Cinnamon Rolls

I LOVE BREAD and muffins and croissants and beignets and chin-chin and brioche and mini donuts and baklava and crepes and CINNAMON ROLLS!!!!

I was perusing my local grocery store aisle and came across Immaculate branded cinnamon rolls. I baked them for the first time and found that they were quite delicious. They soon became a listed item on my Friday night dessert and Saturday morning brunch menu. I was on a cinnamon roll kick, so much so that I nicknamed them “Cinnies”. One Friday night I was really craving Cinnies, I hopped in the car and drove to the store only to find them out of stock! It was all good because I go to the grocery store at least twice a week, and thought surely they will have them the next time I go. WRONG. They were out of stock for at least 3 weeks. My craving for the rolls wore off after the frustrating wait. I had never really considered making my own Cinnies since the 90’s, after my Easy Bake Oven ran out of baking mixes. My sisters and I tried a cinnamon roll recipe and I remember the process seeming far too tedious for less than spectacular results. However, I was just a baby then and it was now 2023 and I knew that I could actually throw down on some baked goods. I decided to search high and low and experiment for the perfect recipe. No need for store-bought cinnamon rolls, these ones are miraculous 🥳 Let’s go!

Equipment

Stand mixer w/ hook attachment or mixing bowls
Kitchen scale
Rolling pin
Liquid measuring cups
Baking pan (preferably ceramic)
Thermometer

Ingredients

For the Dough:

¾ cup warm milk (110-120F) (180mL)
¼ cup granulated sugar (50g)
2¼ teaspoons active dry yeast
3½ cups all-purpose flour (420g)
¼ cup packed light brown sugar (55g)
6 tablespoons unsalted butter melted (90ml)
1 large egg room temperature
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/2 tablespoon almond extract
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon nutmeg
3 splashes of heavy cream (optional)

For the Filling:

¼ cup unsalted butter room temperature (58g) Really, it’s however much your heart desires. I added more for easy spreadability.
½ cup light brown sugar (104g) but it’s whatever your heart desires. No need to be stingy with the sugar.
2-3 tablespoon cinnamon You can do less if you don’t like your Cinnies too cinnamony

Glaze Options

For Thicker American Buttercream frosting:

4 ounces cream cheese room temperature (113g) Because I don’t do cream cheese but you can if you want. The recipe reads 4 ounces cream cheese @ room temperature (113g). Sorry for being petty.
4 tablespoons butter room temperature 2 tablespoons if you are using cream cheese
1 teaspoon vanilla or almond extract
Pinch of salt
2 cups powdered sugar (240g)
1 to 2 tablespoons milk or heavy cream

For the Akuoma Glaze:

1 teaspoon almond extract
2 cups powdered sugar
1 to 2 tablespoons almond milk depending on the consistency you like. Just eyeball that shit, really!

Now we knead some dough!

First up, we have the bread and butter, literally. The Dough.

Let’s get the yeast activated! You will need to heat up your milk to no warmer than 115 degrees Fahrenheit and no colder than 105. I have tested these temps, so trust me on this. I also followed the directions on the active yeast label after many failed attempts to get it activated without reading the directions. Follow the “proofing” step with the yeast measurements I have listed above. Add in 1 teaspoon of granulated sugar, stir and let sit for 5-10 minutes until foamy. This step is crucial. Don’t mess it up!

2. In a stand mixer or large mixing bowl, pour the yeast mixture and add in all your wet ingredients. Sugar is considered a wet ingredient in case you didn’t know! Give it a good whisk and set aside.

3. Measure out your flour using a kitchen scale. Doing this helps produce a soft, light texture to your dough. Combine all dry ingredients and add to the mixing bowl.

4. Start mixing on low speed then gradually increase the speed as you see the hook in the mixer start to do its thing. When I tell you a stand mixer changed my life, I truly mean it. Perhaps it’s a lazy girl baking method but I LOVE it! If you do not have a stand mixer, no big deal; go old school. Kneading by hand is still a good option. You will know your dough is ready when you are able to punch or poke it, and it bounces right back!

5. Grab the pan you are going to bake with and grease lightly with any unflavored oil, I chose to use avocado oil. Add your dough to the pan, cover it and set in a warm spot for at least 1 hour. For a warm spot, I heat my oven to 200 degrees Fahrenheit, turn it off and place the pan in the middle rack. Your dough should double in size!

6. Place your dough on a well-floured surface. I use a pastry mat and dust it with flour. Roll the dough into a 12x20 inch rectangle.

Fill it up!

Now its time to work on the filling for the Cinnies!

Soften the butter. Salted butter softens way faster than unsalted, so give the unsalted a leg up and soften in the microwave (20 seconds). Be sure not to melt the butter, as it must be creamy and sticky enough to have the sugar adhere to the dough.
Mix the cinnamon and sugar together and combine with butter. Whip together until creamy.

3. Spread the filling mixture onto the dough using an offset spatula or the best tool in the house; your hands! At this point, you can determine if you would like to add more cinnamon sugar.

4. Let’s roll it up! Starting at one long end opposite the unbuttered border, roll up the dough into a tight log. Now, cut your Cinnies into 1 - 1 ½ inch tall pieces using unflavored dental floss by sliding the floss under the log and crossing the two pieces for the perfect slice!

5. Place your rolls into the baking pan, cover and set in a warm place for 1 hour (do that oven trick again if needed). The rolls need to rise twice!

6. Before they go into the oven don’t forget the heavy cream! Drizzle the Cinnies around the edge of the pan with heavy cream for a soft, supple texture. This is actually an optional step, but I did it and it would be nice if you did too!

This is especially important if you are using a metal baking pan, as it conducts heat better, thus drying out your Cinnies.

7. Preheat oven to 350F.

8. Bake for about 25 minutes or until lightly brown. If you find that the Cinnies along the edges are getting too brown, cover with foil around the edges to prevent further browning.

Glaze it:

Buttercream Option

Cream your choice of fats together until smooth and lump free.
Add the powdered sugar and a pinch of salt to your creamed fat concoction. Mix on medium speed until combined.
Add the extracts for flavor.
Thin buttercream with heavy cream to your desired consistency.

Akuoma Glaze Option

In a mixing bowl, combine powdered sugar and extracts, and then mix in almond milk until you reach your desired consistency.

Now that all of these steps have been complete, allow a little time for your rolls to cool! I made the mistake of spreading my icing onto piping hot Cinnies and they melted the frosting. To avoid the mess, wait about 10 minutes. If the aroma of the cinnamon rolls are calling your name, go ahead and slather that icing on. It doesn’t hurt the taste one bit!

These cinnamon rolls are the shit!