Wild cranberry sourdough cinnamon buns: It's 'a really nice mixture'

CBC North is telling the stories behind recipes posted on our Facebook group, The Arctic Kitchen: Recipes of the North. Join our group and follow along!

Wild cranberries were juicy, plump and perfect for picking in many parts of the North this year. 

When Coreen Wells of Whitehorse picked hers, she knew exactly what she was going to do with them: Wild cranberry and pecan sourdough cinnamon buns.

"The contrast between the brown sugar and the cinnamon … with the tartness from the cranberries, is a really nice mixture," Wells said.

She said everybody loves them.

It just nurtures your soul.- Coreen Wells

"They are a big hit around here," Wells said. "The guys, when they go out hunting in the fall, I always send a big batch. They always ask, 'are you going to make the cinnamon buns for us again?'"

Now she's sharing her delicious recipe on CBC North's recipe group, and people are drooling.

It starts with wild cranberries.

Roll out the sourdough and spread cinnamon, chopped pecans, and low bush cranberries over a thick layer of butter.

Roll it up like a jelly roll, slice and let rise for 30 minutes.

Then bake at 375 C for about 17 minutes.

When Cindy Smith saw how mouth-watering the buns looked she commented, "OH MY GOD!!!"

Lynn Bergen said, "Mhmm I would love to know where your house is right now. I can bring coffee ... Looks awesome!"

She's right. 

But there's more to this scrumptious story than just a delicious looking dessert. The sourdough starter is old. Really old.

"The original starter had come over the Chilkoot Pass from Skagway [Alaska] during the Gold Rush," Wells said. "The older it is, sometimes you get a little bit of a stronger aftertaste."

But she said it's not as "yeasty tasting" as traditional bread done with yeast.

But the sourdough starter doesn't need to be 100 years old in order to make these cinnamon buns. Wells is hopeful people will try it in their own kitchens now that she's shared it.

"There's something about food … You can be having a terrible day and just be down and somebody gives you some nice homemade food and it just nurtures your soul."