I love a coffee cake for breakfast. Or a piece of pie. And if there are any homemade cookies in the house, I can’t think of anything better to have with my morning cup of coffee. (If these cookies happen to be oatmeal, all the better. I rationalize it away as eating a breakfast grain first thing in the morning.)

Growing up my mom would occasionally make a coffee cake from the back of the box of Bisquick. I would wake up to the warm smell of cinnamon wafting through the air. Rolling out of bed, I sleepily made my way down the hall. On a cooling rack my breakfast would sit, its craggy streusel topping with lumps of shredded coconut peeking out. This is what probably gave me my very first sweet tooth in the morning.

As I was looking through Carole Walter’s book, Great Coffee Cakes, Sticky Buns, Muffins and More, I thought to myself, “Fantastic, an entire book of foods that are bad for you, yet taste so good.” And then I spotted the crumb bun, which was reminiscent of those streusel coffee cakes of yore. So what exactly is a crumb bun, you may be asking? They are a yeasted roll, slightly sweet, with a topping of sumptuous, crunchy streusel. They are good.

And they are time-consuming. The dough must be made the night before, and then needs to come to room temperature (about 1 1/2 hours). They need to be kneaded, formed, allowed to rise again, and then finally, baked. So these buns may not be the most ideal morning treat; they are clearly not a quick bread.

But if you are anything like me, and slightly neurotic, you will make the dough the night before and as it sits, hibernating in the refrigerator, you will go to sleep. Let me rephrase that, you will try to go to sleep. I tossed and turned all night waiting, and wanting to make those crumbs buns. Finally I just got up. At 7 o’clock AM. On a Sunday. The dough had rested nicely. I had not.

But the buns were great. Warm from the oven, yeasty, with a rich crumb, streusel abounded (although I did not use the entire recipe’s worth), and if you’re neurotic like me, they make the perfect breakfast treat.

The recipe is a bit long, but it does make a double recipe for Rich Sour Cream Dough, suitable for yeasted coffee cakes, sweet rolls, or more crumb buns. The streusel recipe makes a large serving of streusel as well. I only used half of the recipe for streusel as well, and froze the rest for other morning time treats.

Crumb Buns
adapted from Great Coffee Cakes

Rich Sour Cream Dough

4 tablespoons sugar
1/4 cup warm water (110-115 degrees)
1 package active dry yeast
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
2 large eggs
1/2 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Add one tablespoon of sugar and warm water to a small bowl. Sprinkle yeast over the water, do not stir, and cover the bowl with a saucer for 5 minutes. This allows the yeast to proof. Stir briefly, cover again, and let stand an additional 2-3 minutes, or until bubbly.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, fitted with a paddle attachment, mix the flour, remaining sugar, and salt, on low speed,. Add the slightly firm butter, and mix until meal-size crumbs form. Using a fork, mix the eggs, sour cream, vanilla, and dissolved yeast. Mix on low speed until a rough dough is formed. This is a soft dough.

Place dough in a buttered bowl, lightly butter the top of the dough. Cover tightly with plastic wrap, and store overnight in the refrigerator.

Streusel Topping

6-7 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 cup flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons finely chopped walnuts or pecans

Melt butter, and cool to tepid.

Whisk together dry ingredients, add butter. Stir with fork until mixture begins to form crumbs. Gently squeeze mixture with hand, to form larger chunks, then break them apart with with your fingertips. Before using let stand for 10-15 minutes.

Crumb Buns

1/2 recipe Rich Sour Cream Dough
1 recipe (or less) Streusel Topping
1 egg beaten with 1 teaspoon water

Remove the dough from the refrigerator 1 to 1 1/2 hours before shaping.

Generously butter at 9 inch square pan. On a lightly floured surface, knead dough until smooth, 6-10 times. Divide the dough evenly into 9 pieces. Cupping your hand over each piece, continuously roll until a ball is formed. Continue doing with all the pieces.

Place the balls in the pan, evenly spaced, 3 across, and 3 down. Flatten balls slightly, they do not have to touch. Cover pan with a cloth, and let rise for an additional 45 minutes.

15 minutes before baking, position the oven rack to the bottom third of the oven, and preheat to 350 degrees.

Gently brush the top of the buns with egg wash. Sprinkle the streusel topping, lightly pressing streusel into the top of the dough. Bake for 30-40 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove from the oven, placing on a rack to cool.