Soft, perfumed with cinnamon, with lots of luxuriant, glazed nuts shining on top, these buns are an excellent breakfast treat. The recipe doubles easily to feed a bigger audience.
To make the dough: Weigh your flour; or measure it by gently spooning it into a cup, then sweeping off any excess. Mix and knead the dough ingredients by hand, with a mixer, or in a bread machine using the dough cycle. Knead until smooth, and let rise, covered, for 45 minutes to 1 hour.
To make the topping: In a small saucepan heat and stir the brown sugar, honey, and butter until the sugar is dissolved. Spread on the bottom of a greased 8" square pan. Sprinkle with the nuts; set aside.
To make the filling: Stir together the butter, sugar, cinnamon, and flour to make a spreadable paste.
To shape the buns: After the dough has risen, deflate it and roll into a 10" x 12" rectangle. Spread the filling over the surface, and sprinkle with the raisins. Starting with a long side, roll the dough into a log and pinch the edge of the lengthwise seam together. Cut into 9 equal slices.
Place the buns cut side down in the prepared pan. Flatten each bun with your fingers, until they're barely touching each other. Cover and let rise until light and doubled in bulk, about 1 hour. Towards the end of the rising time, preheat the oven to 375°F.
Bake the buns for 30 to 35 minutes or until they're a deep, golden brown, tenting the top with foil for the last 15 minutes of baking. Remove them from the oven and invert the pan immediately onto a large plate. Remove the pan, and scrape any topping left in the bottom onto the buns. Let cool for 20 minutes before eating, so you don't burn your mouth on the good sticky stuff.
You can absolutely make these rolls a day in advance. Follow the recipe through the point of assembling the rolls in the pan, then cover them without letting them rise and put them in the refrigerator overnight. The next morning, take them out of the fridge while you're preheating the oven. When the oven's ready, uncover and bake. The rolls may need an extra 10 minutes to cook all the way through in the center, but for the sake of a warm from the oven treat, we'll cope...
