Homemade Honey Buns {Plus FREE Happy Easter Honey Bunny Printable}

I can't remember the last time I had a store bought honey bun.  We're talking decades  My brother, on the other hand eats them daily.  It's kind of a joke in our family.  Wrap up a box of honey buns and put them under the tree and he's the happiest man on the planet.  When I think of honey buns I think of the lyrics to Robert Earl Keen's Five Pound Bass song:

"Up this morning
Before the sun
Fixed me some coffee and a honey bun
Jumped in my pickup
Gave her the gas
I'm goin' out to catch a five pound bass"

Not that there is anything wrong with that, but I thought a higher quality, homemade version would be better.  I wanted a true Honey Bun, and not just a sweet roll or cinnamon roll.  I scoured the internet for Little Debbie knock-offs with no luck.  So I decided to create my own recipe completely from scratch.  I used honey throughout the recipe, in fact it's the only sweetener in the actual dough.  They truly have a honey flavor with the most delicious glaze you've ever tasted.  I was really happy with the results, and decided they would make the perfect Easter treats packaged them with tags that said, "Happy Easter Honey Bunny."  Sadly my brother is out of town for work, so he missed out on the inaugural batch of homemade honey buns.  But I know I'll be making them again soon!

Homemade Honey Buns
These aren't my brother's honey buns lol

The perfect Easter treat for your
Honey Bunny

I found these adorable little egg-printed
zip style bags at Michael's. 
Bonus they were on sale.

Package them up, add one of the free printable tags,
and you've got the perfect Easter Basket filler.
Or just enjoy a for breakfast on Easter morning before
a day of egg hunting.

Here are the FREE PRINTABLE TAGS
Click on the image to enlarge.
Right click and save to your computer.
Open with the software of your choice
and print onto cardstock.These images are my exclusive artwork.
Please be courteous when using these printables
and remember they are for personal use only.

(These tags would even be precious to package
up store bought honey buns.  In case you don't
have time to bake from scratch!)

Happy Easter
Honey Bunnies!

Homemade Honey Buns

1 tablespoon yeast
1/4 cup lukewarm water
3/4 cup scalded whole milk
1/4 cup unsalted butter
1/3 cup honey
2 eggs
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ginger
5 cups all-purpose flour

Brush with

1/4 cup hot water
1/4 cup honey

Glaze

1/4 cup whole milk
2 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon vanilla
2-3 cups powdered sugar

Combine yeast and water.  Set aside and let yeast "bloom" for 5 minutes.  Scald milk in a small pot on the stove.  Add butter and honey.  Stir until butter is melted and honey is dissolved.  Remove from heat and cool slightly.  Whisk eggs into milk mixture.

Combine milk mixture and yeast mixture with an electric mixer.

Combine salt, cinnamon, ginger and flour.  Add gradually to milk/yeast mixture.  Use dough hook attachment and until well-combined and a ball of dough is created.

Place in a large greased bowl.  Cover with a towel and allow to rise in a warm place 1 hour, or until doubled in size.

Punch dough down and removed from bowl.  Divide dough into 24 pieces.  Roll each piece into a "snake" that is approximately 12 inches long.  Coil the snake to create the bun.  Place on a greased baking sheet.  (If you don't mind them touching, you can place all 24 together on one sheet.  I wanted them to be individual buns for gift giving, so I used 2 baking sheets with 12 buns on each.)

NOTE:  It is important to keep the dough pieces and coils covered with a towel while you work so the dough doesn't dry out.

Cover the coils and let rise on the baking sheet about 30 minutes. 

Combine 1/4 cup hot water with 1/4 cup honey until honey is dissolved.  Brush this mixture on top of each coil before baking.  Place in a preheated 375 degree F oven and bake approximately 12-14 minutes or until golden brown.  Remove from oven and cool slightly before glazing.

To create the glaze heat 1/4 cup milk on the stove and stir in 2 tablespoons honey until dissolved.  Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.  Stir in powdered sugar a little at a time until the glaze has reach desired thickness.  Spread onto warm buns and enjoy.

Prep Time:  Approximately 2 hours     Cook Time:  Approximately 14 minutes