Homemade Cinnamon Rolls

 
 
 
 

We love a good cinnamon roll—one that is doughy throughout, with ample cinnamon sugar and pockets of melted butter. The bottom should be crunchy: a caramelized layer of brown sugar, butter, salt and spices. And of course, a hearty dollop of cream cheese frosting to coat the top. Sounds simple, right? But so often we're disappointed: finding them to be a bread-y, single swirl. This is why people fight over the coveted center bite—it's so often the only one that's tender and flavorful. Alas, we've created a cinnamon roll where the entire bun tastes like the center piece. Dak was inspired by an America's Test Kitchen recipe for cinnamon rolls. ATK recommends using cornstarch to lighten up the all-purpose flour to make it somewhat comparable to cake flour in texture. Because Ju is allergic to corn, we tested tapioca flour as a replacement. Sure enough, it does exactly what we want it to. Feel free to use cornstarch if that's more readily accessible for you. Yes, cinnamon rolls are a labor of love, but the results are 100% worth your effort. There is something magical about watching them rise throughout the day and thinking, "Wow, it's really working." If you want to split up the work and have them ready-to-bake, you can do everything the night before and then just cover the rolls with plastic wrap, refrigerate overnight and bake them in the morning. Ahem, perhaps Christmas morning? — Ju

 

Ingredients

Dough:

  • 3/4 cup whole milk, heated to 110 degrees

  • 2 1/4 tsp instant yeast

  • 3 eggs, room temperature

  • 4 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

  • 1/2 cup tapioca powder or corn starch

  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar

  • 1 1/2 tsp salt

  • 12 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened and cut into 12 chunks

Filling:

  • 2 cups packed brown sugar

  • 2 Tbsp cinnamon

  • 1/2 tsp salt

  • 5 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened

  • 1/4 tsp allspice

Frosting:

  • 8 oz cream cheese, softened

  • 2 Tbsp whole milk (or cream)

  • 1 tsp vanilla extract

  • 1 3/4 cups powdered sugar

 

Instructions

For the dough:

  1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees - once the oven reaches 200, turn it off. You are going to use the warmed oven to help the dough rise throughout this recipe.

  2. Whisk warmed milk and yeast in a measuring cup until yeast dissolves. Whisk in the eggs.

  3. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, mix flour, tapioca flour (or cornstarch if using), granulated sugar, and salt until combined.

  4. With the mixer running on low, add milk mixture in a steady stream until dough roughly comes together, about 1 minute.

  5. Add softened chunks of butter one at a time until incorporated. Dough will really come together at this point.

  6. Continue to mix dough for about 10 minutes longer. At the end of this time, the dough will not stick to the sides, be in one ball and look more smooth.

  7. Turn dough out onto a clean surface (lightly flour, if needed) and knead the dough until it forms a smooth, rough ball. Transfer dough to a bowl that has been lightly buttered, cover the top with plastic wrap and let rise in the warm oven (oven should be turned off at this point!) until doubled in size, about 2 hours.

    For the filling:

  8. While the dough is rising, make the filling. Combine brown sugar, cinnamon, salt and allspice in a bowl. Set aside.

  9. Once the dough has doubled in size, remove from oven and turn out onto your lightly floured work surface. Roll dough out into an 18-inch square/rectangle. Using 4 Tbsps of the softened butter, spread over the entire rectangle, but reserve the remaining 1 Tbsp and use to evenly coat a 9x13 inch pan.

  10. With the cinnamon-sugar mixture, sprinkle the majority all over the dough rectangle- be sure to sprinkle all the way to the edges! Save about 1 or 2 Tbsps and sprinkle over the buttered 9x13 pan. Starting at one edge of the rectangle, begin to roll the edge into a tight log. Continue to roll the dough until you are left with one long roll. Pinch each end to ensure the the filling doesn’t fall out and so the roll stays put.

  11. Cut the roll into 8, similarly sized pieces; you can score the long roll in half and then score each half in half again to help ensure you cut the pieces similarly.

  12. Transfer each of the 8 pieces into your prepared 9x13 pan, lightly pressing down on the top of each piece to gently flatten. Cover with plastic wrap and let rolls rise again in the warm oven until about doubled in size, about 1 hour. (At this point, rolls can be placed in the refrigerator to be baked off in the morning. If this is the route you are taking, be sure to remove the buns from the fridge about an hour before you plan on baking them to allow for them to come to room temperature and complete their second rise).

    To finish the rolls:

  13. Once the rolls have doubled in size it’s time to bake them. Remove them from the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

  14. Once preheated, place pan of rolls in the oven uncovered, for about 35 minutes or until the rolls are a deep golden brown. Remember to check them frequently when you are nearing the 30/35 minute mark. Feel free to pull them out early if you feel like they are done and don’t forget that they will continue to cook even after you’ve taken them out of the oven. It’s better to ere on the side of underdone than overdone!

  15. While the buns are baking, make your frosting. In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine softened cream cheese, milk/cream, vanilla, and powdered sugar until smooth and glossy.

  16. Once the buns are done cooking, remove from oven and allow to lightly cool. Frost each bun liberally. Cut apart and serve.

Makes 8 cinnamon rolls