Of all the holidays on the calendar, I’ve always thought of Easter as the most relaxing. It lacks the hustle and bustle that comes with the gift buying and cookie baking of the Christmas season. And while my summer holidays don’t really entail much running around, Memorial Day, Fourth of July and Labor Day are festive, all day events and are pretty exhausting. Most of my Easter Sunday is spent in comfortable pajamas, picking at my basket of goodies courtesy of the Easter bunny.

Since I’m not much of a morning person, the easiest way for my mom to lure me out of bed early on Easter was always a huge breakfast. Our spreads included the best of both worlds, with savory egg casseroles accompanied by sweet doughnuts or Danish. As an adult, I learned how complimentary a chilled mimosa was to a filling breakfast, and it provides a tasty opportunity to toast another holiday spent with loving family.

This weekend, I’m also toasting to homemade cinnamon buns. They are the perfect sweet pastry to serve hot out of the oven to a table full of PJ-wearing loved ones.

Vanilla Bourbon Glazed Cinnamon Buns

Dough

• 1 cup whole milk
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 3 ½ cups (or more) unbleached all purpose flour, divided
• ½  cup granulated sugar
• 1 large egg
• 2 ¼ teaspoons rapid-rise or instant yeast (from 1 envelope yeast)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• Nonstick vegetable oil spray

Combine milk and butter in glass bowl and microwave on high until butter melts and mixture is just warmed. Pour into large bowl and add 1 cup flour, sugar, egg, yeast, and salt. Beat on low speed for 3 minutes, stopping occasionally to scrape down sides of bowl. Add additional 2 ½ cups flour. Beat on low until flour is absorbed and dough is sticky, scraping down sides of bowl. If dough is very sticky, add more flour by tablespoonfuls until dough begins to form ball and pulls away from sides of bowl. Turn dough out onto lightly floured work surface. Knead until smooth and elastic, adding more flour if sticky, about 8 minutes. Form into ball. Lightly oil another large bowl with nonstick spray and transfer dough to bowl, turning to coat. Cover bowl with plastic wrap, then kitchen towel. Let dough rise in warm draft-free area until doubled in volume, about 2 hours.

Filling

• ¾ cup golden brown sugar, packed
• 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon nutmeg
• ¼ cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• Pinch of salt

Press down dough in bowl and transfer to floured work surface. Roll out to 15×11-inch rectangle. Spread butter over dough, leaving ½-inch border. Sprinkle cinnamon mixture evenly over butter. Starting at the longer side, roll dough into log, pinching gently to keep it rolled up. With seam side down, trim ends and cut remaining dough crosswise with thin sharp knife into 18 to 20 equal slices (each about 1/2 to 3/4 inch wide).

Spray two square baking dishes (8 or 9 inches) with nonstick spray. Divide rolls between baking dishes, arranging cut side up (the rolls will seem squished). Cover baking dishes with plastic wrap, then kitchen towel. Let dough rise again in warm draft-free area until almost doubled in volume, 40 to 45 minutes. Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 375 degrees. Bake rolls until tops are golden, about 20 minutes. Remove from oven and invert immediately onto rack. Cool 10 minutes. Turn rolls right side up.

Glaze

• 2/3 cup granulated sugar
• 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 7 tablespoons water
• 1 tablespoon bourbon

Bring the sugar, water and bourbon to a boil, then simmer until the mixture reduces to a medium-thick syrup (the consistency of maple syrup). Stir in the vanilla, and brush over the buns.

Though this is a really basic recipe, it’s extremely time consuming; the double rising times will leave you with some free moments to clean the dishes, do some laundry and even catch up on some TV shows. With that, I made these a full day before they were served and, thanks to 10 to 15 seconds in the microwave, they tasted like they were fresh out of the oven. The dough to cinnamon-sugar filling ratio is absolutely perfect and each bite was filled with the perfect combo of each. The most pleasant surprise is the hint of nutmeg, which is a perfect accompaniment to the bourbon glaze. Just one tablespoon of Maker’s Mark (my personal preference) highlights the sweet, syrupy topping; however, this could be substituted with a flavored liqueur like Grand Marnier, or even just water if you want to omit the alcohol altogether. The warm glaze fills every crevice of the sweet pastry and shares the texture of a glazed donut. Luckily, this recipe makes over a dozen; I ate two in one sitting!

Aromas of warm cinnamon buns on Easter morning will be the perfect wake-up call for an early day. Perhaps even more than the notion of a large basket full of candy.

Casey Ann is a local foodie and blogger. Check out her recipes and reviews at www.cleanpl8.com.