Cinnamon Rolls

Soft, buttery rolls filled with a sweet cinnamon-sugar swirl, topped with a creamy frosting

A Family Tradition:

Last year, around my daughter’s first birthday, I began thinking of traditions I would like to start with her and our other kids. I quickly decided that I wanted to start making homemade cinnamon rolls. I searched and searched for the right recipe and tried several. I finally came across this recipe from Ambitious Kitchen and LOVED it! It is now my go-to recipe for making these early morning cinnamon rolls

A Few Changes

Even though I love the Ambitious Kitchen recipes, I did make a few slight changes to make them our own!

1. Cinnamon-Brown Sugar Filling: I like my cinnamon rolls to be FULL of filling so I will add just a tad bit more brown sugar and cinnamon.
2. Cream Cheese Frosting: I like my cream cheese frosting to have more of that cream cheese flavor. So I add in a whole block of cream cheese and add a little more powdered sugar. I also like to soften my cream and and butter in the microwave for about 15 seconds, and then I will whip, with my whisk attachment, the butter and cream cheese together before adding my powdered sugar to make a fluffier frosting.
3. Rise Time: Since I use instant yeast in my cinnamon rolls, I like to let my dough set for close to 2 hours before I roll it out. To me this give me a flakier cinnamon rolls, it also allows me to get some other things done around the house while I wait! Since I let my dough rise more on the front end, I will skip the second rise all together and let them go straight into the oven!
4. Heavy Cream: If I am feeling it, I will drizzle a few tablespoons of heavy cream over the cinnamon rolls before they bake. This is not a requirement, just something I have come to enjoy from time to time.

Tips and Tricks:

Now there are a few tricks I like to use to make sure my cinnamon rolls come out the way I want every single time!

1. Proofing: Like any yeasted dessert, this dough requires a warm place to rise. In the winter, our house can get chilly, and because of that it can affect the rise time. To fix this problem, I read somewhere to put your dough in your oven with the over light on. This will generate enough “heat” to allow your dough to rise, but not too much to begin cooking your dough. Just remember to take your dough out of the oven before preheating it… trust me I learned that less the hard way haha!
2. Brown Sugar Filling: My personal preference is to melt the butter completely and then mixing together the brown sugar and cinnamon. Then I will let it sit in the fridge for about 10-15 minutes to hard up again. This allows me to easily spread the filling over the dough and get a more even layer.
3. Floss: This one is a game changer.. use unflavored dental floss to cut your rolled dough. This ensure that your don’t mash the rolls down when cutting with a knife and you keep that distinctive swirl!

Sourdough vs Yeast:

You guys know me, I love baking with sourdough and I have made sourdough cinnamon rolls before. However, when in a pinch these yeasted cinnamon rolls are perfect! They rise faster and you don’t have to worry about feeding your starter before hand. I have also had trouble in the past with my sourdough cinnamon rolls coming out dense and chewy. With this recipe, the cinnamon rolls have come our light, flaky, and butter every time!

Now it’s your turn to create a batch of these heavenly treats. Share your cinnamon roll journey with us in the comments below!