Cinnamon Rolls with Cream Cheese Frosting

To ring in the new year, I decided to try making cinnamon rolls from scratch for the very first time! I started the dough on New Year's Eve, doing the initial rise and then the roll preparation that night. I wrapped the tray in plastic wrap and put it in the refrigerator overnight, then took them out on New Year's Day for another hour and a half to get to room temperature and complete their final rise. (My fridge is quite cold! This could take as little as 45min depending on your fridge and room temperatures.)

Below are the rolls right after rolling up and cutting:

And now we see them the next morning after their second rise!

Finally, this is after 25min in the oven at 350F:

The recipe was written for a 9x9 pan, but I only had 8x8s or 9x13s, so I decided to go with the latter. I was afraid they'd spread sideways instead of rising, but these still grew quite nicely in the oven!

I had quite a bit of filling pooling at the bottom, which isn't necessarily a problem taste-wise, but makes me wonder if the recipe I used included too much butter. (I had already reduced the amount by ~1tbsp when spreading on the filling, but I think next time I might go down 1 more tbsp, which I'll account for in the recipe modifications below.)

The dough turned out lovely! Perfectly soft, fluffy, and tender :)

The last addition was a generous layer of cream cheese frosting! I'd whipped up the icing while the rolls baked, and then let the rolls cool for about 10min before I iced them. 

Cinnamon Rolls with Cream Cheese Icing

adapted from Ambitious Kitchen

Ingredients

For the dough:

¾ cup warm milk (whole milk or 2% preferred)
2 ¼ tsp active yeast (1/4-ounce package yeast)
¼ cup granulated sugar
1 egg plus 1 egg yolk, at room temperature
¼ cup unsalted butter, melted
3 cups bread flour, plus more for dusting
3/4 tsp salt

For the filling:

2/3 cup brown sugar
1 ½ tbsp ground cinnamon
2 tbsp unsalted butter, softened

For the cream cheese frosting:

4 oz cream cheese, softened
3 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
¾ cup powdered sugar
½ tsp vanilla extract

Instructions:

1. Warm milk to around 110F. (This can be done by microwaving for ~45 seconds.) Transfer the warm milk to a large mixing bowl and sprinkle the yeast on top. Add in the sugar, egg, egg yolk and melted butter. Mix until well combined. 

2. Stir in the bread flour and salt with a wooden spoon until a dough begins to form.

3. If you're using a stand mixer, attach the dough hook and knead dough on low speed for about 8 minutes. The dough should form into a nice ball and be slightly sticky. If it's too sticky, you can add in 1-2 tbsp more bread flour. (If you aren't using an electric mixer, you can knead the dough by hand for 8-10 minutes on a well-floured surface.)

4. Transfer the dough ball to a well-oiled bowl, and then cover with plastic wrap and a warm towel. Allow dough to rise in a warm place for 1 hour to 1 ½ hours, or until doubled in size.

5. After the dough has doubled in size, transfer it to a well-floured surface and use a rolling pin to gently roll it out into a 14x9 inch rectangle. Spread the 2tbsp of softened butter over the dough, leaving a ¼ inch margin at the far side of the dough.

6. In a small bowl, mix together the brown sugar and cinnamon. Use your hands to sprinkle mixture over the buttered dough, and then rub the brown sugar mixture into the butter.

7. Tightly roll the dough up, starting from the long end that is covered in filling. (You'll want the un-filled margin at the other end to help seal up the roll.) Place the roll seam side down, making sure to seal the edges of the dough as best you can. Trim the ends of the roll so you have a nice flat, even end to each side of the log. 

8. Cut the roll into 1-inch sections with a serrated knife or floss. You should get 8-9 large pieces.

9. Place the cut cinnamon rolls in a greased 9x9 inch baking pan or round 9 inch cake pan. Cover with plastic wrap and a warm towel and let rise again for 30-45 minutes. (If you want to bake these the next day instead, wrap the pan in plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator overnight. The next morning, you'll want to take the rolls out for 1-1.5 hours before baking, since they will need to come to room temperature and then complete the second rise.)

10. Preheat your oven to 350F. Remove the plastic wrap and towel and bake your cinnamon rolls for 20-25 minutes, or until they're just golden brown on the edges. Allow them to cool for 5-10 minutes while you make the frosting.

11. In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the softened cream cheese, softened butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract. Beat until smooth and fluffy. Spread over cinnamon rolls once they have cooled a bit and serve immediately.

 I definitely recommend eating these as quickly as possible while they're still warm :) Enjoy!