Ingredients (~9 rolls)
For the Tangzhong
- 3 tbsp bread flour
- 1/2 cup + 1 tbsp water
For the Cinnamon Roll Dough
- 2 3/4 cups bread flour
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp instant yeast
- 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
- 1/4 cup heavy cream, room temperature
- 1/4 cup whole milk, room temperature
- 1 large whole egg, room temperature
- 3/4 tsp vanilla bean paste
- 6 tbsp salted butter, cool room temperature
For the Cinnamon Sugar Filling
- 6 tbsp salted butter, cool room temperature
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
- 1 1/2 tbsp ground cinnamon
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla powder (optional)
For the Cream Cheese Frosting
- 4 1/2 tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature
- 4 ounces cream cheese, cold
- 3/4 cup powdered sugar
- 1/4 tsp vanilla bean paste
- 2 tsp heavy cream
How To Make Tangzhong
Whisk together the water and bread flour in a small saucepan.
Heat on medium heat until thick enough (about 4-5 minutes of constantly whisking) to create a paste-like mixture.
Once it has reached this consistency, transfer it into another bowl to cool until you are ready to add it to your dough.
Using a tangzhong pre-cooks some of the flour, giving you a dough that can absorb more water than traditional dough.
This will keep your cinnamon rolls from drying out over time.
How To Make & Knead Dough
Add the bread flour, sugar, yeast, and salt into the bowl of a stand mixer.
Add the cream, milk, egg, vanilla extract, and finally the tangzhong paste.
Mix on low speed with a dough hook for approximately 2 minutes until you create a shaggy dough ball.
When the dough has formed, add the cool room-temperature butter one tablespoon at a time, slowly mixing to incorporate the previous tablespoon before adding a new tablespoon of butter.
Continue mixing on low speed with the dough hook for an additional 10-12 minutes until the dough becomes smooth and elastic.
Let The Dough Rise & Make The Filling
Take the dough out of the bowl and form it into a smooth, round ball.
Place it seam-side down back into the mixing bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let it rest for 30 minutes.
While the dough rests, combine the softened butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla powder for the filling in another bowl.
Set aside until the dough has finished rising.
Using cool butter is very important; if you use melted or overly warm butter in the filling, it will leak out and not hold your rolls together when they bake.
How To Roll Out And Fill The Dough
When you are ready to roll out the dough, turn it onto a clean, lightly floured surface and roll it into a rectangle shape (12×16 inches), then evenly spread the cinnamon filling over the top while leaving a clean inch of dough at the top.
How To Cut The Rolls
Use a pizza cutter to cut the rectangle of dough into nine 1¾-inch wide strips.
Take each strip and, starting from the bottom, roll it up away from you, then place it in a parchment-lined 9×9 baking pan.
Using a pizza wheel to cut the strips creates a uniform round roll, which is common for bakery-style rolls.
How To Bake The Rolls
Cover the baking dish with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm location for approximately one to two hours or until they have doubled in size.
Preheat oven to 325F.
Bake the rolls for approximately 30-35 minutes.
For a gooey center, the center of the rolls should read about 185F on a thermometer.
How To Frost The Rolls
While baking, prepare the cream cheese frosting by mixing together the room-temperature butter and cold cream cheese with your stand mixer.
Mix in the powdered sugar, then beat on low speed until the frosting is light and fluffy.
Mix in the vanilla bean paste and heavy cream.
Allow the baked cinnamon rolls to cool for 15 minutes in the baking pan on a wire rack.
Once cooled, spread the cream cheese frosting over the top while the rolls are still slightly warm.
The Best Cinnamon Rolls
Ingredients
For the Tangzhong
- 3 tbsp bread flour
- 1/2 cup + 1 tbsp water
For the Cinnamon Roll Dough
- 2 3/4 cups bread flour
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp instant yeast
- 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
- 1/4 cup heavy cream room temperature
- 1/4 cup whole milk room temperature
- 1 large whole egg room temperature
- 3/4 tsp vanilla bean paste
- 6 tbsp salted butter cool room temperature
For the Cinnamon Sugar Filling
- 6 tbsp salted butter cool room temperature
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar packed
- 1 1/2 tbsp ground cinnamon
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla powder optional
For the Cream Cheese Frosting
- 4 1/2 tbsp unsalted butter room temperature
- 4 ounces cream cheese cold
- 3/4 cup powdered sugar
- 1/4 tsp vanilla bean paste
- 2 tsp heavy cream
Instructions
- Whisk water and flour in saucepan over medium heat 4-5 minutes until paste forms (tangzhong). Set aside.
- Mix flour, sugar, yeast, and salt in stand mixer. Add cream, milk, egg, vanilla, and tangzhong. Knead 2 minutes until shaggy.
- Add butter 1 tablespoon at a time while kneading. Continue kneading 10-12 minutes until smooth and elastic.
- Form dough into ball, cover, rest 30 minutes.
- Mix filling ingredients in bowl: butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, vanilla powder.
- Roll dough to 12×16 inch rectangle. Spread filling, leaving 1-inch border at top.
- Cut dough into nine 1.75-inch strips. Roll each strip and place in 9×9 parchment-lined pan.
- Cover, let rise 1-2 hours until doubled.
- Preheat oven to 325F. Bake 30-35 minutes until center reaches 185F.
- Beat butter and cream cheese. Add powdered sugar, vanilla, cream until fluffy.
- Cool rolls 15 minutes. Spread with frosting.
