Sweet Potato Cinnamon Buns

Ok, so if there ever was something so decadent on earth that it would cause an uprising if a shortage occurred, it would be these cinnamon buns. They're ridiculously moist, buttery, crunchy, glazy, sweet-potato-y, and just straight delicious. The perfect fall brunch item, or maybe a Thanksgiving or Christmas day treat!! PLUS you can make the dough the night before, so the day of is just as simple as putting them in the oven.

Sweet Potato Cinnamon Buns
Buns
2 (1/4 oz) Active Dry Yeast packets
1/2 C warm water
1 t sugar
5.5 C flour, divided
1 C mashed sweet potato
2 T Honey
1 t cinnamon
1 egg, beaten
1 C milk
1/2 C sugar
1/4 C butter, melted
Zest of 1 medium orange
1.5 t salt
1 t baking soda

Filling
3/4 C butter, melted
2 C brown sugar
2 C pecans, toasted and chopped
2 t cinnamon
1 t nutmeg

Glaze
1 C brown sugar
1/3 C corn syrup
1/4 C butter
1/2 C heavy cream
1 t vanilla

Icing
1/2 milk
2 C powdered sugar
1/4 C maple syrup

Method
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Stir together yeast, water and 1 t sugar in small glass bowl. Allow to rest for 5 mins. Meanwhile, combine sweet potato, honey, 1 t cinnamon, egg, milk and butter. In another bowl, combine sugar, 4.5 C flour (reserve 1/2 C), zest, salt and baking soda. In bowl of stand mixer, whisk together yeast and 1/2 C flour until well blended. Attach dough hook and gradually add sweet potato mixture and flour mixture, blending well after each addition.

Turn out onto floured surface and work remaining 1/2 C flour into dough, kneading by hand. Continue to knead for 4-5 minutes, until smooth and elastic. Place in a large bowl, coated with cooking spray, and cover with plastic wrap. Allow to rise in a warm place for an hour, until doubled in size.

Meanwhile, combine all ingredients for filling.

Once dough has doubled, punch it down and turn it out onto a well-floured surface. Roll it out into a roughly 10 x 18 rectangle. Top with an even layer of filling, leaving a 1-inch margin on all sides. Roll the dough up, starting on a long side (so your end product should be appx. 18 inches long). Cut into 12 slices and arrange them face up in a baking dish coated with cooking spray (you can use 2 if you need to). Cover with plastic wrap and proof (rise in a warm place) for 30 minutes. Alternately, you can cover them and place them in the 'fridge the night before.

Meanwhile, assemble glaze. Combine brown sugar, corn syrup and butter in sauce pan and bring up to a boil, whisking frequently. Once it reached a rolling boil, allow it to cook for 1 minute. Remove from heat and immediately stir in vanilla and heavy cream, whisking furiously.*

Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes, remove from oven and pour glaze over them in batches, allowing ti to sink in in between additions. Return to oven and bake for another 8-10 minutes until golden and toothpick comes out clean when stuck in the middle. Allow to cool a bit.

Beat together milk and powdered sugar. Add maple syrup and beat until thickened, but not stiff. Just, glazey. Top buns with glaze once they have cooled off a bit and go to town.

Poached Eggs with Avocado and Goat Cheese

Brunch is Served! A super easy lazy Sunday morning meal that's sure to cure your hunger pangs, please your taste buds and get you going for the day!!

Poached Eggs with Avocado and Goat Cheese
Serves 1
2 Eggs, the fresher the better*
1/2 an Avocado, sliced
1 oz Goat Cheese
3-4 inch piece of French Bread, split
Splash of White Vinegar**
Salt and Fresh Cracked Black Pepper

Preheat Broiler. In medium stock pot, bring 3-4 inches of water to a light boil (almost just a simmer) and add a bit of salt and a splash of vinegar (approximately 2 T, but you don't need to measure). Add eggs, one at a time, very gently into the water and give the pot a little 'swirl' after each addition (this will help any egg white that's not tight to the yolk stay intact). Cook eggs for 3-4 minutes, keeping an eye on them - What you want is to cook the whites completely, but leave a gooey, runny yolk in the center.

Meanwhile, place french bread, open faced in the broiler and toast a few mins, but not until your desired 'doneness'. Add avocado and goat cheese and toast the rest of the way. When eggs are done, remove with slotted spoon veeeerrryyyy gennttlllyyyy and place one on each side of the toast. Season with salt and lots of fresh cracked black pepper and dig in!!

*The fresher the egg, the more intact the white will be to the yolk, and the tighter your poached egg will appear.
**I know it sounds weird, but its not for flavor (you won't even taste it) - The vinegar helps the egg stay together and not scatter all through the water.