Perfect Homemade Cinnamon Rolls

Perfect soft and fluffy scratch cinnamon rolls with a ooey - gooey brown sugar, cinnamon filling and topped with a homemade cream cheese icing. 

I've been making these cinnamon rolls for Christmas morning for the past two years and I'm finally getting around to posting the recipe. If you love cinnamon rolls, this is definitely the recipe for you!  These cinnamon rolls have a buttery, soft yeast dough with an ooey gooey cinnamon, brown sugar filling, lightly crispy on top and finished off with a homemade cream cheese frosting. 

The secret to these soft oeey-gooey cinnamon rolls is fresh cream. Slightly warmed cream is poured over the cinnamon rolls just before baking, making these cinnamon rolls tender, rich and oh so gooey. I honestly can't say enough about this recipe. Normally, when I make cinnamon rolls, they tend to turn out on the heavier side, but these cinnamon rolls are light, fluffy and pure perfection!  

To make overnight cinnamon rolls, prepare the dough and let it do it's first rise, then roll out the dough, add the filling, roll up, cut and place the cinnamon rolls in a baking pan. Cover with plastic wrap (sprayed with non-stick spray) and then refrigerate overnight.  

On Christmas  morning, pull the cinnamon rolls out of the refrigerator (they might have already doubled in size in the refrigerator overnight). If they have let them sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes to get the chill off, then pour the warmed heavy cream 

over the rolls and bake. 

If the rolls have not risen, let them sit at room temperature for about 1 hour, then pour the warm cream over the rolls and bake. If we have overnight guests, I like to pair these cinnamon rolls with a savory breakfast casserole to please everyone. 

To make the dough, pour the warm milk in the bowl of a stand mixer, Add the eggs, butter and sugar. Mix until combined. In a separate bowl, add 4 cups of flour, instant yeast , sugar and salt. Mix to combine. (save the other ½ cup and add only if you need it).

Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients. Using the beater attachment, mix until the ingredients are barely combined. Allow the mixture to rest for 5 minutes so the flour has time to soak up the liquids.

Scrape the dough off the beater blade and remove it. Attach the dough hook. Beat the dough on medium speed, adding in up to ½ cup more flour if needed to form a dough.

Knead for 5-7 minutes or until the dough is elastic and smooth. The dough should be tacky and will still be sticking to the sides of the bowl. Don't be tempted to add more flour at this point. We generally add about 4 ½ cups, but start with 4 cups.

Spray a large bowl with cooking spray. Use a rubber spatula to remove the dough from the mixer bowl and place it in the greased large bowl.

Cover the bowl with a towel or plastic wrap. Set the bowl in a warm place and allow the dough to rise until double. I like to turn on the oven light on and place the dough to rise in the oven. This can take anywhere from 30 min - 1 hour.

While the dough is rising, prepare the cinnamon filling. In a medium bowl, combine the soft butter, brown sugar and cinnamon, mixing until well combined. Set aside. Sprinkle a pastry mat generously with flour.

Turn out the dough onto the pastry mat and sprinkle the top of the dough with additional flour. Flour a rolling pin and roll the dough to about a 24×15" rectangle. Use a rubber spatula to smooth the cinnamon filling over the whole dough rectangle.

Starting on the long end, roll the dough up tightly jelly roll style. Cut into 12 slices and place in a greased 9×13 baking pan.

Cover the pan with plastic wrap and allow the rolls to rise until nearly double in size (about 30 minutes)

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Warm the heavy cream until the chill is off. It should be warm to the touch not hot. Once the rolls have risen, pour the heavy cream over the top of the rolls, allowing it to soak down in and around the rolls.

Bake at 375 degrees for 20-22 minutes, until the rolls are lightly golden brown and the center rolls are cooked through. They could take up to 25-30 minutes, so check on the rolls at 20 minutes. If they are getting too browned, cover loosely with foil for the remaining baking time.

While the rolls are cooling, prepare the cream cheese frosting. Spread the frosting over the cooled rolls.

PERFECT HOMEMADE CINNAMON ROLLS!
Make ahead of time and bake the next day!

recipe source: Kristens Kitchen original recipe Taste of Lizzy 

 

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