My Favorite Cinnamon Roll Recipe
Hello all,
One of my favorite things to bake is bread and one of my favorite flavor combinations is brown sugar and cinnamon . Therefore, it should come as no surprise that one of my favorite things to bake are cinnamon rolls. Rolls that feature a combination of fluffy interior, balanced cinnamon and brown sugar filling, and slightly tangy cream cheese frosting are sure to spark joy in anyone’s life. I’ve cycled through a few different cinnamon roll recipes over the years, but wanted to share one of my favorites. It’s a bit of mashup. I take this cinnamon roll & filling recipe from Sally’s Baking Addiction and combine it with this cream cheese frosting recipe from Serious Eats. Here is what I love about making these cinnamon rolls!
1. Overnight Option: The Sally’s Baking Addiction recipe features an overnight option for proofing the dough. Alternatively, you can make the cinnamon rolls straight through in about 4-5 hours. I’ve made them both ways. I make them start to finish when I have a free morning, but utilized the overnight option when I was hosting a brunch and wanted to feel relaxed and leisurely (and I did!)
2. Spreadable Filling: I utilize the Sally’s Baking Addiction recipe for the filling, but incorporate the Serious Eats technique. The Serious Eats technique involves beating the filling ingredients with the paddle attachment for about 5 minutes in a stand mixer (scrape down the sides of the bowl as necessary with a rubber spatula). I love this technique because it allows you to prepare the filling ahead of time as the dough proofs. Having the filling in paste form makes it very easy to spread over the rolled out dough (plus it’s kind of fun).
3. Perfectly Tangy Cream Cheese Frosting: The main way I veer from the original Sally’s Baking Addiction recipe is that I swap out her frosting recipe for the Serious Eats recipe. The Serious Eats recipe is the perfect consistency, the perfect level of tangy, and provides the correct amount of coverage over the cinnamon rolls.
Tips for Success:
1. When kneading the dough in the stand mixer, add an additional 2-3 TBSP of all-purpose flour to encourage the dough from sticking to the sides of the bowl
2. Do your best to roll out the dough. Honestly, my dough never rolls out into a perfect rectangle and is not always evenly tapered (shrugs). Do your best, and it will turn out fine. My cinnamon rolls have always puffed up beautifully. Plus, half the fun is choosing which sized cinnamon roll you want to eat.
3. When slicing the dough into rolls, measure the length of each roll using a ruler or tape measure so your rolls are even in length. Make an indent with your knife as you measure so you know where to slice.
4. For the overnight option I let the rolls sit out on the counter for about 1 hour as the oven heats up.
To Recap:
Sally’s Baking Addiction Dough & Filling (make sure filling is whipped into a paste)+ Serious Eats seriously tasty tangy cream cheese frosting=Downright Delightful Cinnamon Rolls
Looking for a weekend funtivity? Looking for a treat to prep the night before and bake off the next morning? Make cinnamon rolls the way I love to. Your kitchen will smell amazing. Brunch guests will be wowed. Friends will thank you. Family will ask you to make them again and again.
Happy Baking.
