Cinnamon Rolls

Name: Cinnamon Rolls
Prep time: 35 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 3 h 35 min
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 240 ml whole milk, 1 cup, warmed to 105 to 110°F; 7 g instant yeast, one 1/4-ounce packet, 2 1/4 teaspoons; 65 g granulated sugar, 1/3 cup; 2 large eggs, room temperature; 85 g unsalted butter, 6 tablespoons, softened, for the dough, plus more for the pan; 540 g all-purpose flour, about 4 1/4 cups, spooned and leveled, plus more for rolling; 2½ tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt; 160 g light brown sugar, 3/4 cup, packed; 2 tbsp ground cinnamon; 85 g unsalted butter, 6 tablespoons, very soft, for the filling; 120 ml heavy cream, 1/2 cup, warm (optional); 113 g cream cheese, 4 oz, softened; 56 g unsalted butter, 4 tablespoons, softened, for the frosting; 120 g powdered sugar, 1 cup; 1 tsp vanilla extract

By the Tapas kitchen · Jump to the recipe

The softer the dough, the softer the rolls, so stop adding flour while it's still a little tacky. For the filling, mash very soft butter into the sugar and cinnamon as a paste, so it stays in the spiral and doesn't leak out and burn on the pan.

A pan of cinnamon rolls with cream cheese icing — Photo by Pannet, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons, cropped.

Prep: 35 min
Cook: 30 min
Rest: 2 hr 30 min
Total: 3 hr 35 min
Yield: Makes 12 rolls

Ingredients

For the dough

240 ml whole milk, 1 cup, warmed to 105 to 110°F
7 g instant yeast, one 1/4-ounce packet, 2 1/4 teaspoons
65 g granulated sugar, 1/3 cup
2 large eggs, room temperature
85 g unsalted butter, 6 tablespoons, softened, for the dough, plus more for the pan
540 g all-purpose flour, about 4 1/4 cups, spooned and leveled, plus more for rolling
2½ tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt

For the filling

160 g light brown sugar, 3/4 cup, packed
2 tbsp ground cinnamon
85 g unsalted butter, 6 tablespoons, very soft, for the filling

For baking

120 ml heavy cream, 1/2 cup, warm (optional)

For the frosting

113 g cream cheese, 4 oz, softened
56 g unsalted butter, 4 tablespoons, softened, for the frosting
120 g powdered sugar, 1 cup
1 tsp vanilla extract

The salt amounts here are for Diamond Crystal kosher salt. If you have Morton kosher salt, use a little over half as much, because its grains are denser and saltier by the spoon.

Steps

Stir the warm milk, yeast and granulated sugar together in the bowl of a stand mixer; instant yeast doesn't need time to foam first. Add the eggs and the 6 tablespoons of softened butter, then the flour and salt.
Mix with the dough hook on low until it comes together, then knead on medium until smooth and elastic and it pulls away from the sides but still sticks a little to the bottom, 7 to 8 minutes. Add flour a tablespoon at a time only if it is still sticking to the sides after 5 minutes. By hand, this takes about 10 minutes on a lightly floured counter.
Shape the dough into a ball, put it in a buttered bowl, cover, and leave in a warm spot until doubled, 60 to 90 minutes.
While it rises, mash the brown sugar, cinnamon and the other 6 tablespoons of butter together with a fork into a soft, spreadable paste. Butter a 9-by-13-inch baking pan.
Press the dough down and roll it on a lightly floured counter into a rectangle about 16 by 12 inches, with a long side facing you. Spread the filling over it in an even layer, leaving a 1/2-inch strip bare along the far edge. Roll it up tightly toward the bare strip and pinch the seam closed.
Cut the log into 12 equal rolls with dental floss (slide it under, cross the ends over the top and pull) or a serrated knife. Set them cut side up in the pan in 3 rows of 4. Cover and leave until puffy and touching, 45 minutes to 1 hour. About 20 minutes before they are ready, heat the oven to 350°F with a rack in the middle.
If using the heavy cream, pour it evenly over and between the rolls. Bake until golden brown on top and a thermometer pushed into a center roll reads 190°F, 25 to 30 minutes. If the tops brown too fast, lay foil loosely over them for the last 10 minutes.
While they bake, beat the cream cheese and the last 4 tablespoons of butter until smooth, then beat in the powdered sugar and vanilla until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Let the rolls cool for 10 minutes, then spread the frosting over them while they are still warm.

Notes

To bake them in the morning, cover the pan of cut rolls and refrigerate it for up to 16 hours, then leave it on the counter until the rolls are puffy, about an hour, and bake. Shaped rolls also freeze for a month; thaw overnight in the fridge and proceed the same way. Leftovers keep 2 days covered; warm one for 15 seconds in the microwave.