Stuffed Morning Buns

1You will want 2 balls of dough, about 1 lb. each give or take. That is what I work with anyway to make 12 morning buns. While I roll out 1 ball of dough, I leave the other covered with plastic. Have the soft butter handy, some flour to put on the counter and a rolling pin. Mix the cinnamon sugar ingredients together, either by whisking in a bowl, or I put them all in a plastic container that used to be soup I think, then shake it up. Why the powdered sugar? Because it has some cornstarch in it to help keep the filling gooey.
Line a baking sheet with parchment. I use a stoneware bar pan. The stone pans never let the bottoms burn.

2Roll out your dough into a rectangle. It should be about 15 inches wide and 9 inches high.
Spread the soft butter over the bottom 2/3s of the dough. Over the butter sprinkle the cinnamon sugar until it is covered, not too thick, not too thinly. Now I usually just sprinkle some nuts across the cinnamon sugar topping and then raisins and Craisins. Press down lightly.

3Fold the top third of the dough over the middle third. It will be a little like folding a letter. Press down gently, then continue folding over one more time, to cover the bottom third. Now flip the whole thing over. Carefully lift it and place on a parchment lined baking sheet.

4Once it is on the sheet you have 2 options. Either go on to the next ball of dough, or partially cut this pastry. I sometimes precut it, not all the way through, into 6 pieces. Once through the middle, eyeballing it, then twice on either side. But sometimes I skip this and just slice it after baking. Either way, you will do the same thing to the other ball of dough.

5Brush some oil over the rows of dough and cover with plastic. I like to use a produce bag, cut up one side and across the top. Let is rise for about 45 minutes. It does not have to double in size, but will get 'puffy'.

6In the meantime you an make the streusel, if you haven't yet. Whisk the dry ingredients in a bowl and pour the melted butter over it, mixing it in with a fork until it is all crumbly looking. Set it aside for now. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees

7Just before baking, brush the dough with an egg wash (1 egg whisked with a splash of water). Then, using your fingertips, crumble the streusel over the top of the morning buns. Pick up the stuff that falls and try to press it onto the buns. You may have leftover streusel. If you like, sprinkle with almonds. Place in the warm oven and bake until just golden around the edges, about 30 minutes, rotating the pan about half way through. I usually dont measure the time but keep an eye on its progress. When golden, remove from oven and set pan on a rack to cool. Slice into 6 bars, or buns, each, whether reslicing from before or not. Best served warm, but good either way.