I have a well-documented history of food experimentation, and this is the latest in my pursuit of kitchen Dr. Frankenstein madness. I love cinnamon rolls, but sometimes they can be a bit too bready or dry, so I wanted to try a twist, rather than a roll, with really goopy filling and tons of glaze. What is a more gooey filling than sticky-buns? My mom’s recipe kills, so I went with that for the filling and the ever-famous Grandma Ruth’s icing (with one minor tweak). I don’t mean to toot my own horn, but I’m going to say that these twists may have broken a friends’s long-standing diet, and received their fair share of accolades. These will be the perfect weekend baking project, so get crackin’ y’all!

Ingredients

        Butterscotch Cinnamon filling:

• 1 small pkg. butterscotch pudding (regular or instant)
• 1 ½ cubes butter, melted
• ¾ cup brown sugar
• ½ cup chopped pecans
• 1 t. cinnamon
  

  Brioche:

• 1 cup whole milk
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 4 eggs (room temp)
• 3 1/2 – 3 3/4 cups bread flour
• 1 tablespoon instant yeast
• 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups soft butter
  

  Grandma Ruth’s Icing (barely altered):

• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup evaporated milk
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon flour
• 1/2 cup butter
• 2 tablespoons cream cheese
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 6-7 cups powdered sugar

Directions

Butterscotch filling:

In a saucepan melt butter and add brown sugar and cinnamon. Add nuts and butterscotch pudding and mix until combined. Cover and let ingredients “settle” for 4 hours or overnight. (You want the butterscotch pudding mix to have time to incorporate with the rest of the ingredients.)

Brioche dough:

Heat milk until lukewarm (about 100 degrees). In a large bowl lightly whisk together sugar and warm milk. Add 1 cup of flour, mix until smooth. Lightly beat the eggs then mix into the milk mixture until combined. Add in instant yeast and another cup of flour and continue to mix, adding salt and a half a cup of flour and mix till the dough comes together. Knead dough in machine for 3 minutes, incrementally adding the rest of the flour—dough should be sticky. Add 1/4 of the soft butter, mix until the the butter is completely incorporated, then add another 1/4 of butter, continue till all 1 1/2 c. of the butter is mixed in. Pour dough into greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let sit in fridge for 4 hours or overnight.

Heat oven to 350°. On a lightly floured surface, roll dough out to approximately a 18×12″ rectangle. (To be honest, I totally eyeballed all of these measurements and they can be adjusted to whatever you find easiest) Spread butterscotch filling evenly all over the dough. On the wide side, cut dough into three portions, then cut about 8 strips in each of those three portions. To assemble, lay two strips together—the filling facing inward—then twist. Place each twist on a prepared baking sheet and let rise for about 45 minutes. Bake twists for 15-20 minutes or until golden and filling is bubbling. Cool twists on a tray (could be a two spatula job to transfer while hot). Drizzle generously with icing while still warm.

Grandma Ruth’s Icing:

In a large saucepan put evaporated milk, sugar, salt and flour. Mix on medium heat until mixture is bubbling and thick. Stirring constantly, add butter, vanilla, and powdered sugar. Once it’s done—as instructed by 2.0 in the recipe for the original, glorious Cinnamon Rolls—pour it through a strainer and push it with a rubber spatula to get all the lumps out so it’s nice and smooth. Drizzle over warm twists.

-CK 1.0