1 tablespoon active dry yeast
1/2 warm water
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup warm milk
1/3 cup butter
1 teaspoon salt
1 egg, beaten
3-1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup butter, melted
3/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
3/4 cup raisins

1. Combine yeast, warm water and 1 teaspoon of the sugar in a bowl and set aside until foamy.
2. In a separate bowl, combine remaining sugar, milk, butter, salt and eggs, then add the yeast mixture.
3. Gradually incorporate all of the flour until you have a smooth, slightly sticky dough. Add more flour if necessary.
4. Knead dough on a floured surface for several minutes, then transfer to a greased bowl, cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about an hour.
5. Punch dough down and roll out into an even rectangle about 1/4" thick.
6. Brush the dough with half the melted butter. Combine cinnamon and sugar and sprinkle a generous layer over the buttered dough, then arrange raisins over top.
7. Carefully roll up the dough tightly like a jelly roll and slice into 12 equal portions.
8. Coat the bottom of 2 baking dishes with remaining butter and sprinkle with remaining cinnamon sugar.
9. Place cinnamon rolls closely together in the pans. Let rise again in a warm place for another hour.
10. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
11. Bake cinnamon buns until they are golden brown. Serve drizzled with icing, if desired.

Makes 12 servings

I left work on my lunch break today because I could barely keep my eyes open, I felt achy and just generally unwell. It's finally evident to me that the reason I haven't had much of an appetite and have been sleeping like an old man lately is because I have been getting sick. This seems kind of strange to me since I must have been fighting it for over a week now. As soon as I admitted this to myself, I was basically washed over with a myriad of flu symptoms. I got home and slept and didn't really do much else, including making or eating dinner. I didn't really plan to be sick this year, but since I didn't really eat much of anything, this seems like a good place to plug some Cinnamon Buns I made last week!

The dough in this recipe is perfect. The only thing I would do differently next time is put a bit more cinnamon sugar filling and make sure to make some cream cheese icing to go on top. Perhaps this is when I started to get sick, as I ate maybe four of these in one sitting and didn't feel so good afterwards. That's my main reason for not doing very much baking, I have no self control.

I gave away some to our landlords and their dog and split the rest with Shannon. They were all gone by the end of the next day. I actually don't think I'd have a cinnamon bun since… well, I don't even remember the last time I had a cinnamon bun before that, to tell you the truth. I do remember baking them with my grandma as a kid though and truth be told, I don't remember them being as good as this. When we rolled them up it certainly looked prettier than my half-assed job, though they still baked up beautifully both ways.