cinnamon rolls

Jul 2

Written By Jessica Sclamberg

Recommended appliances for recipe:
Kitchen Aid Mixer stand with hook attachment &
Candy thermometer

**Ingredients:**
*For the dough*
*¾ cup warm milk (whole milk or 2% preferred) (110 degrees F)*
*2 ¼ teaspoons quick rise or active yeast (1/4-ounce package yeast)*
*¼ cup granulated sugar*
*1 egg plus 1 egg yolk, at room temperature*
*¼ cup butter, melted (I prefer salted, but unsalted works, too)*
*3 cups bread flour, plus more for dusting*
*3/4 teaspoon salt*
*For the filling:*
*2/3 cup dark brown sugar (light brown sugar also works)*
*1 ½ tablespoons ground cinnamon*
*¼ cup butter, softened*
*For the cream cheese frosting:*
*4 oz cream cheese, softened*
*3 tablespoons butter, softened*
*¾ cup powdered sugar*
*1 tablespoon vanilla extract*
*please note, you’re using melted butter for the dough, and softened butter for the frosting

Directions:

Warm milk to around 110 degrees in a pot over low heat on the stove. I have a candy thermometer and highly recommend getting & using one (if your milk is too hot it will kill the yeast!). An alternative option would be to place your milk in a microwave safe bowl and microwave it for 40 seconds. It should be like warm, not hot!
Transfer warm milk to the bowl of an electric mixer and sprinkle yeast on top.
Add in your sugar, egg, egg yolk and melted butter. Mix until well combined.
Next stir in flour and salt with a wooden spoon until a dough begins to form.
Place dough hook on stand mixer and knead dough on medium speed for 8 minutes. Dough should form into a nice ball and be slightly sticky. If it's TOO sticky (meaning it's sticking to the bottom of the mixer, add in 2 tablespoons more bread flour.) If you don’t have an electric mixer with hook attachment, you can use your hands to knead the dough for 8-10 minutes on a well-floured surface.
Transfer dough ball to a well-oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap and a warm towel. Allow dough to rise for 1 hour to 1 ½ hours, or until doubled in size. This may more or less time depending the humidity and temperature in your home.
After dough has doubled in size, transfer dough to a well-floured surface (I usually cover my counter with plastic and then flour it, much easier cleanup!) and roll out into a 14x9 inch rectangle. This is sizing for reference but you get creative on your sizing as long as it is in a rectangle shape.
Spread softened butter over dough, leaving a ¼ inch margin at the far side of the dough (the side you’re rolling it to).
In a small bowl, mix together brown sugar and cinnamon. You can use your hands to sprinkle mixture over the buttered dough, then rub the brown sugar mixture into the butter (see picture below!).
Tightly roll dough up, starting from the 9-inch side and place seam side down making sure to seal the edges of the dough as best you can. It’s likely you’ll end up cutting off about an inch off the ends of the dough since the ends won’t be as full of cinnamon sugar as the rest is!
Cut into 1 inch sections with a serrated knife. This will give you bigger thicker cinnamon rolls. Feel free to cut them smaller to get more.
Place cinnamon rolls in a greased 9x13 (or 9x9, whatever size you have!) inch baking pan or round 9 inch cake pan. (I also recommend lining the pan with parchment paper as well, in case any of the filling ends up leaking out.) Cover with plastic wrap and a warm towel and let rise again for 30-45 minutes.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Remove plastic wrap and towel and bake cinnamon rolls for 20-25 minutes or until just slightly golden brown on the edges. You want to underbake them a little so they stay soft in the middle, that’s why we want them just slightly golden brown.
Allow them to cool for 5-10 minutes before frosting.
To make the frosting: In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar and vanilla extract. Beat until smooth and fluffy.
Spread over cinnamon rolls and serve immediately. Enjoy!