Friday, January 7, 2011

Cinnamon Sunflower Pull Aparts

I thought peeling apart layers of warm, cinnamony goodness would be a fun way to eat this treat....and it was, but there was way more labor involved than I was looking for.  ;)  Seriously just roll these bad boys up cinnamon roll style and glaze.  If I want that shape I'll just toss the cut cinnamon roll into the muffin tin and call it a win....ehehehee.  Lazy? Yes, yes I am.

I considered this finger food.  My beloved hubby ate it with a fork.  Not even the epic amount of stink eye I gave him would make him use his fingers....rofl.  Bless his heart he doesn't like messy food.  I go with the messier the better rule myself.  I'm pretty sure that's the inner two year old speaking though.  Wet naps are my friend. 


Cinnamon Sunflower Pull Aparts

3 cups unbleached flour (approx)
1 package active dry yeast
1 cup skim milk
1/3 cup raw honey
1/3 cup tub margarine
1/4 tsp salt
2 eggs, beaten lightly
3 tbls vital wheat gluten


Filling:
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup tub margarine, melted
1 cup sunflower seeds

Icing:
1 cup powdered sugar
2oz cream cheese
1/4 cup tub margarine
1 tsp vanilla

Dissolve yeast in about 1/4 cup warm water. Water from the tap works just fine. Heat milk and margarine together until milk is warm and margarine is melted. I use the microwave to heat the milk instead of the stove top, but either works fine. Stir into dissolved yeast. Mix in honey and salt. Add in a cup of flour and the vital wheat gluten. Stir in eggs. Work in enough flour to create a soft dough. Turn it out onto a floured surface and knead in remaining flour. Continue to work your dough for 8 to 10 minutes.

Place dough in covered bowl and let rise for an hour in a warm place. The microwave makes a great spot to rise dough. Take a glass of water and heat it to boiling in the microwave. Leave the glass inside and put the covered bowl inside and shut the door. It's a warm, steamy spot.

Grease jumbo muffin pans.  Mix together the brown sugar and cinnamon.  Turn dough back out onto your board and punch down. Sprinkle a little margarine, brown sugar, and sunflower seeds in the bottom of a muffin well.  Cut off a small portion of dough and flatten it into a thin round.  Place in the bottom of the muffin pan.  Brush margarine across the top and sprinkle it with the brown sugar mixture and sunflower seeds.  Cut off another portion of dough, flatten it into a thin round, and layer it on top of the last one.  Brush with margarine and sprinkle on the sugar and sunflower seeds.  Repeat until your muffin cups are 3/4 full.  Leave the final layer bare of sugar, butter, and sunflower seeds.  Repeat the same process with the other muffin wells.

Cover the muffin pans and let rise in a warm place for 30 minutes.  Bake at 375 for 15 to 20 minutes until nicely browned.  Turn out of pans to cool.  Mix together icing ingredients and drizzle over the tops of the warm stacks.  Nom!



 A couple more pics....
Fresh out of the oven and just waiting on a slew of glaze.  Hmmm....I could have done a right side up version instead of inverted.....skip adding margarine, sugar, and sunflower seeds to the muffin wells and add it to the top of the final layer of dough instead. 

A non sunflower seed version......which seemed quite boring.

32 comments:

  1. I agree. The non sunflower seed one looks boring compared to the other pic. I wish had one of these right now for breakfast. Yum!

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  2. What a great treat. I am with you...the messier the food, the more I like it.

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  3. Looks lovely!! I wish I could have one of these also, please :)

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  4. I never would have thought of adding sunflower seeds. Very unique idea!

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  5. Well I think they both look scrumptious and I wish I had one RIGHT NOW!!!

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  6. This looks AMAZING. I love the crunchy seeds on top. And I totally agree with you - down with forks!

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  7. That looks tasty! I just made a pull-a-part too...Its a little different but same "lots of butter and sugar" requirement :) Check it out http://wp.me/p1egou-6k

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  8. They look delicious! Thanks for sharing!

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  9. Ooo this looks so good! I love food that I can pick at - nachos, fries, etc - why not apply "pick at" food to sweets too? :) You did a great job with this one!
    hope you have a beautiful weekend.

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  10. Thanks for passing from my blog. Mmmmm, this looks delicious.

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  11. What a great breakfast! Perfect with a cuppa coffee!

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  12. Wow, what a gorgeous mess! tell me, why do you use margarine instead of butter?

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  13. I like the sunflower seed version....And i love how you made them in muffin style. Such a smart idea :D

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  14. ohhhh...these look amazing...I am going to have go out and buy a jumbo muffin pan!

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  15. interesting take on good ole' cinnamon rolls. I think I prefer your version, looks more festive.

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  16. I like the size of these pull aparts and all that sweet, delicious cream cheese glaze!

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  17. Oh wow I really want to try one of these. I don't mind messy it can go either way for my. My other half is extremely not a fan of messy food either. Me, I'll dive right in with my fingers! This would be awesome finger food, in my opinion! Thank you for sharing!

    Dionne

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  18. Sunflower seeds, very clever! Fingers, forks or just put your face into it and munch away; it's all good!

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  19. Oh yeah! I would tear into this with my fingers...who needs a fork anyway? Wish I had one right now...Yummy! :)

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  20. I use margarine instead of butter to cut down on the saturated fat and cholesterol content. Easy enough to substitute butter for the margarine if that's your preference. ;)

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  21. This looks messy and delicious! I would definitely pull them apart with my fingers. Great recipe.

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  22. The stacked shape is interesting, but I see your point that rolling the dough would be easier. They look delicious with the glaze!

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  23. Oh my! These look so delicious, I would probably use a fork too...sorry.
    I love the add of sunflower seeds :)
    Happy Sunday!

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  24. One of my all-time favorite smells is cinnamon rolls. I can imagine the aroma running through my kitchen. Love the 'pull apart' title of the recipe. The gooey goodness is mouth-watering.

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  25. I love eating with my fingers. it doesn't feel good if I don't :))
    Your pull aparts cinnamon sunflower sound like a perfect Sunday morning treat.
    Thanks for sharing
    Hope you're having a wonderful day,
    Roxana

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  26. I adore cinnamon and these look absolutely delicious!

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  27. These look fantastic! Those sunflower seeds are a fantastic addition...I'd definitely dig into these with my fingers :)

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  28. These are delicious. I love both version but the sunflower topped is much prettier....

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  29. Yup - pretty sure I'd have no problem eating these with my fingers. Or with a fork. Anything, really, would suffice, so long as I just got to eat them ...

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  30. This looks like a work of art and hard labour.

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  31. This looks absolutely fantastic. I love the idea of using the sunflower seeds with cinnamon. I've never tried that before.

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