Dough: 1/3 c warm water

5 tsp rapid rise yeast

¾ c warm milk

3 eggs

¾ c butter, cut into small chunks

¾ c sugar

1 Tb vanilla

½ c buttermilk

¼ tsp cinnamon

6 to 8 c flour

Filling: 1 c butter, softened

1½ c brown sugar

2 tsp cinnamon

1 c chopped nuts, optional

1 c raisins, optional

Glaze: 1½ c brown sugar

½ c butter, melted

Spray two 13 x 9 inch pans with cooking spray (or three 9x9 pans) Mix warm water and yeast in large bowl and let stand 1 minute to dissolve yeast. Briskly whisk in milk, eggs, butter, sugar, vanilla, buttermilk, and cinnamon. As ingredients blend, fold in 4-5 cups flour and mix to make soft dough. Knead dough for 6-8 minutes adding flour as necessary to form a dough that is smooth and elastic but not tough. Cover bowl and let dough rise in a warm place 45-60 minutes until almost double. Turn out dough onto a lightly floured work surface, gently deflate and divide in half. Let dough rest 10 minutes. Then pat or roll out to a 16 x 18 inch rectangle between ¼ and ½ inch thick. Spread each half with equal amounts of filling ingredients, smearing on softened butter and then sprinkling on brown sugar, cinnamon, nuts, and raisins. For glaze, smear each pan with half of brown sugar. Drizzle with melted butter. Roll up each portion of dough into a snug jellyroll. Cut into ¾ inch thick slices and arrange in rows in prepared pans. spray with cooking spray. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise 40 - 60 minutes or until almost double. Preheat oven to 350°F. Bake about 30 - 35 minutes until buns are medium brown. Invert buns onto a large platter or baking sheet. Drizzle excess syrup from pans over buns. OR let them rise overnight in the refrigerate and bake in the morning. They can also be frozen before they rise, just thaw them overnight before baking.