This recipe is a hit every single time I have made it..The rich but very delicate and light dough is what amazes everyone as they take a bite of this goodness.
What makes this recipe work?
The smaller size rolls are always tasty. The texture is not as dense as you will find in a store or bakery. You can easily gobble up a couple in one go. The filling is just perfect, the caramelized brown sugar on the inside makes a world of difference compared to using white granulated sugar. I prefer using the light brown sugar, so you can still maintain the light color of the dough and yet achieve the caramelized flavor.
Cinnamon always works great in the filling, but occasionally I would substitute it with Cardamon. The icing on the top, you can completely skip it, trust me, it will still be as good. But a light cream cheese icing drizzle on to the top, just kicks it up a notch. When using cardamon, I’d drizzle some good quality honey instead on these little rolls of happiness.
You can add pecans pieces to the center with the cinnamon and brown sugar which is my favorite version!
KEY TIPS:
- For the Dough, always assure all the ingredients are at room temperature. Move the eggs, butter and milk from the refrigerator to the kitchen counter roughly 6 hours before we begin. If I am making these early in the morning, I’d put those out on the counter before I go to bed.
- Make sure you weigh both the wet and dry instead of measuring them. Use a good quality weight scale to accurately weigh all the ingredients. In the world of bread and pastry making, this makes a big difference. Use the measurements below only as reference. I have included the weight for each ingredient.
- Use Instant yeast instead of Active dry yeast. It is also know as Rapid Rise, Fast Rising, Quick Rise yeast. This is very different from the regular Active Dry yeast.
- After spreading the filling and rolling the dough into a cylinder, assure that the cylinder is uniform in size. It is very easy to have edges to be smaller and center to be bigger. Adjust the cylinder so each cinnamon roll when cut is the same size. This will make sure they are all cooked evenly and will not dry up one of the smaller ones in the oven.
How to achieve the perfect rise?
Note: Be sure to measure all of these ingredients by weight. This is the single most important step for the dough to rise perfectly and create the soft and light texture we are after.
- 4 1/2 cups (21 1/4 ounces) All Purpose Flour
- 1/2 cup Cornstarch (2 ounces)
- 2 1/4 Tsp instant or rapid rise yeast
- 1 1/2 Tsp salt
- 3/4 cup (6 ounces) whole milk, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup (3 1/2 ounces) granulated sugar
- 12 Tbs (6 ounces) unsalted butter, softened
- Whisk the flour, yeast, cornstarch and salt together in a bowl of a stand mixer.
- Whisk the eggs, milk and sugar until the sugar has completely dissolved.
- Using the dough hook of the mixture at very low speed combine the milk mixture to the flour mix until no flour remains at the bottom of the mixture. You may have to scrape the edges to combine them. The dough will be quite sticky at this time.
- Turn the mixer up to a medium speed, use the same dough hook attachment. Add the butter 1 Tablespoon at a time. Wait for the 1st tablespoon to get incorporated before adding the 2nd. Knead until all the butter is incorporated about 8 to 10 minutes. Then continue to knead until the dough is smooth and elastic and easily clears off the sides of the bowl.
- Transfer this is to a lightly floured surface and knead by hand for a couple more minutes. Form a round smooth ball and place the dough seem side down, smooth side up in a lightly greased large bowl or container. Be sure that the size of the bowl is atleast 4-5 times the size of the dough. Let it sit on the counter for the next 6-8 hours. It takes mine atleast 6-7 hours to rise to the state I like. G It would be a good idea to make the dough the night before, right before bed. It would be ready for you first thing early morning.
- Line the bottom of the pan with foil. Use 2 long sheets of aluminum, 1st one 13 inch wide and the 2nd one 9 inches wide. Lay the sheets of foil perpendicular to each other in a 13×9 inch pan with extra foil hanging over the sides of the pan. The sheets should go up the sides and corners of the pan. This would assure the rolls don’t stick to the pan and can be taken out easy. Further, spray the entire foil on top with a vegetable oil spray.
How to make the Filling?
For the Filling, you’ll need:
- 1 1/2 cups packed (10 1/2 ounces) light brown sugar
- 1 1/2 Tbs ground cinnamon
- 1/4 Tsp Salt
- 1 cup of Pecan pieces if using
Using a whisk, combine to mix well.
Let’s roll it up..
You’ll need:
- 4 Tbs (2 ounces) unsalted butter, softened
The butter should be nice and soft so it can be brushed on the rolled dough.
- First, deflate the dough by pressing it down. Then on a lightly floured surface, roll the dough to form an 18 inch square.
- Brush the softened unsalted butter to the dough evenly, leaving about ½ inch around the edges.
- Sprinkle the sugar mix on the butter dough, leaving the same ½ inch around the edges. Lightly press it so it adheres to the butter. Leaving the ½ inch around the edges is important to seal the rolled cylinder in the next step.
- Add the pecans (if using) on top of the sugar mix, pushing them in slightly.
- Carefully roll the rough away from yourself, keep the roll nice and taut and make a cylinder. Pinch the seam closed at the end. Now you can adjust the and reshape this cylinder to an uniform thickness. This is important so that each cinnamon roll is the same size and will bake uniformly.
- Using a serrated knife, cut the cylinder into 8 -12 pieces.
- Place each roll, cut side down on the prepared baking pan. Cover the rolls loosely with plastic wrap and let this sit for about 2 hours until the rolls rise and fill up the pan.
Baking the Rolls
- Adjust rack to the middle position in the oven preheat the oven to 350F.
- Bake until the buns are golden brown. It should take between 35 to 45 mins. If using a convection oven, maybe done slightly earlier.
- Rotate the pan around half way during the baking process to get an even color and bake.
- Once you pull the rolls out of the oven, use a fork to give it a quick check in the center of the rolls. Although brown on the outside, if your rolls are big, the center could still be doughy.
- If it is bake it for a bit longer. Check every 5 mins, since you do not want your rolls to over bake and be dry.
The Glaze
- 1 1/2 cups (6 ounces) confectioner’s sugar
- 4 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 1 Tbs whole milk
- 1 Tsp vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
- Whisk all of the ingredients till smooth.
- Be sure to check if the insides of the rolls are cooked before brushing on the glaze. You may need to put these back in the oven if centers are not fully done.
- Cool the rolls for about an hour before you drizzle the glaze on it. Putting the glaze on the rolls when they are warm will cause the glaze to get soaked up.
Eat them when they are still a little warm! I promise you each time you deliver these rolls to someone, you’ll be making a new best friend. Enjoy
