Pastries

Cozy Cardamom Buns

Soft, lightly sweet, and swirled with buttery cardamom, these buns are cozy in the truest sense. They’re a little messy, a little rustic, and absolutely lovely with coffee or tea.

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Prep

30 minutes + 2 hour rise time

Cook

15 minutes

Total

2 hours, 45 minutes

Serves

giant cookies

Ingredients

Dough

71 g unsalted butter
255 g whole milk
7 g (1 package) instant yeast (about 2¼ tsp)
½ tsp salt
50 g granulated sugar
345 g all-purpose flour

Cardamom Filling

71 g (5 tbsp) unsalted butter, softened
50 g (¼ cup) granulated sugar
4.5 g (2¼ tsp) ground cardamom

Vanilla Sugar Glaze

50 g granulated sugar
30 g (2 tbsp) water
½ tsp vanilla bean paste

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Directions

Make the Dough

In a small saucepan, melt the butter. Add the milk and warm gently until just lukewarm (105 F), warm to the touch but not hot.
In the bowl of a stand mixture fitted with a dough hook, add the yeast. Pour the milk mixture in the bowl. Gently mix
Add the sugar and salt.
With the mixer on low speed, gradually add the flour.
Knead with the dough hook for about 10 minutes, until the dough is smooth and pulling away from the sides of the bowl.
Cover the bowl and let the dough rise in a warm spot for 45–60 minutes, until roughly doubled in size.

Make the Filling

While the dough rises, mix the softened butter, sugar, and cardamom with a fork until smooth and spreadable. Set aside.

Shape the Buns

Line one baking sheet with parchment.
Gently deflate the dough and roll it out on a lightly floured surface into a landscape rectangle about 18 x 14 inches
Spread the cardamom filling over half of the dough
Fold the unfilled half over the filled half and gently roll to even out the thickness.
Cut the dough widthwise into 8 equal strips.
Slice each strip lengthwise almost all the way through, leaving the top connected.
Twist each “leg” in the same direction, then twist them around each other.
Coil into a loose knot, tucking the ends underneath. Messy is perfect here.

Place buns on the baking sheet, spaced apart. Cover loosely and let rise for 1 hour.

Bake

Preheat oven to 425°F
Bake buns for 14 - 15 minutes, until lightly golden and fragrant.

Make the Glaze

While the buns bake, heat the sugar and water in a small saucepan just until the sugar dissolves. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla.

Brush the warm buns generously with the glaze straight from the oven. Add a second coat once slightly cooled if you want extra shine.

Cozy Notes

Sweet dough rises more slowly, warmth is key.
Cardamom is bold but cozy; adjust slightly if you prefer it softer.
These are best the day they’re baked, ideally eaten warm, standing in the kitchen.

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If you want these the next day:

Night Before (15–20 minutes active time)

Make the dough as written: Mix, knead, and bring the dough together until smooth.
Skip the warm rise, Instead of letting the dough rise at room temperature, lightly cover the bowl and place it straight into the fridge.
Slow cold rise: Refrigerate 8–12 hours (up to 16 is fine). The dough will rise slowly and develop deeper flavor.
Make the filling by mixing the butter, sugar, and cardamom. Cover and leave at room temperature overnight (cool kitchen is fine), or refrigerate and soften in the morning.

Cozy Cardamom Buns