Description
Delight in these homemade cinnamon rolls featuring a soft, buttery dough filled with a sweet cinnamon and brown sugar mixture, baked to golden perfection and topped with a luscious maple cream cheese frosting. Perfect for breakfast or brunch, these rolls bring a cozy, indulgent treat to your table.
Ingredients
Scale
Dough
- 2 cups whole milk (2% milk also works)
- ½ cup salted butter
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¾ Tablespoon instant yeast
- 2 large eggs (beaten)
- 6 cups all-purpose flour
Filling
- ½ cup salted butter (softened)
- 1 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon
Maple Cream Cheese Frosting
- 8 ounces cream cheese (softened)
- ½ cup salted butter (softened)
- 2 Tablespoons light brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon high-quality maple extract
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- Milk (as needed)
Instructions
- Heat Milk: Warm the milk in a saucepan until scalded, just before boiling, with small bubbles around the edges and steaming.
- Mix Dough Ingredients: Pour the scalded milk into a stand mixer bowl. Add butter, sugar, and salt. Mix with the dough hook until combined, then cool to about 105°F to avoid killing the yeast.
- Add Yeast and Eggs: Incorporate the yeast and beaten eggs into the mixture, mixing until blended.
- Add Flour and Knead: Gradually add the flour, mixing until the dough pulls away from the sides. Knead for 5 minutes until soft and slightly sticky.
- First Rise: Transfer dough to a greased bowl, cover, and let it rise until doubled in size.
- Punch Down and Roll Dough: Punch down the risen dough and roll out on a floured surface into an 18×12-inch rectangle.
- Prepare Filling: Spread softened butter evenly on the dough. Mix brown sugar and cinnamon, then sprinkle over the butter layer evenly.
- Roll and Cut: Starting from the longer side, roll the dough tightly into a log, pinch the seam to seal, then cut into 12 equal pieces.
- Second Rise: Place rolls on a parchment-lined baking sheet in a 3 by 4 grid. Cover and let rise until doubled in size.
- Preheat Oven: While rolls rise, preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C).
- Bake: Bake rolls for 20 to 22 minutes until golden on top.
- Cool: Remove rolls from oven and allow to cool for at least 30 minutes before frosting.
- Prepare Frosting: Combine cream cheese, softened butter, brown sugar, vanilla extract, maple extract, and powdered sugar in a bowl. Beat until smooth, adding milk as needed for consistency.
- Frost and Serve: Spread the maple cream cheese frosting over cooled rolls, serve, and enjoy!
Notes
- Ensure the milk is not too hot before adding yeast to prevent yeast death.
- Softened butter is essential for both filling and frosting to spread easily.
- Allow the rolls to cool properly before frosting to prevent melting.
- The use of high-quality maple extract enhances the frosting flavor significantly.
- Rolling the dough tightly ensures well-defined spiral layers in the rolls.
- Adjust milk quantity in frosting for desired thickness.
