Goodbye Cinnabon, Hello Homemade

These are for the people who LOVE a lot of gooey frosting

My mom has always had a long-standing obsession with cinnamon rolls, with her go-to being Cinnabon. The more frosting the better. And it HAS to be ooey gooey. If we go somewhere and the cinnamon roll looks dry or just has a drizzle of frosting, she moves on. I've made cinnamon rolls a couple of time before and they weren't good.

Then I found Sally's Baking Addiction. And my addiction to her recipes started. So yes, apologies in advance for the many Sally posts I will have. But it's with good reason.

Yes, this recipe has a lot of butter.

My only possible modification? And this is only because my family loves a lot of filling: Make the filling 1 1/2 times and really coat those rolls all over! Maybe some on the bottom of the pan :)

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Big Giant Cinnamon Rolls

Yield: Approx 8 rolls

Beware - this is time consuming. You need at least 5 hours to dedicate to it

Ingredients:

Dough

• 1 cup (240ml) buttermilk

• 2/3 cup (135g) granulated sugar

• 1 and 1/2 tablespoons (14g) active dry yeast (2 standard size packets)

• 1/2 cup (115g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature and cut into 4 pieces

• 2 large eggs, at room temperature

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 4 and 1/2 cups (558g) all-purpose flour (spoon & leveled), plus more for dusting/rolling

Filling

• 6 Tablespoons (90g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature

• 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar

• 1 and 1/2 Tablespoons ground cinnamon

Cream Cheese Frosting

• 2 ounces (about 1/4 cup or 56g) full-fat cream cheese, softened to room temperature

• 2 Tablespoons (28g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature

• 1 and 1/4 cups (150g) confectioners’ sugar

• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Instructions

1. Make the dough: In a small saucepan, warm the milk over low heat until lukewarm– no need to use a thermometer, but to be precise: about 95°F (35°C). Pour the warm milk into the bowl of a stand electric mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment (OR you can use a handheld mixer OR no mixer, but a stand mixer is ideal). With a spoon, manually stir in the sugar and yeast. Cover with a towel and let sit until the yeast is foamy, about 5-10 minutes. This is called proofing your yeast. If the yeast does not dissolve and foam, start over with fresh active yeast. On low speed, beat in the softened butter until it is slightly broken up. Next add the eggs, one at a time, and then the salt. The butter won’t really be mixing into the mixture, so don’t be alarmed if it stays in pieces. On low speed, gradually add the flour. Once it is all added, beat on medium speed until a soft dough forms. Increase speed to medium-high and beat until the dough is soft and supple, about 6 minutes longer. *If you do not have a stand-mixer with a hook attachment, knead the dough by hand in this step.

2. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and knead it with your hands for 1 minute. Form the dough into a ball and transfer it to a lightly greased bowl. Cover the dough loosely with plastic wrap, a paper towel, or aluminum foil and let sit in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1.5 – 2 hours. Here’s what I do: turn the oven on to 250°F (121°C). Turn the oven off. Stick the covered dough inside the oven and allow it to rise in this warm environment.

3. Butter/grease/spray with nonstick spray the bottom of a 9×13 inch baking dish, then line with parchment paper. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and, using a rolling pin, roll into a 10×16 inch rectangle. Make sure the dough is smooth and evenly thick, even at the corners.

4. For the filling: Spread the softened butter all over the dough. In a small bowl, toss the cinnamon and sugar together until combined and then sprinkle evenly over the dough. Tightly roll up the dough to form a 16 inch long log. If some filling spills out, that’s ok just sprinkle it on top of the rolls. Cut into 8 large rolls (about 2 inches in width each). Arrange them in the prepared baking pan. Cover the rolls very tightly with aluminum foil or plastic wrap (no rolls exposed, this dries out your dough!) and allow to rise until the rolls are doubled in size, about 2 hours. OR stick in the refrigerator for 8-12 hours.

5. If the rolls rose overnight in the fridge, remove rolls from the refrigerator and let rise in a warm place just as you did in step 2 until they are puffy, about 1-2 hours. Mine usually take 1 and 1/2 hours.

6. After the rolls have risen, preheat the oven to 375°F (191°C). Bake for about 25 minutes, until they are golden brown. About halfway through the bake time, I like to cover the rolls loosely with aluminum foil so the tops don’t brown too much. Remove pan from the oven and allow to cool on a wire rack for about 10 minutes as you make the frosting.

7. Make the frosting: In a medium bowl using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle or whisk attachment, beat the cream cheese and butter together on high speed until smooth and creamy. Add the confectioners’ sugar and vanilla. Beat on low speed for 30 seconds, then switch to high speed and beat for 2 minutes. Using a knife, spread the frosting over the warm rolls and serve immediately. Cover leftover frosted or unfrosted rolls tightly and store at room temperature for 3 days or refrigerator for 5 days.