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Warm fluffy cinnamon rolls with a cream cheese icing are the best weekend breakfast or brunch for a lazy weekend. Fluffy yeast dough is filled brown sugar and cinnamon and rolled to create these thick fluffy cinnamon rolls. Making cinnamon rolls may take more time than most other breakfast breads. But these rolls can be made ahead of time by up to a day. When I make cinnamon rolls, I will prepare them up to the second rise and cover and refrigerate them overnight. Then in the morning the only thing that I need to do is set the rolls out about an hour before I want to bake them. Make these rolls for a weekend brunch or holiday breakfast for a sweet morning treat.
Making yeast dough may seem hard at first, but it is pretty easy to make, the hardest part is waiting for it to rise. The yeast first has to be activated in warm liquid before you can use it. For these rolls, the yeast is activated in warm milk and sugar. Melted butter and eggs are added to the dough to make it fluffy and tender. All of the dough ingredients are kneaded together on a floured surface for 6-8 minutes, until it is smooth and elastic. Place the dough into a large greased bowl and cover with a towel or plastic wrap. Place the dough in a warm place and let it rise for the first time for about 1-2 hours, until the dough has doubled in size.
For the cinnamon filling, brown sugar and cinnamon are mixed together in a small bowl. After the dough has finished it’s first rise, deflate it and roll it out on a lightly floured surface to 1/4- inch thick. Spread softened butter over the dough, leaving 1/4-inch border around the edges. Evenly sprinkle the cinnamon sugar filling over the butter. Roll the dough up into a tight log. Slice the log into 12 even slices and place them into a greased baking dish.
You can either cover them and let them rise a second time at room temperature. Or you can cover them and place them in the refrigerator for at least 8 hours or overnight to do their second rise. If you let them rise overnight, bring them to room temperature for 45-60 minutes before baking them. For the cream cheese icing, butter, cream cheese, milk and vanilla extract are beat together until smooth. After the rolls have cooled for a couple of minutes, spread the icing over the rolls.
Homemade Cinnamon Rolls
Ingredients
- 1 cup milk, warmed
- 2 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast
- 3 1/2-4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup butter, melted
- 2 eggs
Ingredients for Filling
- 4 tablespoons butter, softened
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
Ingredients for cream cheese icing
- 4 oz. cream cheese, softened
- 4 tablespoons butter, softened
- 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 2-4 tablespoons milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Place milk into a measuring cup, heat in the microwave for 1 minute. Mix in active dry yeast and 1 teaspoon sugar. Let sit for 10 minutes.
- In a large bowl, combine flour, remaining sugar and salt. Add in yeast mixture, melted butter, and eggs. Mix until a dough forms. Knead dough on a floured surface until smooth and elastic.
- Place dough into a large greased bowl, cover with a towel or plastic wrap. Place in a warm place and let rise for 1-2 hours, or until doubled in size.
- In a medium bowl, combine brown sugar and cinnamon. Deflate dough and roll out on a floured surface to 1/2-inch rectangle. Evenly spread softened butter over dough, leaving a 1/2-inch border around the edges.
- Sprinkle evenly with cinnamon sugar mixture. Roll dough into a tight log. Slice log into 12 even slices. Place cinnamon rolls into a greased baking dish. Preheat oven to 350 F. Cover and either let rise for 30-60 minutes, or cover and refrigerate overnight. When ready to bake, let rolls sit at room temperature for 30-60 minutes.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes. For the cream cheese icing, in a large bowl, beat all icing ingredients together until smooth, adding more milk as needed to thin.
- Let rolls cool for a minute before spreading icing over warm rolls.