Cinnamon Rolls (with Orange-Chocolate Variation)
Notes
- Important: Give dough time to fully proof. Check puffiness. If baking in 9” x 13” pan, rolls should be touching. This will prevent filling from leaking out.
- More Important: Try this recipe instead.
- Try slicing into individual rolls then braiding (keep dough flat, don’t form into a roll).
- For individually-baked rolls, aim for 12 minutes at 375 °F. Invert right out of the oven to prevent the filling from pooling at the bottom.
- For a no-yeast variation: https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1022842-easy-no-yeast-cinnamon-rolls
- Use Instant ClearJel to prevent filling from leaking out of the rolls.
Ingredients
Dough
- 3 ½ cups (500 g) all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
- 2 teaspoons (7 g) instant dry yeast (e.g., SAF Gold)
- 4 tablespoons (50 g) sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- 1 ¼ teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 cup (240 mL) whole milk
- 1 large egg, lightly beaten
- 6 tablespoons (85 g) unsalted butter, melted
Filling: Cinnamon
- 1 ¼ cups (250 g) light brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ cup (115 g) unsalted butter (1 stick), melted
Filling: Orange-Chocolate
- ½ cup (115 g) unsalted butter (1 stick), softened
- ¼ cup (50 g) tightly packed brown sugar
- Zest of 2 medium oranges, minced
- 1 ½ (180 g) cups powdered sugar
- ½ tsp orange extract
- 2 tsp orange liqueur (e.g., Grand Marnier)
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup (180 g) chopped bittersweet chocolate
Glaze: Vanilla
- 3 cups (360 g) confectioners’ sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 5 to 6 tablespoons (75-90 mL) whole milk, heavy cream, or water
Glaze: Orange
- 3 cups (360 g) confectioners’ sugar
- 1 tsp orange liqueur (e.g., Grand Marnier)
- 5 to 6 tablespoons (75-90 mL) orange juice, fresh-squeezed
Steps
Dough
- Combine flour, yeast, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl or in bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Whisk briefly to combine.
- Combine milk and butter, and warm to about 90 ºF. With the mixer on low, pour milk/butter mixture into dry ingredients and mix just to eliminate any obviously dry or wet spots. Add beaten egg. Continue to mix until a shaggy lump of dough forms, again scraping down the paddle and helping things along with your hands if necessary to combine.
- Turn dough out onto a lightly floured work surface, or keep in the mixing bowl and change to the dough hook attachment. Knead dough until it’s smooth, shiny and elastic, about 4 or 5 minutes. (You shouldn’t have to add any more flour at this point, but if the dough seems especially sticky, give it a light dusting.)
- Lightly grease a large bowl with nonstick spray or vegetable oil and place dough in the bowl. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and place in a warm, draft-free area. (If it’s cold outside, on top of the stove is generally a good bet, as long as the burners and oven aren’t on.) Let sit until the dough has about doubled in size, 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
- Punch dough down to release any air that has built up. Cover tightly with plastic wrap, place in the refrigerator and chill the dough for at least an hour (and as long as overnight).
Filling: Cinnamon
- Combine butter, brown sugar, cinnamon and salt in the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix ingredients on high speed until light and fluffy.
- Transfer filling to a plastic airtight container and set aside until ready to use.
Filling: Orange-Chocolate
- Combine the butter, brown sugar and zest in the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix ingredients on high speed until light and fluffy.
- Decrease speed to low and add the powdered sugar, liqueur, and extracts; continue to beat on high until smooth.
- Transfer filling to a plastic airtight container and set aside until ready to use.
Shaping
- Once dough is chilled (it should feel firm and no longer flimsy), turn it out onto a lightly floured work surface and roll to a 16 x 10-inch rectangle. The rolled dough will be about 1/4- to 1/3-inch thick.
- Spread filling over rolled dough, leaving a 1/2-inch border on the end furthest from you (on the long side of the dough).
- Starting at the end closest to you (the long side of the dough), roll dough up into a tight coil, pressing lightly as you roll to make sure there are no gaps between the dough and the filling.
- Cut log into nine even pieces, about 1 3/4-inch thick. Lightly spray a 9 x 13-inch baking dish with nonstick spray and arrange dough in three rows of three pieces each, with the spiral facing upward and with space in between each piece. (At this point, the rolls can be covered tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerated overnight, if you’d like.)
- Cover rolls lightly with plastic wrap and place in a warm, draft-free area until the rolls have puffed (they won’t quite double, but they will be noticeably fluffier and closer to touching) and spring back slightly when pressed with your finger, about 1 hour. (If you refrigerated the rolls overnight, this may take 1 1/2 to 2 hours.)
- Heat oven to 375 degrees. Place rolls in oven and bake until they are golden brown and fluffy and the sugar has started to bubble up around the edges, caramelizing on the sides of the buns, about 25 to 30 minutes.
Glaze
- Combine ingredients and whisk until it is thick but can still be drizzled, like a thinner frosting. (If the glaze is still too thick, thin with more liquid by the teaspoonful to get desired consistency.) Keep in mind the glaze is to be applied while buns are warm, and it will thin out upon contact, so it’s best to err on the thicker side.
- Once rolls are out of the oven, drizzle with the glaze and let cool slightly in the pan before digging in.
Make-Ahead Notes
After forming dough into a roll and slicing into individual pieces, wrap and freeze the dough. Thaw overnight, covered, in a draft-free spot and bake in the morning.