It's a holiday tradition in my family to have cinnamon rolls on Christmas morning, and this year I thought I would try making my own! The Holidays are no time to worry about eating healthy, so enjoy yourself and indulge in this sweet treat :)
Prep Time: 2 hours
Cook Time: 20-25 minutes
Above: Finished product, Finished product aerial view, Pre-cooked dough
Dough Ingredients:
3/4 cup of milk (I recommend not using skim. Whole, 2%, or Almond Milk will all work great here)
1/4 cup unsalted butter (room temperature)
2 eggs
One 1/4 ounce package of quick rise yeast
1/4 cup of granulated sugar
3 cups of bread flower
3/4 teaspoon of salt
Filling Ingredients:
2/3 cup of dark brown sugar
1/4 cup unsalted butter (room temperature)
1 1/2 tbsp of ground cinnamon
Frosting Ingredients:
4 oz of cream cheese (room temperature)
3 tbsp of unsalted butter (room temperature)
3/4 cup of powdered sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Directions for the filling:
Heat milk up in the microwave for 40 seconds and add to a large mixing bowl. Milk should be warm not hot (too hot could mess with the yeast). Next, melt butter in the microwave and also add to the mixing bowl. Add entire package of yeast, sugar, and eggs (one full egg and one yolk only) to bowl. Use electric mixer and beat ingredients together until well combined.
Stir in flour and salt by hand to form the dough.
Knead dough with your hands for 10 minutes.
Grab a separate bowl and drizzle olive oil over entire surface. Transfer dough into the oiled bowl, cover in plastic wrap, and finally add a warm towel over the bowl. Set aside and let the dough rise for 1.5 hours - the dough should double in size!
After dough has risen, roll it out with a rolling pin on a well floured surface. Do your best to make the dough into a large rectangle (14X9 inches). Spread room temperature butter over the dough with your fingers, make sure to cover entire surface.
Combine brown sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl and then spread the sugar and cinnamon over the buttered dough. Rub it into the butter good with your hands.
Tightly roll the dough up, starting from the 9 inch side. This will create a cylinder of your dough. With a serrated knife, cut the cylinder into 1 inch sections.
Place rolls into a greased pan. I used a 9 inch circle pan, but you can also use a square or rectangle baking pan. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit for another 30-45 minutes for the second rise.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and cook for 20 minutes or until golden brown.
While rolls are baking, combine all frosting ingredients in a medium bowl and beat on high for about 2 minutes or until mixture is smooth and fluffy. Once rolls are finished cooking spread the frosting on and serve immediately. Enjoy!
**Note: You can make the dough a day ahead of time. Stop at step 8 and let uncooked dough sit in the fridge overnight. The next morning, pull rolls out of the fridge and resume at step 9.
Nutrition:
My rule: no looking or caring about calories over the Holidays or for special occasions <3
XO Mandy