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Is there anything better than cinnamon rolls with cream cheese icing? I thought I knew how good there were, but I didn’t know anything until I made them myself from scratch. Those little tubes from the grocery store? I can’t ever buy them again. I AM RUINED because of this recipe. RUINED.
This recipe is pretty awesome because you can prep everything the night before. You only need about an hour in the morning to finish them off. Half of that hour is spent laying in bed waiting for them to do their last rise. Then just bake them. So 2 steps that are no work at all. Good for hosting a breakfast or brunch.
Not gonna lie, there is a good amount of work the night before, but it’s really worth it.
On to the cinnamon rolls!
Cinnamon Rolls
Ingredients
Dough
- 1 cup milk luke warm
- ⅔ cup sugar
- 2 ¼ tsp yeast - amount in a 1/4 oz packet
- ½ cup butter soft cut into 4 pieces
- 2 eggs
- ½ tsp salt
- 4 cups flour plus some for rolling dough
Filling
- 6 tbsp butter softened
- 1 cup of brown sugar
- 2 ½ tbsp cinnamon
- Pinch nutmeg optional
Icing
- 6 tbsp butter softened
- 1 ½ cups powdered sugar
- ¼ cup cream cheese
- ½ tsp vanilla
- Pinch salt
Instructions
- Add butter to hot milk and sugar in mixer. Let sit till room temp and add yeast. Make sure liquid is NOT hot or yeast will die. Let sit 7 minutes.
- Using paddle attachment mix in eggs, flour, and salt. Change to dough hook and mix dough for 10 minutes on medium speed.
- Flour surface as needed and hand knead dough for an addition 5 minutes, till dough is less sticky and comes together. You may not need the full ½ cup of flour.
- Form dough in a ball, put in bowl and cover. Let rise 60 to 90 minutes till doubles in size.
- Roll dough out into a 16 x 20 rectangular sheet. Smear filling on dough, leaving a ½ inch on one long side. Roll starting with opposite side, the side with cinnamon smeared till the end.
- Pinch seam to seal and roll the cylinder seam side down. Gently squeeze the cylinder to create even thickness.
- Gently cut into 1 ½ – 2 inch pieces using a serrated knife.
- Place in a greased 13” x 9” pan and cover with plastic wrap. Store in the fridge overnight if making a day ahead. Or set aside for 30 minutes if making that day.
- If making ahead, take rolls out of the fridge in the morning. Proof in oven at 90 degrees (turn oven off at 90 degrees) 30 minutes. Skip this step if making day of.
- Heat oven to 350°F.
- Bake 25-30 minutes until golden brown.
- Frost with cream cheese icing.
