There is nothing better than the smell of freshly baked bread wafting through the house, especially when combined with the scent of spicy cinnamon and sweet sugar. These cinnamon rolls are a wonderful treat to make anytime of year, but are especially satisfying during the winter season. Baking a batch of these cinnamon rolls will warm your senses and your kitchen and make winter just a little easier to tolerate. I love these cinnamon rolls on Christmas Day after a morning of unwrapping presents. They also make for perfect gifts to give to friends and family during the holiday season.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!This recipe makes a traditional cinnamon roll that is light and fluffy, yet rich and buttery. Drizzled with a maple-sugar glaze, these rolls have just the right amount of sweetness and spice. Serve these treats with a hot cup of coffee or tea, or a cold glass of milk. They are sure to bring a smile to everyone’s face.
To make these cinnamon rolls, warm one cup of whole milk in a saucepan until just starting to steam. You want the milk very warm but not hot to the touch; hot milk will kill the yeast. Once the milk is warm, remove it from the heat and add 3 tablespoons of butter to the pan. Swirl until melted. Next stir in 3 tablespoons of granulated sugar and 1 package (.25 ounces) of active dry yeast. Let the mixture sit for 5 minutes or until bubbly.
Add the yeast and milk mixture to a mixing bowl along with one room-temperature egg. Mix until combined. Next, mix in 3 cups of all-purpose flour and ½ teaspoon of Morton’s kosher salt. Using an upright mixer with a dough-hook attachment, or your hands, knead the dough for 5 minutes. Note: kneading a wet dough like this one can be a messy job. To reduce the mess, wet your hands with water and gently pull the edge of the dough up and over the dough ball and pat in place to seal. Turn your bowl a quarter of a rotation and repeat the process. Pull the edge of the dough, fold over the dough ball, pat to seal and repeat. Pull, fold pat and repeat. Re-wet your hands as needed. Knead dough until smooth.
Once smooth, wet hands and gently pull the dough out of the mixing bowl and into a large clean bowl that has been coated with olive or canola oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and a towel and set in a warm dry location to rise for one hour or until the dough has doubled in size.
Punch down the dough, place it on a hard flat surface that has been dusted with flour and roll the dough out into a rectangle that is 25 inches wide by 8 inches tall. Brush the dough with 7 tablespoons of very soft butter, leaving a half inch edge on the top and bottom. Next, sprinkle the dough evenly with 2 tablespoons of brown sugar, 2 tablespoons of granulated sugar and 2 tablespoons of ground cinnamon.
Gently roll the dough, starting at the top and rolling down (length-wise), working from left to right and rolling the dough evenly. Crimp the seam to seal. Cut the dough in half, then cut each half into eight even slices (you will have 16 slices altogether).
Place cinnamon roll slices into two round cake pans that have been coated with butter. If you are not baking these rolls until the next day, tightly wrap the pans of unrisen cinnamon rolls in plastic wrap and foil and store them in the refrigerator. Bake the rolls within two days of making the dough. On baking day, unwrap the pans and allow the cinnamon rolls to come to room temperature and rise and fill the pans. This will take about 1.5 – 2 hours. Bake and glaze the cinnamon rolls using the instructions below.
If baking cinnamon rolls that day, set the pans of unrisen cinnamon rolls in a warm dry location to allow the rolls to rise a final time. Once they have risen and filled the pans (30-60 minutes later), bake in a pre-heated oven at 350 deg F for 12-14 minutes and until golden brown. Let the rolls cool for 10 minutes before glazing. To make the glaze, add 1 cup of powdered sugar, 3 tablespoons of maple syrup, 1 ½ tablespoons of milk, ½ teaspoon of ground cinnamon and a pinch of salt to a bowl. Whisk the glaze until smooth and drizzle over both pans of rolls. This recipe makes two pans, or 16 cinnamon rolls in total with glaze. Enjoy!
Cinnamon Rolls
Ingredients
- 1 cup whole milk
- 10 tbsp butter, divided
- 3 tbsp granulated sugar plus 2 tablespoons, divided
- 1 egg at room temperature
- 1 pkg (or .25 ounces) dry active yeast (or 2 ¼ tsp)
- 3 cups all purpose flour
- ½ tsp Morton's kosher salt
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 2 tbsp ground cinnamon
For the glaze
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 3 tbsp maple syrup
- 1 ½ tbsp milk
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- pinch salt
Instructions
- Warm milk in a saucepan until just starting to steam. Do not let boil.
- Remove the milk from heat and add butter to pan. Swirl until melted.
- Next, add the yeast and 3 tablespoons of sugar to milk mixture. Let sit for 5 minutes until bubbly.
- Add milk mixture to a mixing bowl along with one room temperature egg. Whisk to combine. Add flour and salt and knead for 5 minutes and until smooth.
- Place dough in a large oiled bowl, cover with saran wrap and a towel and set in a warm, dry location to rise for one hour or until the dough has doubled in size.
- Roll the dough out into a 25 inch by 8 inch rectangle. Brush dough with 7 tablespoons of very soft butter, leaving a half-inch edge at the top and bottom of the dough.
- Sprinkle the dough with 2 tablespoons each of brown sugar, granulated sugar and ground cinnamon.
- Roll the dough into a long cylinder starting at the top and working your way to the bottom. Crimp the seam to seal.
- Cut the dough roll in half, then each half into 8 even slices. You will end up with 16 slices altogether.
- Place 8 slices into each of the two cake pans that have been buttered.
- If baking immediately, set the cake pans in a warm, dry location and allow the rolls to rise until they filled the pan, about 30 minutes.
- If baking the following day, tightly wrap the rolls in saran wrap and foil and store in the refrigerator. When ready to bake, unwrap the cake pans and let the rolls come up to room temperature and rise, about 1.5 - 2 hours.
- Once the rolls have risen, bake in an oven set to 350°F, for 12-14 minutes. Let rolls cool for 10 minutes, then drizzle with glaze.
- To make the glaze, whisk one cup of powdered sugar, 3 tablespoons of maple syrup, 1 ½ tablespoons of milk, ½ teaspoon of ground cinnamon and a pinch of salt in a small bowl until smooth. Drizzle over the pans of cinnamon rolls.
- Serve cinnamon rolls with coffee, tea or cold milk and enjoy!
