Cinnamon Buns and Chocolate Buns

I'm not gonna deny it. I've been wanting to bake and blog about cinnamon buns for a long time but I felt like I needed a good excuse to make them. (Really though, does one ever truly need an excuse to bake?!) A friend of mine has been feeling a bit blue and I decided to make these for her to perk her up. The only thing was, I couldnt decide whether I wanted to make cinnamon or chocolate filled buns. Duh. Of course the answer was to make both. So I did. I made a double recipe of My Sweet Yeast Dough and made two pans of buns. Let me say, that not only did these cheer A up but they smelled up my entire room with their glorious scent. It was a struggle to keep me from tasting just a bit of each! We wisely decided to stash the bags of goodies in the freezer to be heated up as desired to avoid some bun bingeing. A told me she preferred the cinnamon but thought that there wasnt enough cinnamon so feel free to add more. On the other hand, one of my tasters told me the chocolate was delicious, so I think it just depends on personal preference. If you ask me, cinnamon all the way! As far as time goes, just use your eyes and nose to let you know when these are done.

Cinnamon Buns
1 recipe My Sweet Yeast Dough
vegetable oil, for brushing
1 cup brown sugar
3 tbsp cinnamon

Chocolate Buns
1 recipe My Sweet Yeast Dough
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup Dutch process cocoa
oil for brushing
For either recipe, roll out the dough to approximate a rectangle. For the cinnamon: in a bowl, whisk the cinnamon and brown sugar. Brush the dough with some oil.Scatter the cinnamon filling across the top and press in.

Roll the dough up jelly roll style an using a bench scraper or serrated knife, cut the dough into pieces.

Place in a parchment lined 9x13 or similar sized pan. Let proof until puffy and then bake at 350 until dark and melty and delicious.
Mmmm.

For the chocolate buns, whisk together the cocoa and sugar. Brush dough with some oil.

Generously sprinkle the dough with the chocolate filling.

Roll up jelly roll style, portion the dough and place in the pan. Allow to proof until puffy.
Place in a 350 degree oven and bake until golden, melty and ooey gooey yummy.

Like this. If you're like me, you'll think a glaze is totally unnecessary. So sue me.