My Favorite Cinnamon Roll Recipe

I originally posted this recipe in April of 2020, you know that point in time when we thought we’d just be home a few days… or weeks… and everyone was busting out their KitchenAid to pass the time. Our house was no different! We hosted my grandparents for a petite Easter brunch and made these Brunch Cinnamon Rolls that y’all seemed to love as much as I did. I recently had a request to reshare the recipe which made me smile, so get to mixin’ and rollin’ and enjoy:

Below is a revised version of the recipe we used, I added notes with what our experience looked like + what I’d do differently next time around. I ate 3 of these in a day and was full for the following 3 days— be warned 🙂

We started with this recipe, I copied + edited based on our experience below for y’all. Don’t be overwhelmed when you look at how long the recipe is— its just super thorough and thus very easy to follow!

INGREDIENTS

For the Dough:

• 1 cup warm milk  (it called for 115 degrees F, but we later learned it should be ~110. we heated in a saucepan and measured temp with a candy thermometer)
• 2 1/2 teaspoons instant dry yeast  (we did not use instant, and everything turned out fine though the dough didn’t immediately rise as much as it was supposed to)
• 2 large eggs at room temperature (trick: pop them in a bowl with warm water to get them to room temp!)
• 1/3 cup butter  (very over-softened. pop in the microwave but make sure it’s not totally liquid)
• 4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour  (divided)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar

For the Filling:

• 1/2 cup butter almost melted
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons cinnamon
• 1/2 cup heavy cream  (for pouring over the risen rolls)

For the Frosting:

• 6 ounces cream cheese (softened)
• 1/3 cup butter (softened)
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1/2 tablespoon maple extract  (you can use vanilla instead but it was SO GOOD with the maple. Dallas friends – Central Market has maple extract)

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Pour the warm milk in the bowl of a stand mixer and sprinkle the yeast overtop.
2. Add the eggs, butter, salt and sugar.
3. Add in 4 cups (save the other 1/2 cup and add only if you need it) of flour and mix using the beater blade just until the ingredients are barely combined. Allow the mixture to rest for 5 minutes so the flour has time to soak up the liquids.
4. Scrape the dough off the beater blade and remove it. Attach the dough hook.
5. Beat the dough on medium speed, adding in up to 1/2 cup more flour if needed to form a dough. Knead for 5-7 minutes or until the dough is elastic and smooth. **The dough should be tacky and will still be sticking to the sides of the bowl. That’s ok! Don’t be tempted to add more flour at this point.
   • Honestly we didn’t even use the rest of the 1/2 cup— I think we added maybe 1/4 cup. It really shouldn’t be too floury!
6. Spray a large bowl with cooking spray.
7. Use a rubber spatula to remove the dough from the mixer bowl and place it in the greased large bowl. 
8. Cover the bowl with a towel or wax paper.
9. Set the bowl in a warm place and allow the dough to rise until double.
   • We turned on our oven to the lowest setting, let it get hot for ~5 min, then turned it off and put our dough in the oven while it was OFF. The recipe said it would take about 30 min for the dough to rise and double in size— ours definitely didn’t do that! We left in the warmed oven probably 45 min, and I think it didn’t double in size because we didn’t use the instant yeast. Nonetheless, our dough rose during step 16 and it was completely fine.
   • If you do use the instant yeast, there is a note to be sure you don’t let your dough rise more than double. Don’t want it to be airy!
10. While the dough is rising, prepare the cinnamon filling. In a medium bowl, combine the soft butter, brown sugar and cinnamon, mixing until well combined. Set aside.
11. Sprinkle a pastry mat (or your countertop) generously with flour. Turn out the dough onto the pastry mat and sprinkle the top of the dough with additional flour. 
12. Flour a rolling pin and roll the dough to about a 24×15″ rectangle. (the size of the rectangle can vary…it does not have to be exact!)
13. Use a rubber spatula to smooth the cinnamon filling over the whole dough rectangle.
    • We used the back of a spoon to really smooth it over the dough, the rubber spatula didn’t seem to spread very well.
14. Starting on the long end, roll the dough up tightly jelly roll style. 
15. Cut into 12 slices and place in a greased 9×13 Pyrex baking pan.
16. Cover the pan and allow the rolls to rise for 20 minutes or until nearly double.
    • This was when we had lots of luck with the rising! We did not have the pan in a warmed oven, just on the counter.
17. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
18. Warm the heavy cream until the chill is off. Don’t make it hot…you just don’t want it cold. It should be warm to the touch.
19. Once the rolls have risen, pour the heavy cream over the top of the rolls, allowing it to soak down in and around the rolls.
20. Bake at 375 degrees for 17-19 minutes, until the rolls are lightly golden brown and the center rolls are cooked through. Note…the time will vary based on how big the rolls are, what type of pan, how close the rolls are packed, etc. They could take up to 25 minutes.
    • Ours took over 30 minutes.
21. While the rolls are cooling, prepare the cream cheese frosting.
    • We did this while the rolls were baking, so we could put the frosting on when the rolls were hot. I like them better when the frosting melts over the rolls 🙂
22. In a large bowl, combine the softened cream cheese and butter using a hand mixer. Blend well.
23. Add in your favorite extract (use the maple!!) and the powdered sugar. Beat until combined.
24. Spread the frosting over the cooled rolls.
25. Store in an airtight container.
    • We ate on these for days! They were SO good.

Alright, Voila! Enjoy! I most definitely have the biggest sweet tooth in my family (always have), so I’ll pretty much always tell you a sweet roll is good. BUT. My mom also couldn’t stop talking about how remarkable the rolls turned out, and we both reheated them Day 2 as an afternoon snack (woops). She usually tries something sweet and sugary but doesn’t overindulge.

So there you have it— a non-sweet-toother, fully onboard! Let me know if you make them.

XO. M.