MG Sour Cream Schnecken

 These can be made a day ahead and left for a slow, cool rise in the fridge. Because of the sour cream, these are the most tender pastries you’ll ever make. They are like cinnamon rolls but much tinier and they have their own unique taste. I make one batch fresh and then freeze the other batch in a pan for another occasion such as break the fast, Yom Kippur. A touch of honey in the pan glaze makes these perfect for New Year’s. I often add sour dried cherries to the filling or you can use raisins or just the cinnamon sugar.

Sweet Dough
1/3 cup warm water
4 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast
3/4 cup warm milk
1/2 cup unsalted butter, in small chunks
3/4 cup sugar
1 ¼ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon lemon extract
¼ teaspoon pure almond extract
1 cup sour cream
5-6 cups all-purpose flour

Cinnamon Filling
1/3 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 cup pecans, coarsely chopped, optional

Cinnamon Glaze
1 1/4 cups brown sugar
3 tablespoons honey
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
2 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

Spray a 9 by 13 inch pan with nonstick cooking spray. Place it on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Or you can also use mini muffin tins which have been sprayed with nonstick cookin spray and placed on a parchment paper lined baking sheet.

For the Sweet Dough, in a large bowl, whisk together water and yeast. Let stand a minute and then stir in milk, butter, sugar, salt, vanilla,lemon extract, sour cream or yogurt and cinnamon.  As ingredients blend, fold in most of flour. Mix to make a soft, but kneadable dough. Knead 6-8 minutes until dough is smooth and elastic. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled, about 45-60 minutes or you can do a cold rise, overnight.

For the Cinnamon Glaze, heat butter and stir in brown sugar and cinnamon.  Spread glaze on bottom of prepared pan. You can make these in a pan, like a 9 by 13 inch (it fits half a batch of the dough) or in muffin tins. Very generously spray two, (preferably non-stick) muffin tins with non-stick cooking spray and put a little glaze in the bottom of each muffin well.

Gently deflate dough. Let dough rest about ten minutes and divide into two portions.  On a floured work surface, roll out one to an 18 inch square, between 1/8 and 1/4 inch thick. Brush with melted butter and sprinkle on half the filling ingredients: brown sugar, cinnamon, nuts and raisins. Roll up, starting with edge of dough closest to you, into a snug roll or jellyroll. Cut in 1 and 1/2 inch slices  - you should have about 20 slices. Repeat with remaining dough and filling. Alternatively if using muffin cups, drizzle a little cinnamon glaze into each prepared muffin cup along with some pecans nd then place a schnecken inside each cup, sitting on glaze. Cover lightly with plastic wrap and let rise 40-55 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Bake 25-30 minutes until schnecken are medium brown. Invert onto serving tray. Drizzle syrup remaining in muffin tins over tops of schnecken.