Cinnamon Rolls
MAKES
9 rolls
TAKES
Prep time: 11 hours 15 minutes - 15 hours 15 minutes (includes rise times)
Cook time: 25 minutes
Total: 11 hours 45 minutes - 5 hours 45 minutes
✻ ABOUT THIS RECIPE
In my family, we take cinnamon rolls seriously. We’re looking for a super soft and fluffy dough, plenty of buttery spiced filling, and plenty of rich, creamy icing to top things off. My recipe is formulated to do as much as possible the night before, so on the morning you’re ready to (cinnamon) roll, all that’s left is some hands off rising and bake time. If you’re looking for a fruity twist to the classic cinnamon roll, try my apple butter roll variation below.
INGREDIENTS
Dough
173 g / ¾ cup whole milk
75 g / ⅓ cup water
450 g / 3 ¾ cups bread flour
28 g / ¼ cup dry milk powder
25 g / 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
6 g / 1 ½ teaspoons fine sea salt
7 g / 2 ¼ teaspoons instant dry yeast
56 g / 1 large egg
28 g / 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
30 g / 2 tablespoons sour cream
Filling
160 g / ¾ packed cup light or dark brown sugar
15 g / 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
9 g / 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 g / ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
< 1 g / ¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
42 g / 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
Icing
141 g / 1 ¼ cups powdered sugar, plus more as needed
60 g / ¼ cup heavy cream, plus more as needed
5 g / 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or extract
> 1 g / pinch fine sea salt
Bake This Recipe with Me:
Apple Butter Cinnamon Roll Variation
METHOD
1. The day before you want to make the cinnamon rolls, make the dough. In a small saucepan, heat the milk and water to about 110°F / 45°C over medium-low heat (you can also do this in a liquid measuring cup in the microwave). Remove from the heat.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment, mix the flour, milk powder, sugar, and salt to combine, 30 seconds. Add the yeast and the warm milk mixture, egg, butter, and sour cream, and mix on low speed for 4 minutes, or until a soft dough forms.
3. Scrape the bowl well, then mix on medium speed for about 3 minutes more, until the dough is very smooth. Transfer the dough to a lightly greased medium bowl. Use both hands to gently turn the dough around so it’s coated lightly on all sides, then gently tuck it under itself to slightly round it. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough rise for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until visibly puffy and almost double in size.
4. While the dough rises, make the filling. In a medium bowl, combine the brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, salt, and nutmeg to combine. Use your hands to mix the ingredients together to evenly combine them. Add the melted butter and mix until it forms a sandy mixture. Set aside.
5. When the dough has risen, turn it out onto a lightly floured work surface. Use your hands and/or a rolling pin to pat/roll out the dough into a rectangle about 12 x 12 inch / 30 x 30 cm in size.
6. Sprinkle the brown sugar mixture evenly over the surface of the dough. Use your hands to press it down slightly, helping to flatten it and more evenly cover the dough.
7. Starting with one side, begin to roll up the dough into a tight spiral. Gently pick up the spiral and stretch it to increase its length to 14 inch / 36 cm.
8. Use a serrated knife or bench knife to score the dough log into nine even 1 ½ inch / 3 cm wide pieces. Use a piece of kitchen twine to cut the rolls cleanly—slide it under the log and then cross the ends of the twine until it slices the cinnamon roll. (You can also use the knife or bench knife to portion the rolls.)
9. Grease a 9 x 9 inch / 23 x 23 cm pan with nonstick spray. Arrange the rolls in three rows of three rolls inside the baking dish, leaving a small amount of space around each one. Cover the pan with greased plastic wrap or a clean kitchen towel.
10. Let the rolls rise at room temperature for 30-45 minutes until slightly puffy, then transfer to the refrigerator to continue to slowly rise for 8 to 12 hours (overnight).
11. The next day, remove the rolls from the refrigerator and let sit at room temperature until visibly puffy, 1 hour to 2 hours (it will take less time in a warmer space, and more time in a cooler one). Towards the end of this time, preheat the oven to 350°F / 175°C with an oven rack in the center.
12. Transfer the pan to the oven and bake until the cinnamon rolls are lightly golden on top, 20-24 minutes. If desired, you can check the internal temperature of a dough section of a roll towards the center of the pan, it should read at least 200°F / 93°C on a thermometer. Remove from the oven and cool for 10 to 15 minutes.
13. While the rolls cool, make the icing. In a medium bowl, whisk the powdered sugar, cream, vanilla, and salt to combine. It should make a thickly fluid icing—if needed, you can add more cream to make it thinner. Or, if needed, you can add powdered sugar 7 g / 1 tablespoon at a time to thicken it.
14. Spoon the icing over the still-warm cinnamon rolls, spreading to generously cover the top of each roll. Serve immediately while they are still warm.
Variation:
Apple Butter Cinnamon Rolls:
Replace the filling with the following ingredients whisked together until well combined:
210 g / ¾ cup of apple butter combined
53 g / ¼ cup light or dark brown sugar
3 g / 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
In step 6, spread the filling evenly over the dough, leaving ½ inch / 1 cm uncovered on one side.
Begin rolling up the dough from the side opposite to the uncovered portion, so that when you roll it up, you can form a clean seal using that exposed dough.
If desired, replace half or all of the cream in the icing with apple cider for an apple-flavored glaze.
✻ HAVE YOU BAKED IT?
Tag @emcdowell on Instagram or use #happybaking. I’d love to see your bakes!
