Irresistible Cinnamon Rolls
These soft, melt-in-your-mouth cinnamon rolls are perfect for a cozy weekend morning or brunch. Whether you love the slightly browned outside layer or (in my opinion) the best part, the center curl, these cinnamon rolls will be a hit.
Prep Time: 2 hours
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 2 hours 30 minutes
Yield: 9 cinnamon rolls
Ingredients
For the rolls
¾ cup whole milk
2 ¼ teaspoons active dry yeast (I use Fleishmann’s)
¼ cup granulated sugar
½ stick (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted
1 large egg at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3 cups bread flour (spooned and leveled)
¾ teaspoon fine sea salt
For the filling
½ stick (4 tablespoons) of unsalted butter, softened (Not melted! This will cause the filling to run out of the rolls)
3/4 cup lightly packed brown sugar
1 ½ tablespoons ground cinnamon
For the cream cheese icing
4 ounces of cream cheese, softened
2/3 cup powdered sugar
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1-2 tablespoons warm water
Optional: Ground cinnamon to garnish
Instructions
In a microwave safe bowl or glass liquid measuring cup, warm the milk to 115 °F (It should feel like a warm bath, use a food thermometer to check but this should take about 30 seconds). Add yeast to the warmed milk and stir to incorporate, then let rest for about 10 minutes while yeast activates. You’ll know it’s ready when it smells “bread-y” and develops a foam-like texture on top.
While the yeast is activating, fit a stand mixer with the paddle attachment and add the granulated sugar to the mixing bowl. Once the yeast is active, pour milk and yeast mixture into the bowl on top of the sugar and mix until incorporated then add melted butter, egg, and vanilla. Mix until well combined, about 30 seconds.
Turn mixer on low and slowly add flour and salt until just combined, then swap out paddle attachment for dough hook. On medium-low speed, knead the dough with the dough hook for 8-10 minutes. The dough should start to come together into a ball and develop a smooth texture. If it seems too sticky, add a sprinkle of extra flour. If you don’t have a stand mixer or dough hook attachment, you can knead the dough with your hands on a lightly floured countertop.
While the dough is kneading, briefly warm a kitchen towel (I pop mine in the dryer for a couple minutes) and lightly oil a mixing bowl (I use just a tiny bit of olive oil for this step). After the kneading time is up, add the dough ball to the oiled bowl then cover the bowl tightly with saran wrap and the warmed towel. Let rest on the counter to rise, until doubled in size (mine takes 1 hour – 1.5 hours in a 70-degree kitchen).
While the dough is rising, prepare the filling. Make sure the butter is softened completely so it’s spreadable, but do NOT melt it! This can cause the filling to leak out of the rolls while baking. Thoroughly mix brown sugar and cinnamon together in a bowl and set aside. Then prepare the baking dish; I use a glass or ceramic 9x12 baking dish lined with parchment paper. If you don’t have parchment paper, coat the pan with a light layer of non-stick cooking spray.
Once the dough has doubled, turn it onto a lightly floured surface and using a rolling pin, gently roll the dough into a 10x14 rectangle.
Gently spread softened butter on the rectangular dough, leaving about ½ an inch on the edges. Sprinkle the brown sugar and cinnamon mixture evenly over the butter and gently press it into the butter with your hands.
Starting from a long side of the rectangle, tightly roll the dough up into a log shape. With a serrated knife, cut rolls into nine 2-inch rolls (feel free to make rolls bigger or smaller based on personal preference, that’ll affect the number of rolls you get out of the recipe).
Place rolls in the prepared baking dish, evenly spaced. At this point you can either re-cover with saran wrap and place in the fridge until ready to bake or bake right away. If baking right away, cover rolls with kitchen towel and let rest on the counter for 30 minutes for the second rise. If your rolls have been in the fridge, just make sure you take them out and let them come up to room temp and have their second rise for at least 30 minutes and up to an hour before baking.
While the rolls are rising, prepare the icing. Add all ingredients except the water to a mixing bowl and with the whisk attachment, mix on medium speed until thoroughly combined. Then slowly add water until you reach the desired consistency (I like a thinner icing vs. a frosting consistency so you can omit the water if you prefer a thicker frosting).
Once ready to bake, pre-heat oven to 350 °F. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until filling is slightly bubbling and edges of rolls are golden brown.
Spoon a dollop of icing onto each roll while they’re still warm and lightly spread with a knife so the icing melts into the nooks and crannies. If using, sprinkle a tiny bit of cinnamon on top of the icing to garnish. Serve warm and enjoy!
Tips & Tricks
If you only have AP four on hand, you can substitute that in for the bread flour, but I would only do this in a pinch. I really recommend using bread flour for this type of recipe as it gives the cinnamon rolls their light, fluffy texture. Bread flour has a higher protein content which helps develop the gluten, an important factor in the structure of breads and rolls.
If you don’t work with yeast often, knowing if it’s activated correctly can be tricky. Look for the visual/sensory cues to know it’s working- a foam will develop on top of the liquid and it will smell like bread/hops. Some common issues with yeast include expired yeast (buy new if you’ve had yours for a while and you aren’t sure if it’s still “alive!”) as well as not hitting the right liquid temperature. I recommend using a food thermometer to get the milk to 110-115 °F.
To cut the cinnamon rolls, i like to roll the dough up in a log then mark off 1.5 inch segments to get even rolls before slicing using a bread knife. Another option is to use a pizza cutter and cut the dough into strips while it’s still flat after adding the cinnamon sugar mixture then rolling the rolls up individually. It’s up to you which way you prefer to do it, both get the same result! You may have seen in some recipes that they recommend using floss to cut the dough to get even cuts on the delicate dough. I prefer not to do it this way as depending on the type of floss, it could leave a residue or taste. If you use gentle cutting motions and a serrated bread knife, you should be able to cut the rolls within losing the shape.
You can make these ahead by preparing the dough through step 9 and instead of letting rest on the counter again before baking, cover pan with rolls tightly with saran wrap and refrigerate. Once ready to bake, just make sure you set the pan out on the counter for 30 minutes to an hour to allow them to come up to room temperate and go through the second rise. I recommend baking within two days if refrigeration. Store baked rolls in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to four days. You can reheat them individually by simply placing one on a microwave safe plate and microwaving for 10-15 seconds.
Nutrition Facts (per 1 cinnamon roll serving)
Estimates. Will vary based on ingredients and serving size
Calories: ~400 kcal
Protein: ~7 g
Total Fat: ~20 g
Carbohydrates: ~56 g