Our Favorite Cinnamon Rolls Recipes

OUR BEST-EVER CINNAMON ROLLS

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine 2-1/4 cups of the flour and the yeast. In a small saucepan, combine milk, the 1/3 cup butter, the granulated sugar, and salt. Cook and stir just until warm (120°F to 130°F) and butter is nearly melted. Add to flour mixture. Add eggs.
• Beat with an electric mixer on low speed for 30 seconds, scraping side of bowl constantly. Beat on high speed for 3 minutes. Using a wooden spoon, stir in as much of the remaining 2-1/4 to 2-3/4 cups flour as you can.
• Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead in enough of the remaining 2-1/4 to 2-3/4 cups flour to make a moderately soft dough that is smooth and elastic (3 to 5 minutes total). Shape into a ball. Place in a lightly greased bowl, turning once to grease surface of dough. Cover and let rise in a warm place until double in size (1-1/2 to 1 3/4 hours).
• Punch down dough. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Cover and let rest for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, lightly grease a 13x9x2-inch baking pan; set aside. For filling:
• In a small bowl, combine brown sugar, the 1/4 cup flour, and the cinnamon. Using a pastry blender, cut in the 1/2 cup butter until crumbly.
• Roll dough into an 18x12-inch rectangle. Sprinkle filling over dough, leaving 1 inch unfilled along a long side. Sprinkle with raisins and pecans. Starting from the filled long side, roll up rectangle. Pinch dough to seal seam. Cut into 12 slices. Arrange in the prepared baking pan.
• Cover loosely with plastic wrap, leaving room for rolls to rise. Chill for 2 to 24 hours. Let stand, uncovered, at room temperature for 30 minutes before baking. (Or for immediate baking, don't chill rolls. Instead, cover loosely; let rolls rise in a warm place until nearly double in size [about 45 minutes].)
• Preheat oven to 375°F. Break any surface bubbles with a greased toothpick. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until golden brown. Cool in pan on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Remove from pan. Drizzle with Powdered Sugar Icing. Serve warm. Powdered Sugar Icing
• In a small bowl, combine powdered sugar and vanilla. Stir in enough milk to make an icing of drizzling consistency.

BEST CINNAMON ROLLS

Steps:

• Dissolve yeast in warm milk. In another bowl, combine sugar, butter, eggs, salt, yeast mixture and 2 cups flour; beat on medium speed until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough (dough will be sticky)., Turn dough onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease the top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour., Mix brown sugar and cinnamon. Punch down dough; divide in half. On a lightly floured surface, roll 1 portion into an 11x8-in. rectangle. Brush with 2 tablespoons butter; sprinkle with half the brown sugar mixture to within 1/2 in. of edges. Roll up jelly-roll style, starting with a long side; pinch seam to seal. Cut into 8 slices; place in a greased 13x9-in. pan, cut side down. Cover with a kitchen towel. Repeat with remaining dough and filling. Let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour. Preheat oven to 350°., Bake until golden brown, 20-25 minutes. Cool on wire racks., For frosting, beat butter, cream cheese, vanilla and salt until blended; gradually beat in confectioners' sugar. Spread over tops. Refrigerate leftovers.

OVERNIGHT CINNAMON ROLLS

Steps:

• For the dough: in the bowl of a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, whisk the egg yolks, whole egg, sugar, butter, and buttermilk. Add approximately 2 cups of the flour along with the yeast and salt; whisk until moistened and combined. Remove the whisk attachment and replace with a dough hook. Add all but 3/4 cup of the remaining flour and knead on low speed for 5 minutes. Check the consistency of the dough, add more flour if necessary; the dough should feel soft and moist but not sticky. Knead on low speed 5 minutes more or until the dough clears the sides of the bowl. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface; knead by hand about 30 seconds. Lightly oil a large bowl. Transfer the dough to the bowl, lightly oil the top of the dough, cover and let double in volume, 2 to 2 1/2 hours.
• Combine the brown sugar, cinnamon and salt in a medium bowl. Mix until well incorporated. Set aside until ready to use.
• Butter a 9 by 13-inch glass baking dish. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Gently shape the dough into a rectangle with the long side nearest you. Roll into an 18 by 12-inch rectangle. Brush the dough with the 3/4-ounce of melted butter, leaving 1/2-inch border along the top edge. Sprinkle the filling mixture over the dough, leaving a 3/4-inch border along the top edge; gently press the filling into the dough. Beginning with the long edge nearest you, roll the dough into a tight cylinder. Firmly pinch the seam to seal and roll the cylinder seam side down. Very gently squeeze the cylinder to create even thickness. Using a serrated knife, slice the cylinder into 1 1/2-inch rolls; yielding 12 rolls. Arrange rolls cut side down in the baking dish; cover tightly with plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator overnight or up to 16 hours.
• Remove the rolls from the refrigerator and place in an oven that is turned off. Fill a shallow pan 2/3-full of boiling water and set on the rack below the rolls. Close the oven door and let the rolls rise until they look slightly puffy; approximately 30 minutes. Remove the rolls and the shallow pan of water from the oven.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• When the oven is ready, place the rolls on the middle rack and bake until golden brown, or until the internal temperature reaches 190 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer, approximately 30 minutes.
• While the rolls are cooling slightly, make the icing by whisking the cream cheese in the bowl of a stand mixer until creamy. Add the milk and whisk until combined. Sift in the powdered sugar, and whisk until smooth. Spread over the rolls and serve immediately.

OUR FAVORITE CINNAMON ROLLS

Steps:

• Make the dough:
• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, add flour, yeast, and sugar. Mix on low speed until well combined. Add eggs and mix on low to combine. In a small pot, heat milk, butter, and cinnamon over medium-low heat until butter is melted and mixture is between 120 and 130°F (use a thermometer).
• Add warm milk mixture and salt to stand mixer. Beat on low speed 2 to 3 minutes, occasionally scraping down sides of bowl with a spatula. Beat on medium speed until smooth and elastic, 2 to 3 minutes. Dough will be very sticky.
• Lightly oil a large bowl with cooking spray. Form dough into ball and transfer to bowl, turning to coat. Cover bowl with plastic wrap then kitchen towel. Let dough rise in warm draft-free area until doubled in volume, about 2 hours.
• While dough rises, cut 2 pieces of parchment to fit 2 9-inch round cake pans. Butter pans, line with parchment, and butter parchment.
• Make the filling:
• Mix brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt in medium bowl.
• Make the glaze:
• In a medium bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, milk, vanilla, and salt.
• Assemble and bake:
• Preheat to 375°F and position rack in center of oven. Punch down dough and transfer to floured work surface. Roll out to 16-by-12-inch rectangle. Spread butter over dough, leaving 1/2-inch border on the long sides. Sprinkle filling mixture evenly over butter, then add pecans. Starting at a long edge, roll dough toward you into a log, pinching gently to keep it rolled tightly. With seam side down, cut dough crosswise with a thin sharp knife into 16 equal slices.
• Divide rolls between baking dishes, arranging cut side up; rolls will be touching. Cover baking dishes with plastic wrap then kitchen towel. Let dough rise in warm draft-free area until almost doubled in volume, 40 to 45 minutes.
• Bake rolls until tops are golden, 18 to 20 minutes. Remove from oven and invert immediately onto rack. Cool 10 minutes. Turn rolls right side up. Drizzle glaze over rolls and serve immediately.

GIANT CINNAMON ROLL SNOWMAN

Steps:

• Position an oven rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees. Lightly spray 2 rimmed baking sheets with nonstick spray.
• Remove the cinnamon rolls from the tubes and place on a large cutting board or a clean work surface; reserve the icing from the tubes for serving. Unravel 3 rolls and coil them around 1 intact roll to create a very large cinnamon roll. This will be the base of the snowman. Place on the bottom half of one of the prepared baking sheets, with a short side of the sheet facing you.
• Unravel 2 more cinnamon rolls and coil them around 1 intact roll. This will be the body. Place it on the baking sheet, adjoining the base of the snowman. Gently squeeze so they just adhere.
• Unravel 1 more cinnamon roll and coil it around 1 intact roll. This will be the head of the snowman. Place it on the baking sheet, adjoining the top of the body. Bake until golden brown, puffed up and cooked through, 24 to 28 minutes.
• Meanwhile, unravel the remaining cinnamon roll into a strip of dough. Cut crosswise into 5 equal pieces. Coil 3 of the pieces each to create 3 mini cinnamon rolls. These will be the buttons. Roll out each of the remaining 2 pieces to about 3 inches long. These will be the snowman arms. Transfer the buttons and snowman arms to the second prepared baking sheet.
• When the snowman finishes baking, let it cool slightly on the baking sheet on a wire rack. Bake the second baking sheet until the buttons are cooked through and puffed up, 15 to 18 minutes. Let cool completely.
• Once the snowman is cool enough to touch, transfer to a large cutting board or platter. Using a butter knife of small offset spatula, evenly spread 1 container of frosting all over the snowman, frosting the crevices and even the sides of the rolls, if you like. This will act as the crumb coat. Reserve 1/4 cup of the second container of frosting and spread the remaining all over the snowman, creating large swirls. Decorate the base and body of the snowman with the cooled cinnamon roll buttons. Spread 2 tablespoons of the reserved frosting all over each snowman arm and adhere the arms to the snowman body.
• Use the black gel icing to pipe eyes and a smiling mouth. Use the green gel icing to pipe a scarf. Add the orange candy for the nose. Transfer the reserved icing to a small bowl and serve it on the side for dipping.