Wake up to Easy Homemade Cinnamon Rolls! I can't begin to tell you how delicious and soft they are. The smell permeating through the house is A-M-A-Z-I-N-G. One of the many things I love about this recipe is its simplicity and minimal ingredients. Although the recipe calls for yeast, don't feel intimidated. You'll be surprised how easy it is to work with yeast when baking bread and these Easy Homemade Cinnamon Rolls. To make this perfectly every time, follow the simple directions below.
It wouldn't surprise me if you already have most if not all of the ingredients in your pantry. But, if you don't, this cinnamon roll recipe is definitely worth a trip to your local grocery store. I promise. Many of these ingredients are considered a staple in my household. In fact, active yeast was not always a staple in my pantry but because I love making what I consider the best homemade pizza dough and these Easy Homemade Cinnamon Rolls I always have active yeast on hand.
HOW TO MAKE EASY HOMEMADE CINNAMON ROLLS
I doubled the recipe which resulted in 12 yummy cinnamon rolls.
Dough: When I know that I'm going to cook up a batch of cinnamon rolls for an early morning breakfast, I start my dough early. Since the dough contains active yeast, it is important that you allow the dough to sit for 1 hour to 1-1/2 hours to allow the dough to rise or double in size. This step is crucial if you want your cinnamon rolls soft and fluffy.
Timing: As your dough is rising, you can use this time to catch up on other things, do some meal prep, or simply use that time to sit back and relax while sipping on your favorite morning beverage. You'll actually be surprised at how fast that hour goes by.
Filling: The filling for these Easy Homemade Cinnamon Rolls is ridiculously simple. It only requires 2 ingredients. I'm not kidding. All you need are dark brown sugar and cinnamon. You can also use a mix of other warm spices such as pumpkin spice, all spice, and ginger if you choose along with ground cinnamon which I tend to do sometime as well especially during the holiday season.
Rolling the dough: Dust your work area with flour before placing the ball of dough on your work area. Use a rolling pin to roll the dough out about 1/4 inch thick. After you've rolled the dough out, sprinkle the brown sugar mixture evenly across the entire surface of the dough. Before I begin rolling the dough into a log, I dust flour over my hands as the dough may be a bit sticky in some areas and this will make it really easy to work with the dough. I tend to keep extra flour close by in case I need it for dusting other areas of the dough.
Cutting the dough: After I've rolled the dough into a log, I like to cut about an inch of dough off of both ends. This will ensure that my roll is nice and neat before cutting into individual rolls. When cutting start by cutting the roll of dough in half then take those halves and cut into thirds.
Topping: These cinnamon Rolls are topped with a simple cardamom glaze although you can also top with a cream cheese icing. Walnuts or pecans would make yummy toppings as well.
I think you'll fall in love with these Easy Homemade Cinnamon Rolls. They are super easy to make and use minimal ingredients. This would be a great recipe for breakfast or even brunch.
FYI - You'll want to eat more than one. I'm just saying (smile).
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Easy Homemade Cinnamon Rolls that are soft, fluffy, & cinnamony. Breakfast can't get any better than this.
- 1 cup warm milk 1%, 2% or whole milk should be warm and not hot. You can use water instead of milk
- 1 packet active yeast
- 1.5 tbsp granulated sugar for more sweetness you can add 1 additional tbsp
- 2 tbsp melted butter
- 1 lightly beaten egg
- 3 cups all purpose unbleached flour
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tbl cinnamon
- 1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar between 1/2 to 3/4 cups
- 1.5 cups powdered sugar
- 2 tbsp milk plus more until you reach your desired consistency. do 1 tbsp at a time. if too thin, add more powdered sugar. if too thick add more milk a little at a time
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/8 tsp cardamom
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Grease inside of mixing bowl with butter (to store dough). Set aside. Grease a cast iron skillet with butter. If you do not have a cast iron skillet, a baking pan will work just as fine. Set aside.
Mix brown sugar, cinnamon & additional warm spices. Set aside.
Add packet of dry active yeast to 1 cup of warm milk (or water). Stir to dissolve yeast as much as possible. Add sugar and whisk. Add lightly beaten egg, melted butter & vanilla extract.
In a separate mixing bowl, add dry ingredients (flour & salt) and whisk. Set aside.
Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix until ingredients are incorporated. Do not overwork the dough. Place dough on lightly floured surface and form dough into a ball. Place into greased mixing bowl. Cover bowl with dry kitchen towel or saran wrap. Set aside for 1 hour to 1-1/2 hours or until dough doubles in size.
After dough has risen, lightly flour a cutting board and rolling pin and roll out dough into 1/4 inch thick. Sprinkle the brown sugar/cinnamon mixture over entire surface of the rolled-out dough. Gently roll dough into a nice log. (If dough feels a little sticky while rolling, dust that areas with a little flour & your fingers if necessary).
Cut log in half then cut those individual halves in thirds and place in prepared cast iron skillet or baking dish a couple of inches apart. Dust the top of each roll with any remaining brown sugar/cinnamon mixture.
Place in oven and bake for about 27 minutes or until the tops are a light golden brown. Test for doneness by inserting rolls with a toothpick. If it comes out clean, the cinnamon rolls are done.
Allow rolls to cool then drizzle each cinnamon roll with a simple glaze.
**Please note: Nutritional values serve as a guide only as values may vary.
You can feel free to use light brown sugar although dark brown has molasses which makes for a more gooey cinnamon roll.
If you do not have a cast iron skillet, a baking dish will work as well.
I doubled the recipe which resulted in 12 yummy cinnamon rolls.
*Updated: 3/5/2018
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