Ingredients
Method
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine warm milk, yeast, sugar, salt, butter, and eggs. Add in flour. Using a dough hook, turn the mixer on to a low speed.
- Once the flour starts to incorporate into the dough, increase the speed to a medium range. Add more flour as necessary so that the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl. The dough mixture should be tacky, but not stick to your hands. It should be soft. Add more or less flour until the dough reaches the desired consistency. The amount of flour you add in bread making is always an approximation and you should go by feel.
- Transfer the dough to a lightly greased mixing bowl. Cover with a towel and let rise until double in size, about 1 hour.
- Lightly grease a baking sheet. Punch down the dough and roll it into a 12inch by 18inch rectangle.
- Brush the dough with ½ cup melted butter. In a small bowl, combine the brown sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle on top of the melted butter. Roll up tightly lengthwise so you have one long roll. Use a sharp knife to cut the dough into 12 one-inch slices.
- Place the slices onto a lightly 9×13 pan. Cover and let rise for 30 to 45 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Bake the rolls for about 25 -30 minutes, until just kissed with brown on top.
- While the cinnamon rolls are baking, make the cream cheese glaze by using a hand mixer to whip together cream cheese and butter in a bowl until light and fluffy. Whip in powdered sugar and vanilla extract. Add enough milk to achieve a drizzle-like consistency.
- Frost the rolls while still warm. Serve immediately or cool and store. Stays good for 4 to 5 days.
- Enjoy! Buen Provecho!
Nutrition
Notes
Pro Tips:
Use bread flour instead of all-purpose for the dough because the higher protein content creates stronger gluten networks that can support the weight of all that cinnamon-sugar filling without collapsing into dense, heavy rolls. After years of making these, I've learned to let the shaped rolls rise until they're just touching each other in the pan — not fully doubled — because they'll finish rising in the oven's initial heat and create those perfect, pillowy sides without becoming overproofed and losing structure. Buy whole cinnamon sticks and grind them yourself right before making the filling because pre-ground cinnamon loses its volatile oils quickly, and fresh-ground cinnamon has that sharp, almost spicy bite that cuts through all the butter and sugar. Roll your dough into a rectangle that's exactly twice as long as it is wide because this ratio ensures each roll has the perfect spiral-to-bread balance — too narrow and you get bread with cinnamon specks, too wide and the filling leaks everywhere.
Use bread flour instead of all-purpose for the dough because the higher protein content creates stronger gluten networks that can support the weight of all that cinnamon-sugar filling without collapsing into dense, heavy rolls. After years of making these, I've learned to let the shaped rolls rise until they're just touching each other in the pan — not fully doubled — because they'll finish rising in the oven's initial heat and create those perfect, pillowy sides without becoming overproofed and losing structure. Buy whole cinnamon sticks and grind them yourself right before making the filling because pre-ground cinnamon loses its volatile oils quickly, and fresh-ground cinnamon has that sharp, almost spicy bite that cuts through all the butter and sugar. Roll your dough into a rectangle that's exactly twice as long as it is wide because this ratio ensures each roll has the perfect spiral-to-bread balance — too narrow and you get bread with cinnamon specks, too wide and the filling leaks everywhere.
