I didn't realize how great cinnamon rolls could be until I made these - or how easy. I think I've always liked cinnamon rolls, but I L.O.V.E these, and so does everyone else in the house. In fact, these cinnamon rolls were the cause of "The Great Cinnamon Roll Incident of 2018." More on that later. With the irresistible flavors of brown butter, dark brown sugar, and vanilla echoing through the dough, filling, and frosting, I'm not sure how anyone could resist them. Just make them and you'll see why these Cinnamon Rolls have become a constant around here.
One of our boys is turning 17 today, and cinnamon rolls are one of his favorites, so you could say he's the inspiration behind this post. With a few pantry staples and about an hour, you can have these rising and nearly ready to shove in the oven. Or, you can prep them the night before and let them rise in the fridge overnight like I did for Christmas this year. Either way, you won't be disappointed with this versatile recipe.
Back to "the incident": I had made these for maybe the 3rd or 4th time, all the kids were home so it must have been a weekend or a holiday. Everyone had already had a few cinnamon rolls for breakfast and there was half a pan left. Jason, Ava, and I ran to the store, and while we were shopping, one of our boys texted and asked if he could have the LAST cinnamon roll. We looked at each other in surprise, which, in retrospect, I'm not sure why we were surprised having 3 teenage boys in the house. Anyway, we got a confession and had to implement cinnamon roll rules after that so that everyone could get their fair share. If that doesn't tell you how good they are, I don't know what will.
A few notes on this brown butter cinnamon roll recipe:
The brown butter definitely adds something special, but I've made it with just regular softened butter and it's perfectly delicious and it shaves off a little time. Because you will be using the brown butter in all three parts of the recipe, just make a big batch using two whole sticks of butter at the beginning; instructions below!
I love the flavor and color the dark brown sugar gives, but you can use light brown or even white sugar in a pinch.
I can't help myself with vanilla beans. I adore the little speckles and the fanciness, but you can absolutely make this with good vanilla extract. I bought a huge bag of vanilla beans and made my own jug of vanilla extract years ago, so I just pull a bean out, snip off the end, and squeeze its guts into any recipe that calls for vanilla bean. If you ever decide to do this, you won't be sorry. Buy them on amazon and you will save tons over the grocery store.
These can be made as overnight cinnamon rolls. See recipe notes for those instructions.
PrintBrown Butter and Vanilla Bean Cinnamon Rolls
- Prep Time: 20 minutes plus rising
- Cook Time: 30
- Total Time: 2 hours
- Yield: 16 cinnamon rolls 1x
Description
With the irresistible flavors of brown butter, dark brown sugar, and vanilla echoing through the dough, filling, and frosting, I'm not sure how anyone could resist them. Just make them and you'll see why these Cinnamon Rolls have become a constant around here. PS: there are overnight instructions, too!
Ingredients
Brown Butter
- 2 4-ounce sticks of regular, salted butter
Dough
- 3 ½ - 4 cups all purpose flour (I recommend King Arthur unbleached or Wheat Montana brand)
- ¼ cup dark brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup whole milk
- 2 ¼ teaspoons active dry yeast
- ¼ cup brown butter, cooled to room temp (or ¼ cup softened butter)
- 1 large egg, room temp
- 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste, seeds from one vanilla bean, or splash of vanilla extract
Filling
- 1 cup dark brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ cup brown butter (or ¼ cup softened butter)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste, seeds from one vanilla bean, or splash of vanilla extract
Frosting
- 1 8-ounce brick of cream cheese, softened to room temp
- ¼ cup dark brown sugar
- ¼ cup brown butter, cooled to room temp (or ¼ cup softened butter)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste, seeds from 1 vanilla bean, or teaspoon of vanilla extract
Instructions
Instructions:
For the Brown Butter:
- Place two 4 ounce sticks of butter in a saucepan over medium-high heat and watch closely. The butter will melt, begin to foam and sizzle, and then it will get quiet. This is when it is almost ready. Swirl the pan or use a spoon to push the foam away.
- Once you see it becoming light brown at the bottom and it smells like toasty caramel, remove from heat and pour into a heat safe measuring cup or bowl to cool.
- Place in fridge to expedite the cooling process, but don't let it get hard. You may have a bit more than needed for the recipe, but we'll brush that on the finished rolls before frosting them. No brown butter left behind; that's my motto.
For the Cinnamon Rolls
- Preheat oven to 150-170 degrees or as low as your oven goes. This is just to create a warm environment to proof the dough.
- Prepare a 12 X 9 (or the closest pan you have to that size) baking dish (I use a 4 quart glass Pyrex), by buttering generously or spraying with cooking spray, and lining with parchment. Set aside.
- Turn oven off. Keep door closed.
- Warm milk either by blasting it in the microwave for about 90 seconds or warm it gently on the stove. You want it warm, not hot. Ideally 100 - 110 degrees F. Pour milk into bowl of stand mixer, along with brown sugar, yeast, egg, and vanilla. Whisk and let sit for about 5 minutes.
- Next, add 3 ½ cups flour, ¼ cup brown butter, and salt to mixer. Using your dough hook, mix dough on low to medium speed until it comes together and no longer sticks to sides of bowl. If needed, add remaining ½ cup flour in a little bit at a time until you have a soft, but not overly sticky dough.
- Remove dough hook. Cover mixing bowl with plastic wrap of a damp towel and place in warm oven for 30 minutes while you make the filling and frosting.
Filling:
- In a small bowl, mix all filling ingredients with a fork until thoroughly combined.
Frosting:
- In a medium bowl, mix all frosting ingredients with a hand mixer until combined and fluffy. About 3-4 minutes on medium speed.
Assembly and baking:
- After 30 minutes, remove dough from oven, dump onto a lightly oiled surface, and using your baking dish as a guide, press dough into a roughly 12 X 9 inch rectangle. Don't go crazy here, it doesn't have to be exact.
- Spread or sprinkle filling evenly over the entire surface of the dough, all the way to the edges.
- Begin on the 12 inch side closest to you, roll dough very tightly away from you, keeping it taught all the way across as you roll. This will give you the most hypnotically swirled rolls with a great filling to dough ratio. Once you reach the end, pinch along seam to seal.
- Cut roll in half, then each half in half to make 4 equal pieces. Cut each of these into 4. You will have 16 pieces. The end pieces will be a little uneven, but they rise and bake just fine, just put the uneven side down when placing in the pan and press them down a bit.
- Place pieces evenly in dish. Cover with plastic wrap or damp towel and let rise in a warm spot until doubled in size. About an hour. *
- Preheat oven to 375 during last 20 minutes of rising time. If you are rising your rolls in the oven make sure to TAKE THEM OUT before you preheat!
- Once dough has risen, remove plastic wrap or towel and bake for 30 minutes in preheated oven.
- Remove from oven and brush with any leftover brown butter you might have. Let cool for about 5 minutes before you slather the frosting all over.
*Alternatively, place in fridge overnight, and let sit at room temp for 30 minutes before you bake the next morning.
Notes
These are easily made as overnight cinnamon rolls - once you get to step 5 in Assembly, just cover them and place in fridge. Make sure to give them about 30 minutes in a warm place to rise the next morning before baking.
- Category: baking, breakfast
- Method: baking
Keywords: cinnamon rolls recipe, homemade cinnamon rolls, overnight cinnamon rolls, brown butter cinnamon rolls
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