Hello and welcome to the wide wide world of cinnamon roll love.
Seriously, say hello to big, fluffy cinnamon rolls packed with a cinnamon brown sugar filling and glazed with a vanilla cream cheese glaze that drips into the middle and soaks every single bite.
Descriptive, yes. Delicious, absolutely.
Healthy? Not so much. But sometimes you need something a little indulgent for moments in your life that require a little something special.
Adapted From: thedirtygyro.com
Ingredients
For the dough:
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- ¾ cup warm milk (whole milk or 2% preferred) (110 degrees F)
- 3 cups bread flour, plus more for dusting
- 1 egg plus
- 1 egg yolk, at room temperature
- ¼ cup unsalted butter, melted
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 ¼ teaspoons quick rise or active yeast (1/4-ounce package yeast)
For the filling:
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
- 1 ½ tablespoons ground cinnamon
For the cream cheese frosting:
- 2/3 cup dark brown sugar (light brown sugar also works)
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 4 oz cream cheese, softened
- ¾ cup powdered sugar
- ¼ cup unsalted butter, softened
Instructions
- Number One. Warm milk to around 110 degrees F. I like to do this by placing milk in a microwave safe bowl and microwaving it for 40-45 seconds. It should be like warm bath water. Transfer warm milk to the bowl of an electric mixer and sprinkle yeast on top. Add in sugar, egg, egg yolk and melted butter. Mix until well combined. Next stir in flour and salt with a wooden spoon until a dough begins to form.
- Number Two. Place dough hook on stand mixer and knead dough on medium speed for 8 minutes. Dough should form into a nice ball and be slightly sticky. If it’s TOO sticky (meaning it’s sticking to the bottom of the mixer, add in 2 tablespoons more bread flour.) If you don’t want to use an electric mixer, you can use your hands to knead the dough for 8-10 minutes on a well-floured surface.
- Number Three. Transfer dough ball to a well-oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap and a warm towel. Allow dough to rise for 1 hour to 1 ½ hours, or until doubled in size. This may more or less time depending the humidity and temperature in your home.
- Number Four. After dough has doubled in size, transfer dough to a well-floured surface and roll out into a 14×9 inch rectangle. Spread softened butter over dough, leaving a ¼ inch margin at the far side of the dough.
- Number Five. In a small bowl, mix together brown sugar and cinnamon. Use your hands to sprinkle mixture over the buttered dough, then rub the brown sugar mixture into the butter.
- Number Six. Tightly roll dough up, starting from the 9-inch side and place seam side down making sure to seal the edges of the dough as best you can. You will probably need to cut off about an inch off the ends of the dough as the ends won’t be as full of cinnamon sugar as we’d want it to be.
- Number Seven. Cut into 1 inch sections with a serrated knife or floss. You should get 9 large pieces.
- Number Eight. Place cinnamon rolls in a greased 9×9 inch baking pan or round 9 inch cake pan. (I also recommend lining the pan with parchment paper as well, in case any of the filling ends up leaking out.) Cover with plastic wrap and a warm towel and let rise again for 30-45 minutes.
- Number Nine. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Remove plastic wrap and towel and bake cinnamon rolls for 20-25 minutes or until just slightly golden brown on the edges. You want to underbake them a little so they stay soft in the middle, that’s why we want them just slightly golden brown. Allow them to cool for 5-10 minutes before frosting. Makes 9 cinnamon rolls.
- Number Ten. To make the frosting: In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar and vanilla extract. Beat until smooth and fluffy. Spread over cinnamon rolls and serve immediately. Enjoy!