The other day Truman and I stopped by the grocery store on the way home from kindergarten. He found a toy that he wanted, and I said no, and then the world exploded. 0-to-60 meltdown. At one point he screamed, “But Mom, Christmas is about GIVING!” I just about died laughing at that one, but then he quickly followed it up with, “And besides, I’M HUNGRY!!” You know what, I have to give serious props to this 5-year-old-kid for being able to identify the root cause of his tantrum. I never realize I’m hangry until after I’ve eaten something. I am a little picky about cinnamon rolls. Okay, a lot picky. I used to accept any and all cinnamon rolls that came my way, but lately I’ve just been a little underwhelmed with the cinnamon rolls in my life. (“I know you can be overwhelmed, and I know you can be underwhelmed, but can you ever just be…whelmed?” “I think you can in Europe!” (Name that movie!)
Secret tip for the gooiest Homemade Cinnamon Roll Recipe
Now my trick for getting the gooiest homemade cinnamon rolls in all the land: Combine melted butter, cream, and brown sugar and spread it all over the bottom and sides of your pan before baking. I’m obsessed with this idea and will never go back to regular cinnamon rolls! It makes every inch of the cinnamon rolls ultra gooey and moist. I do the same thing with my favorite Bran Muffins: brush the pans with a molasses glaze. YUM. I feel like a lot of cinnamon roll recipes solve the problem of not-great-dough by PILING on the brown sugar filling and cream cheese icing to achieve the gooey factor. Now, I’m no heretic, I love a really thick and gooey filling and a healthy slather of frosting (and today’s recipe does not skimp), but I also just need the actual roll part to be soft and fluffy and not just a medium for frosting. This recipe delivers 100%. Here is everything you’re going to need! Warm milk in the microwave. Stir in yeast and sugar, then proof. Whisk in eggs. Add flour and salt, then mix. Slowly add in very soft butter, 1 tablespoon at a time. Beat until silky smooth. REFRIGERATE the dough, yes really. Prep your pan with a mixture of cream, brown sugar, and melted butter. Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface while it is cold! Make the cinnamon sugar filling and slather it on the dough. Slather, I say! Roll up and put rolls in the pan, then let rise in the oven with a pan of boiling water. Bake, drizzle on the cream cheese frosting, and DEVOUR! You can take any basic dinner roll recipe and turn it into homemade cinnamon rolls. Instead of shaping into balls, just roll the dough into a rectangle and slap on some cinnamon sugar. That’s what almost every cinnamon roll recipe that I researched calls for. Almost ever recipe I saw calls for warm liquid and yeast, combined with softened butter/shortening, eggs, sugar, and THEN add flour until the dough is workable. The ingredients for this recipe are essentially the same, but with WAY less flour than you would normally add. And a lot more butter. (ALLLL THE BUTTER). Like double the amount you see in most roll recipes. This of course makes a super sticky dough that is impossible to roll out. That’s where the chill step comes in. Instead of leaving the dough in a warm place to rise for an hour like most recipes, we’re sticking our lovely dough straight into the refrigerator. I learned about this type of sweet dough when my mother-in-law Kris made these Ultimate Sticky Buns from Epicurious. (Which are amazing, btw.) My final recipe is a little different, but it’s the same idea. Proof the yeast, stir together all the ingredients (including the minimal amount of flour), and then add softened butter in increments. Regular bread dough is just never going to measure up when you compare it to this brioche style dough. There are two other things that make this recipe for homemade cinnamon rolls next level: a bit of cardamom in the filling, and brushing the baking pan with cream and butter before baking. The cardamom adds just a little bit more interest, it’s not overwhelming. I absolutely love cardamom, but if you’re not into it, you can leave it out no problem.
How to make Cinnamon Rolls Icing
I love America. It’s not enough to have a decadent sweet roll stuffed with cinnamon filling, oh no, we’ve gotta FROST. Are you team cream cheese or plain vanilla? I love a good cream cheese frosting on my cinnamon rolls. It is not overly sweet and adds the perfect tang to the rolls. Here’s how to make it: This is my last post before Christmas! Thank you so much for following along with my blog this year, it means so much to me. I love talking about food with all of you. It’s the best! I hope that you have had a chance to try out some of these recipe for the holidays! It really is the most wonderful time of the year. Merry Christmas to all, and to all fluffy cinnamon rolls for brunch! If you are serving these to a large group and they will all be eaten right away, use the entire amount of frosting. Otherwise, save the other half of the frosting to serve with leftover rolls, or to pass at the table for guests to serve themselves. I find that people have such different opinions on the level of frosting they enjoy, that it’s better to let guests serve themselves.
How long can Cinnamon Rolls sit at room temperature?
If you still have cinnamon rolls left after 2 days (what kind of monster are you?? Why are you eating anything but these rolls??) then transfer them to the fridge to prevent mold. Facebook | Pinterest | Instagram
