Holiday Homestead Buns with Southern Kitchen

Special thanks to Southern Kitchen for sending me this lovely skillet to play with and sponsoring this recipe post!

I moved to Houston, Texas a little over a year ago and officially became a Southerner. It immediately became clear that a few things came along with that status. Southerners are unfailingly polite. They are heartwarmingly proud of their land. And they take their kitchens seriously. A Southerner’s kitchen is a place of wonderment, hard work, and love. It is a place to gather, feel at home, and enjoy with the special people in your life. A Southern’s kitchen has some sort of lovely aroma lingering in the air and is always open to those in need of nourishment. It is my favorite thing about living in Texas. So when The Southern Kitchen asked me to test out one of their products and create a recipe for them, I couldn’t have been more happy. With the Finex 10” Cast Iron Skillet in hand, I got to work in my own Southern kitchen on a recipe that I hope would make the region proud: Holiday Homestead Buns.

For those of you unfamiliar, let me first introduce you to Southern Kitchen. It is a website that has an immersive Southern cooking experience all in one spot. From traditional regional recipes, to entertaining tips, to a delightful shop, it has everything you need to create the South’s spirit of family and history in your own home. In particular, I love Southern Kitchen’s carefully curated shop of heirloom cookware and kitchen appliances. Today I had the pleasure of getting my hands on one of the most beautiful pieces of cooking gadgetry I have ever seen. The Finex 10” Cast Iron Skillet is art. It is hand seasoned with organic flax seed oil, ultra-polished for easy release cooking, and has an ergonomic speed cooling spring handle for ease of use. The icing on top is it’s gorgeous, and quite practical, patented octagonal design. Not only does this unique shape make for one gorgeous piece of cookware, it actually allows for multi-pour options while cooking. Genius if you ask me! It’s a stunningly beautiful skillet that I proudly display in my own Southern kitchen.

The Finex Cast Iron Skillet is also ideal equipment to make my Holiday Homestead Buns. Pomegranate, allspice, and apple cider flavors come together to create a sweet bun to warm the hearts of your beloveds this holiday season. Here’s how to make them…

Holiday Homestead Buns

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 cups of all-purpose flour
• 6 ounces of cream cheese
• ¼ cup + 3 tablespoons of granulated sugar (divided)
• 2 tablespoons of allspice
• ½ cup of pomegranate seeds
• 1 tablespoon of pomegranate juice
• 1 tablespoon of apple cider
• ½ cup of milk (warm)
• ½ cup of confectioners’ sugar
• ¼ cup of butter (softened)
• ½ tablespoon of instant yeast
• ½ teaspoon of sea salt
• 1 egg

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat the oven to 375F and heavily grease the Finex 10” Cast Iron Skillet.
2. To make the dough, mix the yeast with the warm milk and let sit for approximately 15 minutes or until it starts to bubble. In a large mixing bowl, combine the milk mixture, butter, salt, egg, and 3 tablespoons of sugar. Mix in the flour until a dough start forms. Knead until it is an elastic dough consistency and place in a greased bowl to rise.
3. While the dough rises, make the bun filling. In a medium sized bowl, combine the cream cheese ¼ cup of sugar, and allspice. Mix thoroughly and set aside.
4. Once the dough has doubled in size, roll out on parchment paper into a rectangular shape (approximately 18” x 12”). Spread the filling thickly on the surface of the dough and then sprinkle the fresh pomegranate seeds on top.
5. Roll the dough tightly along the short end until one large roll is made. Using a sharp knife, cut the dough into smaller buns approximately 2” thick. Place in the Finex Skillet with space between them. Place the skillet in the oven and bake approximately 25-30 minutes.

While the buns are baking, make the glaze. In a small bowl, whisk together the confectioners’ sugar, apple cider, and pomegranate juice. Once the buns are fully cooked, remove the skillet from the oven, let cool slightly, and drizzle the glaze on top. Serve in the skillet for a beautifully Southern presentation and enjoy!

So what do you think? Can I call myself a true Southerner now? Make sure to check out all the delights on Southern Kitchen’s website and submit your own recipes here. And as a special treat, Southern Kitchen is offering you, my lovely reader, $10 off your first purchase over $50. Just make sure to use the promo code “WELCOME10” when you visit the Southern Kitchen website. Happy holidays, y’all!

Get more dessert recipe ideas in my ‘Sweets’ section here!