Cinnamon rolls are delicious, fragrant, and soft butter and cinnamon swirls that are easy to make at home. It is a leavened dough filled with butter, sugar, and cinnamon, then rolled up. The next step is cutting the swirls, which are then placed together in a pan to rise again, so they will join together to become one. After baking, they are covered with a cheese glaze that makes them simply irresistible! Although these pastries are famous in the United States, they originated in Sweden in the 1920s as kanelbullar and were usually consumed during the traditional coffee break, but they have become popular as breakfast or dessert pastries throughout Northern Europe and America. What certainly makes these pastries special is the particular homey aroma they release, as well as their spiced aroma due to the generous use of cinnamon!
The preparation is very simple and can be done either by hand or with a mixer: first, pour the dry ingredients, namely flour and sugar, into a bowl, add the yeast dissolved in milk, the remaining milk, an egg, and butter. Mix the ingredients well and then transfer to a work surface to obtain a smooth, homogeneous dough. Cover it and let it rise until it doubles in volume. Roll out the dough on a floured surface to form a rectangle and cover it with a mix of melted butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Roll it tightly and use a piece of string or a very sharp knife to cut the swirls. Place them in a greased pan or lined with parchment paper and let them rise for another hour. When they are well risen, bake them for about 25 minutes at 355°F. Take them out of the oven and cover them with a glaze made from cream cheese, powdered sugar, and milk.
These sweet, spiced, and fragrant pastries are ideal for the breakfast of the whole family, accompanied by a good cup of cappuccino or in the autumn period by a cup of pumpkin spice latte, and they are perfect for an afternoon snack accompanied by a good homemade hot chocolate, tea, or herbal tea during the autumn and winter period.
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- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Very cheap
- Rest time: 3 Hours
- Preparation time: 20 Minutes
- Portions: 12
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: American
- Seasonality: All seasons
Ingredients for making Cinnamon rolls
- 3 cups Manitoba flour (or all-purpose flour)
- 2/3 cup milk
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 egg
- 2 tsp active dry yeast (or 12 g of fresh yeast)
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 2 tbsps ground cinnamon
- 3.5 oz cream cheese
- 1/3 cup powdered sugar
- 2 tbsps milk (or liquid cream)
Tools for making Cinnamon rolls
- 1 Bowl
- 1 Work surface
- 1 Rolling pin
- 1 Small bowl
- 1 Small saucepan
- 1 Baking pan
- Parchment paper
- 1 Oven
Steps to make Cinnamon rolls
Start preparing the cinnamon rolls by making the dough: dissolve the active dry yeast in 50 g of water or milk taken from the total. Let it activate for about 10 minutes.
Pour the dry ingredients into a bowl, starting with the flour and continuing with the sugar.
Add the yeast and the liquid ingredients: milk, an egg, and butter. Start mixing the ingredients with a spoon, then continue kneading with your hands.
Move to a work surface and continue kneading for about ten minutes, folding the dough over itself until it becomes smooth and homogeneous. Initially, it will be quite sticky, but gradually you will notice that as you continue kneading, it will detach from the work surface and become smoother.
Place it in a bowl, cover it, and let it rise until it doubles in size, which will take about 2 hours.
In the meantime, melt the butter and let it cool, then add the brown sugar and cinnamon to the melted butter. Mix.
When the dough is well risen, transfer it to a floured work surface and, with the help of a rolling pin, roll it out to form a large rectangle.
Spread the butter, sugar, and cinnamon mixture over the entire surface of the rectangle.
Starting from the long side, roll the rectangle over itself to form a long roll.
Using a piece of string or a sharp knife, cut about 9 slices about 1.2 inches thick.
Place all the swirls in a pan lined with parchment paper and let it rise again for about an hour.
When they have doubled in volume, bake them in a preheated oven at 355°F for about 25 minutes or until they are golden brown.
Take them out of the oven and let them cool.
In the meantime, prepare the glaze: mix the cheese with the sugar and a few tablespoons of milk, and spread the glaze obtained on the cinnamon rolls.
Simo and Cicci recommend
You can store the cinnamon rolls in the fridge well sealed in an airtight container, quickly warming them in the oven or even in the microwave before enjoying them.
The dough will be quite sticky when you start kneading it. Do not add more flour than necessary because you will notice that as you continue kneading, it will become soft and smooth.
Instead of the cream cheese glaze, you can make a simple glaze with powdered sugar and water.
Although making the dough by hand is very simple, you can use a stand mixer if you want to speed up the process.
You can also prepare the dough the day before and let it rest overnight in the fridge. The next day, you will need to take it out of the fridge at least an hour beforehand to allow it to rise, and then you can proceed as indicated in the recipe from step 4 onwards.
FAQ (Questions and Answers)
Can the dough be left to rise overnight?
Yes, but it is very important to put the dough in the refrigerator. If left at room temperature overnight, they may overproof and this would ruin the result.
Can cinnamon rolls be frozen before baking?
Yes, they should be well covered with plastic wrap or film and can be frozen for up to a month. Then remove them from the freezer and let them thaw until they reach room temperature and are ready to rise. Only when the swirls are perfectly risen, bake them as indicated in the recipe in the 10th step.
