Cinnamon Rolls
- Apr 20
- 3 min read
This is my most requested recipe—both for a paper copy and a personal tutorial. It is basically a non-nutritious food made with butter, sugar, and highly processed flour, but sometimes…you just need to serve cinnamon rolls with all the other nutritious things like eggs and yogurt and fruit. Or be nutritious at your next 10 meals. These are worth the splurge!
What You Need
For Rolls
2 packages instant dry yeast
1 tablespoon brown sugar
2 cups warm water
2 sticks real butter (I prefer Challenge® butter)
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs, room temperature
6 cups all-purpose flour (I prefer King Arthur® Organic)
For Filling
6 tablespoons butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
3 tablespoons cinnamon
For Frosting/Glaze
1/4 cup butter, softened
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 teaspoon almond extract (optional)
3 tablespoons heavy whipping cream, half-n-half, or milk
What You Do
In a large glass measuring cup or small plastic bowl, mix together 2 packages of yeast with 1 tablespoon brown sugar and 1 cup of warm water. Let sit 5-10 minutes.
In a separate large bowl, melt two sticks of butter in 1 cup of water (in microwave). Do this in 30 second intervals until the butter is just melted. Do not get this mixture any hotter than you need to. Stir 1 teaspoon of salt and 3/4 cup sugar into this until the sugar dissolves. Let cool 5 minutes.
In a separate bowl, whisk together 2 eggs that you have set out for 10-15 minutes.
Stir the eggs, butter and sugar mixture, and yeast mixture all together in one large bowl.
Beat in 6 cups of flour to make a soft dough. Stir this by hand or in a mixer for a minute or two, folding from the bottom, to get all the flour mixed in. The dough will be a bit sticky, but should not be runny.
At this point, cover the dough tightly with plastic wrap. Leave the dough to rise for 1-2 hours in a warm spot, or refrigerate for 8-16 hours before working on the next step.
When you are ready to shape the dough, flour the clean working surface and your hands. Gently lift or pour the dough out onto the floured surface. Lightly turn and press the dough in the flour, flipping it over to make sure a light layer of flour is on both sides.
Roll the dough into a large rectangle that is about 1/4 inch thick.
Spread softened butter over the entire surface with your hands.
In a bowl, use a fork to stir together white and brown sugar and cinnamon. Spread this mixture over the butter and use your hands to evenly distribute it over the entire surface.
Roll up the rectangle into a log and slice it into 1-inch pieces. Place the pieces, spiral up, into pans that you have sprayed with cooking spray. This recipe will make enough for one 9x13 and one 8x8 square pan—and perhaps two 9x13 pans if you slice them slightly thinner.*
Cover the pans with parchment paper and let the rolls rise for 40-60 minutes in a warm place.
Bake the rolls in a 350 degree F oven for 30-35 minutes until they are done completely in the center. They will get golden brown on top.
Whisk together the frosting/glaze and spread it on while the rolls are warm.
*At this point, you can leave rolls out to rise and bake soon OR you can cover rolls with a tight layer of plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to bake. Set the pan out 1 hour before baking to come to room temperature.
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