Cinnamon Bun Dough

1. Melt the butter in a medium-sized sauce pan over medium heat.
2. Add the milk and heat until just hot to the touch (98F/37C).
3. Pour about half of the hot butter-milk over the yeast in a large mixing bowl.
4. Stir gently and let rest for 5 minutes until the yeast dissolves.
5. Then add the remaining butter-milk, salt, sugar, cardamom and 7+ cups of flour, mixing well until the dough can be handled.
6. Knead the dough, cover the ball with a towel, and let it rise for 30 minutes.
7. Cut the dough in half and form each ball into a rectangle roughly 15×20 inches.
8. Spread half of the filling over one rectangle and the other half over the other.
9. Roll the dough up lengthwise to form a long spiral roll.
10. Cut each roll into roughly 24 (less than 1 inch-wide) pieces.
11. Place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or in individual muffin liners placed on a baking sheet (roughly 12 to a pan).
12. Cover them with a towel and let rise another 30 minutes.
13. Brush the buns with egg and sprinkle with pearl sugar and/or slivered almonds.
14. Bake the buns at 475 degrees for 5-8 minutes or until lightly golden.
15. Store the cooled buns in a sealed container because they dry out quickly.
16. They can also be frozen.

Filling

1. Stir the cinnamon and sugar into the butter to form a mixture with a smooth spreading consistency.
2. Spread the filling over the rectangles of pastry dough.