Cinnamon Rolls

The perfect Holiday breakfast mainstage. The tastiest snow day tradition. The best way to bring homemade pastries to an amateur kitchen. Cinnamon rolls.

This recipe is beloved by my family and I frequently will make a batch to store in the freezer and take a few out as needed. These are generally needed during the cold, dark month of January when post-holiday doldrums set in and everyone needs an extra kick to get going in the morning. When I make them, I mix the dough around dinnertime when I’m already in the kitchen. It’s done proofing right when it’s time to melt into the couch for the evening, and I can roll them up, slice and freeze without creating many more dishes. If you’re making them for breakfast, starting the night before is the way to go. Proof them in the refrigerator overnight and have warm, gooey rolls ready whenever you want them to be.

The recipe calls for bread flour, but all-purpose can be substituted in a pinch or if you’re not a frequent baker. Bread flour is higher in protein content which will yield a roll with a more uniform structure and even browning. The yeast I use most frequently is Active Dry, but fun fact- you can use Active Dry and Instant Yeast totally interchangeable in quanity. If you use Instant Yeast, there’s no need to hydrate it in the warm milk and you can just toss it in with the dry ingredients. Either way, a warm milk bath can only do great things for yeast. Note that at the end of the recipe, I give a few different options for the final proof. Cinnamon rolls are pretty durable in terms of proofing- there’s enough yeast in this recipe that you can get away with not being super methodical about the proofing stage. Don’t overthink it and don’t worry if your rolls don’t fully double- pretty much anything smothered in this cream cheese frosting will be delicious…

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Cinnamon Rolls

Yield: 9-12 Rolls

Prep time: 30 MinCook time: 20 Mininactive time: 3 HourTotal time: 3 H & 50 M

Ingredients

Sweet Dough

• 1 cup Whole Milk (273.75g)
• 3.5 tsp Active Dry Yeast (2.5 pkts, 10g)
• 4 Tbsp Unsalted Butter (52.5g)
• 1 Egg (50g)
• 1 tsp Vanilla (6g)
• 4 cups Bread Flour (495g)
• 1/4 cup sugar (52.5g)
• 1.5 tsp salt (4g)

Cinnamon Schmear Filling

• 1/2 cup Butter (8oz), room temperature
• 1 cup Brown Sugar (200g)
• 1.5 Tbsp Cinnamon (10g)
• 1 tsp salt (3g)
• Chopped Pecans (optional)

Cream Cheese Frosting

• 2 oz Cream Cheese, room temperature
• 3 Tbsp Powdered Sugar
• 1-2 Tablespoons milk or cream
• 1 tsp vanilla

Instructions

Make the dough:

1. Warm milk and butter until the butter is fully melted. Add it to the bowl attachment of a stand mixer and sprinkle the yeast over the top to hydrate. Allow to stand for 5 minutes.
2. In a separate bowl, measure the flour, sugar and salt. Add egg and vanilla to the yeast/milk mixture and mix on low to combine. Add dry ingredient mixture to to wet and mix until the dough is smooth, glossy and uniform in texture (about 8 minutes).
3. Transfer to a lightly greased bowl and store in a warm place to proof for the next two hours. Cover with plastic wrap or a clean kitchen towel.

Make the Cinnamon Schmear Filling:

1. Cream the room temperature butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add cinnamon and salt.

Assemble the rolls:

1. Following the two-hour proof, your dough should have roughly doubled in size.
2. Prep a 9'x13' pan by lining in parchment paper or lightly greasing.
3. Turn the dough out of your bowl onto a lightly floured surface. Roll the dough into a 12"x18" rectangle, taking care to shape the corners.
4. Spread the schmear onto the dough in an even layer, all the way to the edges. If using chopped nuts or chocolate, sprinkle on top now.
5. Starting on the longer edge, roll the dough into a pinwheel. Slice into 9-12 rolls using a serrated knife and sawing very gently. Arrange, evenly spaced, in the pan and cover with plastic wrap or a clean kitchen towel to proof.

Bake the rolls:

1. Refrigerate sliced rolls overnight to proof slowly. Take the rolls out of the refrigerator and allow to come to room temperature before baking (about the time it takes to pre-heat the oven).
2. Pre-heat the oven to 350*F. Bake the rolls until the edges are browned but the centers are still soft. Note: Cook time is relative to your oven and the overall proof time; I generally bake these for 20-25 minutes.

Alternative Proof options:

1. Immediately after slicing the rolls, leave the pan in a warm place for an hour and bake the rolls when they have roughly doubled in size and appear puffy.
2. Freeze the sliced rolls right away. Remove from freezer and leave on the counter at room temperature for 8-10 hours to proof.

Make the frosting:

1. Using a whisk, whip the cream cheese and sugar until light and fluffy. Add vanilla. Slowly add cream/milk while whisking until the desired consistency is achieved. Frosting should thick enough to hold a ribbon pattern for a second before disappearing.
2. Frost the rolls immediately after removing from the oven.

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