There’s something truly magical about the aroma of cinnamon wafting through the air, especially when it emanates from your very own kitchen. If you’ve ever experienced the joy of homemade cinnamon rolls, you know that they are a delightful treat that can elevate any day. I have tried numerous recipes and none have turned out right. This recipe I adapted from Joshua Weissman’s Cinnabon But Better Recipe.
Josh’s recipe is really great. I made some changes to suit my family. The ingredients are basically the same. I changed up the filling and glaze. I also did some technique changes, mainly because I am lazy and not a Chef so I adapted it to be done completely in my mixer.
The dough ingredients basically stay the same with a few tweaks. I did use a full teaspoon of salt. I couldn’t find my 3/4 tsp so I went with 1 tsp and it was totally fine. I also used 2 large eggs for the whole eggs and the smallest egg I had as the egg yolk. Make sure your butter is softened to room temperature. You want it spreadable. I also used salted butter, I do not have unsalted. Did not turn out too salty.
Ingredients:
- 4 cups (580g) all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup (107g) granulated sugar
- 3/4 tsp (6g) fine sea salt
- 1/3 cup (84g) butter softened
- 1 cup (235g) lukewarm whole milk (110°)
- 2 1/4 tsp (7g ) instant yeast
- 2 eggs
- 1 egg yolk
- So to start in a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, mix the flour, sugar, and fine sea salt. Add in the softened butter and blend together just until the butter is incorporated.
- Heat milk to about 110°. Do not get it warmer than 120°. It will kill the yeast.
- In a separate container mix the warmed milk and yeast. Let it sit for about 5 minutes or until it is nice and bubbly.
- Switch out the paddle for the dough hook in your mixer.
- Set speed to medium (I use 4-6 on my Kitchen Aid Mixer) Add in yeast and milk mixture, whole eggs, and egg yolk. Mix until smooth. It takes about 2-3 minutes.
- Lightly flour the surface and knead the dough for 30-60 seconds. This makes it really smooth out and come together. It will be a bit sticky so flour the top a bit too before you knead. Place the dough in a greased bowl and cover. Let it rise for 90 minutes.
- After the first rise, dump the dough onto a floured surface. Roll out to a large rectangle. I did about 16 inches long by 10 or so inches wide.
- Spread the filling mixture evenly across log.
The filling Is where things get really different.
Ingredients:
- 1 Cup (225g) Brown Sugar
- 2.5 Tbsp (17g) Cinnamon
- 1/2 Cup Butter Softened
First, you want to make sure your butter is really soft. This is the most important part. If it is not soft it won’t mix or spread well.
How I do my filling is to place the sugar and cinnamon in a bowl and mix well. Then dump your softened butter into the bowl, mixing well. It looks like a Spreadable sugar mixture.
By doing it this way instead of spreading butter and then sprinkling sugar mixture, You get a very even coating of sugar. Use a spoon or and off set spatula to spread. I use the back of a medium sized spoon. It takes a minute but you will get it evenly on the dough.
- Grease a 9×13 baking dish.
- Tightly roll the dough with the filling mixture from the bottom to the top. I use a bread dough scraper for the places where it sticks to the counter.
- Slice rolled dough into 2” thick segments. The dough scraper works great for that.
- Line the pan with the rolls and cover with plastic wrap. Let them rise at room temperature for 20-45 minutes.
- Bake in 375° oven for 15-20 minutes. Allow them to cool in the container for 15 minutes before serving.
Ingredients:
- 2 Cups Powdered Sugar
- 1/3 Cup Heavy Cream
- 1 Tbsp Vanilla
Mix ingredients together in a mixer with whisk attachment until desired consistency. Drizzle on top of cinnamon rolls before serving.
- Make cinnamon rolls the night before and place them in the refrigerator to bake them in the morning.
- Try using fruit instead of butter for filling. We love using apple butter to make an apple cinnamon roll.
- Top with thinly sliced or chopped pecans for a tasty treat.
