Cinnamon Roll Doughnuts are as simple to make as any of my other yeasted doughnuts. They begin like many sweet rolls and doughnuts do: by making a dough and letting it rise slowly in the refrigerator overnight. This makes for prime gluten development (critical for softness and chew) and nuanced flavor, and it means you don’t have to get up at 5am to make doughnuts in time for breakfast.
The next day, the dough is punched down, rolled into a rectangle, filled with cinnamon & brown sugar, rolled back up, and sliced.
Then the rolls are then pressed down with the heel of your hand and the ends are secured with toothpicks before a short second rise. These steps will keep them unraveling while rising and frying.
And speaking of frying, this is when these rolls take a decidedly doughnut-esque turn. Each one is fried in hot oil until golden and fully cooked in the middle. Some filling will escape during frying—that’s the nature of the beast—but trust me when I say your doughnuts will still be plenty cinnamony.
Once they’re all fried and golden, the Cinnamon Roll Doughnuts get a dip in a sugar 
It tastes like childhood and doughnut victory and a very delicious exception to the rules. The best.
I have put a lot of 
Now, I know there are a gazillion cinnamon roll recipes out there. You probably have one you love. Why take a chance and switch it up? What makes these cinnamon rolls special?
Well, I like to think *all* cinnamon rolls are special. I have never been disappointed to be offered a cinnamon roll in all my 33.5 years. Not once. Not even by the one I ate at a Roy Rogers in rural Connecticut at 8am that one time eleven years ago.
But, um, back to these cinnamon rolls, which are infinitely better than anything you could possibly find at a fast food restaurant in New England. They’re made with the same dough I use for my 
This dough works best with an overnight chill in the fridge. Immediately after mixing, it’s very soft and sticky—very frustrating to roll. After a chill however, the butter has set up enough that the dough rolls without sticking, making it ideal for slathering with brown sugar-cinnamon filling. This overnight method is also the ideal way to get scratch-made cinnamon rolls on the breakfast table without having to get up and start baking when it’s still dark outside. Sleep > baking.
Once the dough has been filled, roll it into a cylinder and slice it into pieces.
Let them rise and bake them until they’re brown.
And then slather them with a thin coat of cream cheese frosting. Or double the recipe for a thick coat. Whatever floats your cinnamon roll boat. <—hey, that rhymes.
Anyway, you don’t need me to talk you into wanting fresh cinnamon rolls (unless you hate them like 
The official cake-count has now been brought up to sixteen since last Monday. Oy. But in keeping with this week’s theme of 
I did break my own step-by-step photos rule though. #sorrynotsorry
When cakes #14 & #15 were picked up on Monday afternoon, my client paused before driving off to say how much he loved a vanilla cake with cinnamon buttercream that I had made last month. While he had ordered the cake, he couldn’t decide which flavors he wanted, so he let me surprise him.
I could have gone in many directions: 
Now, I have never had someone ask for a cake with Cinnamon Buttercream. Not once. But every time I have put it on a cake, I get texts and emails like you wouldn’t believe. People love butter, sugar, cinnamon, and cream whipped until fluffy and slathered between layers of cake.
Do you know why?
It’s because butter, sugar, cinnamon, and cream are freaking delicious!
Also delicious? My buttery 
If you follow me on 
Or just keep a little bowl of Cinnamon Buttercream in the fridge and eat it with graham crackers. Not that I’d know anything about that.
While this particular combination of cake and frosting is great on its own, a little extra flourish of cinnamon-sugar never hurts.
There. Now it’s perfect.
I think I’ll call this one Sweet Sixteen.
e2 bakes brooklyn 