Growing up I used to take the subway home from school and everytime the train would pass through one particular station, the smell of freshly baked, glazed cinnamon rolls would fill the car. I would have to practically hold myself down to stop me from getting off the train, running up the stairs and spending my allowance on one (soemthing I allowed myself to do on occasion). To this day, cinnamon rolls always remind me of simpler times and so I have begun to make them at home.
To me, the best traits of a tasty cinnamon roll is that it’s super fluffy, with an almost gooey center, has a flavourful cinnamon rich filling and of course, a decadent cream cheese icing. If this sounds good to you, you’re going to love this tasty cinnamon rolls recipe!
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INGREDIENTS:
Makes 9-12 Rolls
Time: 30 Min for Yeast to Activate, 1.5 Hours for Dough to Rise, 1 Hour for Rolls to Double, 35 Minutes for Cooking
Cinnamon Roll Dough
1 CUP of Warm Milk
1 TBSP of Vanilla Extract
2.5 TSP of Instant Dry Yeast
1/2 TSP of Salt
2 Eggs - at room temperature
1/3 CUP of Unsalted Butter - melted
1/2 a CUP of White Sugar
3.5 CUPS of All Purpose Flour
Pinch of Ground Nutmeg
1 TSP of Ground Cinnimon
Olive Oil - for greasing the bowl
Cinnimon Roll Filling
1 CUP of Brown Sugar
2 TBSP of Cinnamon
1/2 TSP of Nutmeg
1/3 CUP of Softened Unsalted Butter
Optional Topping While Baking
3/4 Cup of Heavy Cream
Cream Cheese Icing For Cinnamon Buns
4 OZ of Cream Cheese - softened
1/4 CUP of Unsalted Butter - softened
1 TSP of Vanilla
1/8 TSP of Salt
1.5 CUP of Powdered Sugar - sifted
2-4 TBSP of Half and Half (or Milk)
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HOW TO MAKE CINNAMON BUNS:
Cinnamon Roll Dough
The first thing you need to do is make the cinnamon roll dough. In a mixing bowl, dissolve sugar in the warm milk before sprinkling in the yeast. Allow the yeast to proof until it rises, thickens and bubbles.
When ready whisk in eggs, vanilla, melted butter, and salt.
In a separate bowl, combine remaining dry ingredients - flour, cinnamon, and nutmeg - with sugar. Whisk until well incorporated.
Place mixing bowl with wet ingredients on your stand mixer and using a dough hook, gradually add the flour mixture to it about 1/2-1 CUP at a time.
Once a dough starts to form, remove mixture from the mixing bowl onto a floured surface and knead gently until a soft dough is formed that is no longer sticky.
Place the dough in a bowl greased with olive oil. Cover dough with a cloth or kitchen town and place somewhere warm where it will not be disturbed, to rise until it doubles in size (approximately 45 minutes to 1 hour).
Once dough has doubled in size, you are ready to preheat the oven to 350 degrees, grease a baking dish with butter ( around 9x9 inches), and prep your work surface with flour.
Cinnamon Roll Filling
Next, we need to make the cinnamon roll filling! In a bowl, combine the cinnamon, nutmeg, and sugar, and whisk together until well incorporated.
Roll out dough into a rectangular shape on floured surface until 1.4 inch thick.
Spread the butter out evenly on the surface of the dough before sprinkling the filling gernerously on top. Make sure to stay 1 inch away from one of the shorter edges of the rectangle.
When ready, start to gently roll the dough into a log starting from the opposite end of the unbuttered edge
Using a piece of unflavored and unscented dental floss cut rolls into 1.5 inch thick rolls.
Place rolls in your buttered baking dish allowing for room for them to expand further. When done, cover again with a cloth and place the rolls in a warm spot so they can again double in size.
Bake rolls for 7-10 minutes. Take out the roll and top each roll with a few tablespoons of heavy cream. This is optional but it does help them become super gooey and fluffy, so if you like fluffy cinnimon rolls I highly recommend doing this step! Return the rolls to the oven and continue to bake until they become a deep golden brown (approximately 25 minutes). If the rolls are getting a bit too brown at the 20 minute mark, I recommend covering them loosely with a sheet of foil and allowing them to continue to bake.
When done, remove baking dish from oven and allow to cool.
Cream Cheese Icing For Cinnimon Buns
While the rolls are cooling you can now work on the cream cheese icing for the cinnimon buns!
Whisk together cream cheese, butter, vanilla, 2 TBSP of half and half (or milk), and Salt in a bowl. Add in your powdered sugar bit by bit until fully incorporated. NOTE: You can use half and half (or milk) and confection sugar to adjust the frosting consistency to how you desire.
Spread the frosting over the warm tasty cinnamon rolls and serve! Keep rolls covered and refrigerated when storing.
Enjoy!
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I hope you enjoyed this ‘tasty cinnamon rolls with cream cheese icing’ recipe as much as I do. If you have any comments please leave them below and I'll be happy to answer them as soon as I can! Happy baking!!!
