Description
Make the best homemade cinnamon rolls. This recipe provides step-by-step instructions for soft, gooey, and delicious cinnamon rolls, complete with a cream cheese icing.
Ingredients
Scale
- 4–5 cups (520g-650g) all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
- ¼ cup (50g) granulated sugar
- 2 ¼ teaspoons (1 package) instant yeast
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup (180mL) water
- ½ cup (120mL) whole milk
- ¼ cup (60g) unsalted butter, cut into 4 slices
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 6 tablespoons (85g) unsalted butter, very soft
- ¾ cup (150g) packed brown sugar, light or dark
- 1 ½ tablespoons ground cinnamon
- 4 oz (115g) full fat block cream cheese, room temperature
- 5 tablespoons (70g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 ½ cups (195g) powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine 3 cups of flour (to start), sugar, yeast, and salt. Whisk to combine and set aside.
- In a medium microwave safe bowl or cup, combine water, milk, and sliced butter. Microwave in 10 second bursts until the butter just melts and the mixture feels warm but not hot. You can also do this with a pot placed on a stove burner set to low heat.
- Whisk the egg into the water mixture to combine.
- Pour the wet ingredients over the flour mixture. Using a wooden spoon, mix together until you have a very thick and sticky dough.
- Add another 1 cup of flour to the dough and mix until it starts coming together into ball.
- Knead the dough, adding flour as needed to keep it from sticking to your hands / the sides of the bowl, until it’s smooth, elastic, and slightly tacky. If you poke the top of the dough, it should spring back – if the indent remains, the dough needs more kneading.
- Cover the dough and set aside for about 20 minutes. The dough will puff up slightly but won’t double in size. This is just to relax the gluten and make the dough easier to roll without it pulling in on itself.
- Turn the rested dough onto a lightly floured work surface and roll it out into a roughly 14×10 inch rectangle. Use your hands to press and pull the edges to get as nice of a rectangular shape as you can – it doesn’t have to be perfect though!
- Spread the softened butter over the dough, leaving a roughly ½ inch boarder along the edges. Sprinkle the sugar on top and use your hands to spread it out into an even layer over the butter. Finally, sprinkle the cinnamon evenly on top.
- Working from the longer side of the dough, roll it up into a log.
- Cut about ½ an inch off each end of the log (this just makes for nicer and more uniform rolls – you can bake them off separately or just skip this step if you don’t mind the appearance).
- Use a sharp serrated knife or unflavored dental floss to cut the log into 12 even rolls. If using a knife, cut the rolls using a sawing motion to prevent squishing. If using floss, break off a large string of unflavored dental floss and wiggle it under your log of dough positioned where you’d like to cut. Lift the ends of the floss up and over the log and cross to form an X. Pull on the ends of the floss to cut through the dough.
- Arrange the rolls cut side up in a 9×13 inch baking dish. There should be a tiny bit of space between each roll but it’s fine if they’re touching.
- Cover the rolls and set aside in a warm place for about 45 minutes or until about doubled in size. My favorite place to keep cinnamon rolls during this time is in the oven (it shouldn’t be on or hot) just because it keeps the rolls safe from any cold drafts. They’ll be pressed up against each other once they puff up – that’s normal!
- Take the rolls out of the oven and preheat the oven to 350F.
- Uncover the rolls and place into the center of your preheated oven. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until a nice golden brown on top. Set aside while you make the icing.
- In a medium sized bowl, combine icing ingredients. Using an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or a wooden spoon by hand, cream together until smooth. If using a mixer, start on low speed just to incorporate everything together and then whip on medium speed to smoothen the mixture out.
- While the cinnamon rolls are still warm, spread the icing on top. It’ll melt slightly and make them extra gooey!
Notes
- For best results, use room temperature ingredients.
- Kneading the dough is essential for a soft texture.
- Proofing in a warm place helps the rolls rise properly.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 roll
- Calories: 350
- Sugar: 25g
- Sodium: 200mg
- Fat: 15g
- Saturated Fat: 9g
- Unsaturated Fat: 5g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 50g
- Fiber: 2g
- Protein: 5g
- Cholesterol: 50mg