Cinnamon Buns
People generally fall into two breakfast categories: sweet or savory. While I generally like to enjoy the best of both worlds, in my mind nothing beats homemade cinnamon buns in the morning. The smell alone is best thing in the world to wake up to.
Like a typical bread dough, traditional cinnamon buns need to proof twice and therefore require a bit of forethought to have them ready in the morning. I try to make the dough, let it rise and shape the buns the night before. In the morning the rolls will need to come to room temperature and complete their second rise on the counter before baking. The result: better than the mall chain variety in your own home!
Depending on the season and the temperature of your kitchen, you may find that the dough is having trouble rising. A great trick is to turn on your oven and place the rolls on top of the stove. The heat of the oven should be enough to allow the dough to rise without killing the yeast. Having trouble deciding whether your dough has doubled in size? Take a photograph of it before it rises and you can refer to the photo after.
Cinnamon Rolls
The Girl Who Ate Everything
1 cup warm milk (110°F)
2 eggs, room temperature
1/3 cup butter, melted and cooled slightly
4 ½ cups bread flour
1 tsp salt
½ cup white sugar
1 pkg or ¼ ounce traditional yeast (not instant yeast)
Filling
1 cup brown sugar, packed
2 ½ tbsp. ground cinnamon
1/3 cup butter, softened
Icing
8 oz cream cheese, softened
½ cup butter, softened
3 cups confectioners’ sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/8 tsp salt
Heat milk in small saucepan on the stove until the temperature with an instant read thermometer reaches 110°F (alternatively this can be done carefully in the microwave, for 45-60 seconds). Dissolve yeast in warm milk in a large bowl. Add the sugar, butter, salt, eggs, and flour. Mix well.
Knead dough into a large bowl, using your hands dusted lightly with flour. Put the dough into a large bowl sprayed with cooking spray and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Let the dough rise in a warm place for about 1 hour or until the dough has doubled in size.
In a small bowl, thoroughly combine brown sugar and cinnamon.
Sprinkle a counter or work surface with flour. Roll the dough into a 16” x 21” rectangle, approximately ¼ inch thick. Spread the dough with the 1/3 cup of softened butter and sprinkle evenly with the sugar/cinnamon mixture. Roll the dough starting with the longer side and cut into 12 large rolls (alternatively you can create 18 smaller rolls). Place the rolls cut side up in a lightly greased 19” x 13” glass baking dish. Cover and let the rolls rise until nearly doubled, approximately 30-60 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Bake rolls until golden brown, about 18-20 minutes. While rolls are baking, beat together cream cheese, butter, confectioners’ sugar, vanilla extract and salt. Spread half the frosting on them while they are still warm so that the frosting melts into the roll and spread the other half after they have cooled slightly.
Make Ahead Note: the rolls can be partially made in advance. Prior to the second rise in the baking dish, the rolls can be covered and placed in the fridge overnight. They will need to come to room temperature and allowed to rise the next day on the counter.