Apple Buns...

Yesterday at church we had a brunch. I had a recipe that I have been wanting to make but beings that the recipe yields 12 to 16 I figured I needed to make it when more people than just my DH and I would be eating them. So I made some Apple Buns for the brunch. They seem kind of complicated, but they really aren't any more complicated than homemade cinnamon rolls.
The recipe comes from the cookbook A Passion for Baking by Marcy Goldman. If you like to bake than I HIGHLY recommend you get or at least check this cookbook out. Everything I have made out of it have gotten rave reviews.
Granny-McIntosh Apple Buns

Dough
1 1/2 cups warm water (100-110 degrees F)
5 teaspoons rapid-rise yeast
5 to 7 cups all-purpose
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon salt

Filling
6 to 8 McIntosh Apple, peeled and thinly sliced
2 large unpeeled Granny Smith apples, shredded
1 cup unsalted butter, softened and cut into small pieces
1/2 cup generous sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Finishing Touches
2 large eggs
Pinch sugar

Cinnamon Fondant
1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 to 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
Water, as required, to make a thick glaze


Stack two large baking sheets together and line top sheet with parchment paper. You will want to repeat this procedure for each batch. Stacking the pans helps to not burn the bottom of the buns.

In a mixer bowl, hand-whisk water and yeast together and let stand for 2 to 3 minutes to dissolve yeast. Add 1 cup of flour and blend and then add butter, sugar, vanilla, eggs, salt, and then most of the remaining flour. Mix and then knead with dough hook on lowest speed 5 to 8 minutes, adding more flour as necessary to make a soft dough.

Remove dough hook and spray dough with nonstick cooking spray. Cover entire entire mixer and bowl with a large clear plastic bag. Let dough rise about 40 to 50 minutes or until almost doubled.

Meanwhile, prepare apples and have other filling ingredients nearby. Whisk eggs and pinch of sugar in a small bowl for egg wash. In a small bowl, mix the cinnamon and sugar together.

Turn out dough onto a lightly floured work surface and gently deflate. Roll out to a 22-inch circle. Deposit pieces of butter all over dough's surface. Scatter sliced apples over dough. Top with the cinnamon-sugar mixture and then scatter shredded apple on top. Cut into 12 to 16 wedges (this is really messy, but it will be fine). Stretching each wedge slightly, roll up each wedge into a crescent, starting at wide end. If apples leak out, just stuff them back in. *(Also to make buns that are not so large, you can roll out two 11-inch circles and cut each of them into 6 to 8 pieces.)

Place on prepared baking sheets, brush each crescent bun with egg wash and cover loosely with plastic wrap. Let rise 30 to 45 minutes or until almost doubled.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Bake until golden brown, 35 to 45 minutes.

For cinnamon fondant, whisk ingredients in a small bowl until smooth and soft. Smear fondant on buns with a flat spatula, skimming away excess. *(Or you can drizzle the fondant on top.)

Yield 12 to 16 crescent buns 4"-5" long