Cinnamon buns for dinner? Why not? While it may not be innovative enough to start a trend, it’s delicious enough to satisfy those who love ‘em. I’ve never considered myself a baker. While I love to cook, baking was always a little too precise for me. My creative process is very chaotic, and the baking process is anything but that.



Sweet Potato Cinnamon Buns with Honey, Agave Nectar and Maple Syrup

Buns

4 oz. of sweet potato mashed

1 cup buttermilk

2 tbsp. canola oil

2 tbsp. sugar

1 package dry yeast

3 1/4 cups flour

Pinch of salt

1 tsp. ground ginger

1 tbsp. vanilla



Filling

3/4 cup brown sugar

1 tbsp. cinnamon

1/4 cup melted butter



Topping

1/4 cup honey

1/4 cup real maple syrup

1/4 cup agave nectar

1 cup nuts, walnuts or pecans

1 cup raisins

1/2 cup melted butter



A good friend of mine, who is a minister, bakes challah bread while she muses about her sermon. I found that to be very inspiring, while planting a seed in my head. Recently, I’ve been looking for a new set of challenges in the kitchen, and the time was right to start baking.I thought about the spiritual quality of what my friend does while making challah, and I sought to find something similar for myself. What I found is, hand kneading the dough gives me the same intangible connection to the energy of life that I get from working the soil in a garden. It’s beautiful. And, I’m leaving that mystery be without over thinking it, or over processing it until it becomes the equivalent of Velveeta.When I was a kid, I use to make cinnamon buns a lot. My dad loved them especially, and my mom was always happy to help, and encourage me to create in the kitchen. I have to be honest, I forgot how great the freshly baked buns could be. With the recipe that follows, they’re even better because how light these buns are, and without the sugar shock that comes with some cinnamon buns.If you decide to have these for dinner, who could blame you? After all it’s your experience that matters the most.