In a stand mixer with a non-attached whisk, combine 2 ¾ cups flour, yeast, sugar and salt. Add in 1 tbsp of the softened butter, along with the water and let it mix with dough hook attachment until it starts to come together, so about 1-2 minutes. The dough should pull away from the sides of the bowl, if not, add more flour as needed up to a ¼ cup more (so in total it should only be 3 cups of flour, max.)

Cover the bowl of the stand mixer with the dough inside and let rise in a warm place for about an hour. Preheat oven to 375 F and prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a medium/small mixing bowl, whisk together softened cream cheese and 1 tbsp of softened butter. Set aside.

On a generously floured surface, roll out the dough to about ¼ inch thick, inches long and inches wide. Spread cream cheese mixture evenly onto the dough. Sprinkle 1 ½ tsp cinnamon and ¼ cup sugar on half of the dough and then fold the other half over onto the cinnamon sugar half. Cut into 12 strips, twist them, and then start to roll into each other forming a knot that won’t unravel. Place on prepared baking sheet.

Melt remaining butter (2 tbsp) and mix in 1 tsp cinnamon, brown sugar, and 1 tbsp sugar. Refrigerate mixture for about 15 minutes and then sprinkle over top of the knots. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden and crunchy on top