Vanilla Bean and Brown Butter Cinnamon Rolls

My Vanilla Bean and Brown Butter Cinnamon Rolls are soft and pillowy with the irresistible flavors of brown butter, brown sugar, and vanilla bean echoing through the dough, filling, and frosting. With same day or overnight instructions, these are seriously the best cinnamon rolls I have ever tasted and are always on our birthday and holiday menus. Make some and see why!

Recipe Background and Details

These Vanilla Bean and Brown Butter Cinnamon Rolls are perfect for any holiday or birthday, but they are especially perfect for Christmas morning breakfast. I love to make them the night before all the way to the 2nd rise, let them rise for about 30-40 minutes, and then pop them in the fridge. The next morning I give them about 30 minutes at room temp while I preheat the oven and make myself some coffee.

I started making these around the 2017ish time frame. My husband and I had 5 kids at the time (now we have 6!) and I just decided one day that we needed a really good cinnamon roll recipe for weekends and snow days. Well boy did I deliver. These were an instant hit and they'd get gobbled up as fast as I could make them. Now our kids are older, some away at school or living on their own. When they're home for holidays, birthdays, or breaks, these brown butter cinnamon rolls are still a top request and they still get gobbled up just as quickly.

For variations on this original recipe be sure to check out my Boozy Glazed Eggnog Rolls and my Sourdough Discard Cinnamon Rolls.

This recipe was originally posted on January 21, 2019 and was updated on December 20, 2023 with new photos, more body text, and a streamlined recipe card.

Ingredients

• Butter: Unsalted since we are browning it and it will concentrate the saltiness if we were to use salted.
• Milk: I always use whole milk and have used half and half many times over the years.
• Yeast: Active dry or instant will both work
• Egg: Just one egg to add richness
• Brown Sugar: Light or Dark brown sugar both work. Dark will give you a darker color and deeper flavor in the dough, filling, and frosting.
• Vanilla Bean Paste: The little flecks make me swoon. Use paste or a freshly scraped vanilla bean combined with a bit of vanilla extract.
• Flour: Unbleached all purpose
• Salt: I always use Diamond Kosher Salt. If you are using a fine salt, use half the amount
• Cream Cheese: For the frosting - full fat, room temperature
• Ground Cinnamon: Because what would a cinnamon roll be without it?

Instructions

Make these brown butter cinnamon rolls same day or give them an overnight rise in the fridge and bake them the next morning.

First: Make the Brown Butter

I like to do this the day before if I think about it so it has time to cool to room temperature. The cooling takes the longest, so if you make it same day, just pop it in the fridge or freezer, stirring often, until it is cooled but not hardened solid.

To make brown butter, place butter in a pan 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. Add a tablespoon or two of butter to bring the amount to 1 cup (8 ounces). Stir it every so often as it cools to distribute the browned bits evenly.

Make the Dough:

• Prepare a 9x13 (or the closest pan you have to that size) baking dish by buttering generously or spraying with cooking spray, and lining with parchment if you want to be able to remove all of the rolls in one piece after baking (this is useful if you are gifting them and want to transfer to different container). Set aside.
• Add warm milk into bowl of stand mixer, along with brown sugar, yeast, egg, and vanilla. Whisk and let sit for about 5 minutes.
• Next, add 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 and you have a soft, but not overly sticky dough.
• Remove dough hook. Cover mixing bowl with plastic wrap or a damp towel and allow to rise for an hour in a warm place.

Next: roll, fill, cut, rise

Roll dough to a roughly 9 by 13 inch rectangle. Spread filling all over and roll tightly. Cut dough into 12 even pieces, trimming uneven edges if desired. Place in prepared pan and allow to rise for 40-60 minutes until puffy.

Finally: bake, frost, and enjoy!

Bake risen rolls at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes until golden. Prepare frosting while cinnamon rolls bake by combining all frosting ingredients and mixing with a hand mixer until combined and very creamy. After rolls have baked and cooled for 5-10 minutes, top with frosting and enjoy! To evenly distribute the frosting I like to use my medium cookie scoop but you can just slather it on willy nilly.

Make Ahead (freezer or fridge)

To make these ahead for longer term storage, make them all the way to the shaping step and freeze them on parchment lined tray until solid. Then you can transfer to a freezer bag and bake one or all of them whenever the urge strikes. To bake from frozen, the night before you plan to bake arrange frozen rolls on a parchment lined pan and cover with plastic wrap. Allow to thaw in the refrigerator overnight and give them about an hour at room temperature to further rise before baking and proceeding with the recipe as written.

For an overnight option, make them all the way to the shaping step, cover well with plastic and place in the refrigerator overnight or up to 24 hours (no more!). Give them 30 minutes to 1 hour at room temperature before baking and proceeding with the recipe as written.

Substitutions and Variations

• If you don't want to bother with browning the butter, just use very soft room temp butter - salted or unsalted
• Feel free to use plant-based milk, butter, and cream cheese to make these vegan cinnamon rolls.
• If you prefer a glaze rather than a frosting, check out my Sourdough Discard Cinnamon Roll recipe for a glaze option.
• Spice these up with some nutmeg, clove, and ginger for a more festive flavor and feel free to add dried fruit and/or nuts to the filling.

Equipment

I recommend a stand mixer for the dough and a hand mixer for the frosting. You can absolutely mix these up by hand but I'm a big fan of the stand mixer for making all of my doughs.

For rising and baking the rolls, I love my covered Staub baking dish because it has a lid meaning I don't have to use plastic wrap for rising and I can just pop the lid on for storage.

Storage and Reheating

These never last more than a day or two here, but if somehow they ever do I store them covered in the refrigerator to keep them fresh. A couple seconds in the microwave freshens them up.

Baked, cooled, and unfrosted, these can be tightly wrapped and stored in the freezer for up to 3 months. Allow to thaw in the refrigerator overnight before covering with foil and warming in 350 degree oven for 5-10 minutes before frosting and serving.

Related Recipes

Be sure to check out all of my delicious breakfast and brunch recipes:

Cinnamon Roll FAQs

Brown Butter Cinnamon Rolls Recipe

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With the irresistible flavors of brown butter, brown sugar, and vanilla bean echoing through the dough, filling, and frosting, I'm not sure how anyone could resist these Brown Butter Cinnamon Rolls. Just make them and you'll see why these Cinnamon Rolls have become a constant around here. PS: there are overnight instructions, too!

• Total Time: 2 hours
• Yield: 12 cinnamon rolls

Ingredients

Brown Butter

• 8 ounces salted butter
• 1-2 tablespoons butter, cold or room temp

Dough

• 3 ½ cups (480 grams) all purpose flour
• ¼ cup brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 cup whole milk, warmed to 100-110 degrees F
• 2 ¼ teaspoons active dry yeast
• ¼ cup (2 ounces) brown butter, cooled to soft room temperature
• 1 large egg, room temp
• 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste

Filling

• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• ½ cup (4 ounces) brown butter, cooled to soft room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste

Frosting

• 1 8-ounce brick of cream cheese, softened to room temp
• ¼ cup brown sugar
• ¼ cup (2 ounces) brown butter, cooled to soft room temp
• 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste

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Instructions

Instructions:

For the Brown Butter:

1. 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.
2. 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. Add a tablespoon or two of butter to bring the amount to 1 cup (8 ounces). Stir it every so often as it cools to distribute the browned bits evenly. You can place in fridge to expedite the cooling process, but don't let it get hard.

For the Cinnamon Rolls

1. Prepare a 9x13 (or the closest pan you have to that size) baking dish by buttering generously or spraying with cooking spray, and lining with parchment if you want to be able to remove all of the rolls in one piece after baking (this is useful if you are gifting them and want to transfer to different container). Set aside.
2. Pour milk into bowl of stand mixer, along with brown sugar, yeast, egg, and vanilla. Whisk and let sit for about 5 minutes.
3. Next, add flour, ¼ cup brown butter, and salt to mixer. Using your dough hook, mix dough on low to medium speed until it begins to come together. Increase speed to medium-high and mix until you have a soft, but not overly sticky dough. It will stick to the bottom of the bowl a bit but it should be smooth. See photos above for reference.
4. Remove dough hook. Cover mixing bowl with plastic wrap or a damp towel and allow to rise for an hour in a warm place.

Filling:

• In a small bowl, mix all filling ingredients with a spoon or silicon spatula 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:

1. After 1 hour or when dough has doubled in size, dump dough onto work surface and using your baking dish as a guide, press or roll dough into a roughly 9x13 inch rectangle. Don't go crazy here, it doesn't have to be exact.
2. Spread filling evenly over the entire surface of the dough, all the way to the edges.
3. 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.
4. Cut roll in half, then each half into 6 equal pieces. You will have 12 pieces. You can trim the end pieces as they will be a little uneven, but they rise and bake just fine and I often just put the uneven side down when placing in the pan and press them down a bit.
5. Place pieces evenly in dish 3 across and 4 down. Cover with plastic wrap or damp towel and let rise in a warm spot until doubled in size. About an hour.
6. Preheat oven to 350 during last 20 minutes of rising time.
7. Once dough has risen, remove plastic wrap or towel and bake for 25-30 minutes in preheated oven until puffed and browned.
8. Remove from oven and let cool for about 5 minutes before you slather the frosting all over.

Overnight Instructions:

In step 5, allow rolls to rise for about 30-40 minutes before covering and placing in fridge overnight.

Let sit at room temp for 30 minutes before you bake the next morning.

Notes

to make these ahead for longer term storage, make them all the way to the shaping step and freeze them on parchment lined tray until solid. Then you can transfer to a freezer bag and bake one or all of them whenever the urge strikes. To bake from frozen, the night before you plan to bake arrange frozen rolls on a parchment lined pan and cover with plastic wrap. Allow to thaw in the refrigerator overnight and give them about an hour at room temperature to further rise before baking and proceeding with the recipe as written.

for an overnight option, make them all the way to the shaping step, cover well with plastic and place in the refrigerator overnight or up to 24 hours (no more!). Give them 30 minutes to 1 hour at room temperature before baking and proceeding with the recipe as written.

This recipe was originally posted on January 21, 2019 and was updated on December 20, 2023 with new photos, more body text, and a streamlined recipe card.

• Author: anita | wild thistle kitchen
• Prep Time: 20 minutes plus rising
• brown butter: 10 minutes plus cooling
• Cook Time: 30
• Category: baking, breakfast
• Method: baking
• Cuisine: American