Brown Butter Cinnamon Rolls

The fluffiest and most delicious homemade cinnamon rolls with a brown butter dough. Absolutely showstopping and melt in your mouth perfection!

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Diet Vegetarian

Prep Time 30

Cook Time 25

Resting Time 2

Servings people

Calories 639kcal

Author Farah Abumaizar

Equipment

Stand Mixer

Ingredients

For the dough:

3/4 cup lukewarm milk around 110F (43C)
2 1/4 teaspoon instant yeast
1/4 cup sugar 50g
1/4 cup butter 55g
2 eggs, room temperature
3 cups and 2 tbsp bread flour 390g
1 teaspoon salt

For the filling:

2/3 cup dark brown sugar 130g
1.5 tablespoon cinnamon
1/4 cup butter, softened 55g

For the frosting:

4 oz cream cheese, softened 115g
1/4 cup butter, softened 55g
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
pinch salt
1 cup powdered (icing) sugar 125g

Instructions

Brown the butter by placing in a medium saucepan over medium high heat and melt. Leave to continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until brown nutty flecks appear. At this point, transfer the butter immediately to a bowl so it doesn't burn, making sure to scrape up those brown flecks- that's where all the flavor is! Cool before using.
Warm milk to around 110F (43C), do this by putting in microwave safe bowl or cup and microwaving gently for 30-45 seconds. It should be like warm bath water.
Transfer warm milk to the bowl of an electric mixer and sprinkle yeast on top. Add in sugar, eggs and browned butter. Mix until well combined. Next, stir in flour and salt with a wooden spoon until a dough begins to form.
Place a dough hook on a stand mixer and knead dough on medium speed for 8 minutes. Dough should form a nice ball and be slightly sticky. If you need, to sprinkle in another tablespoon or two of flour, but don't add too much.
Transfer dough ball to a lightly oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap and allow dough to rise in a warm place for 1 hour to 1 ½ hours, or until doubled in size.
After dough has doubled in size, transfer dough to a well-floured surface and roll out into a 14x9 inch rectangle. Spread softened butter over dough, leaving a small margin at the edges of the dough. I like using a silicone brush for this.
Mix together the brown sugar and the cinnamon for the filling in a small bowl.
Sprinkle the brown sugar cinnamon mixture evenly over the butter. Pat it into the butter by pressing down with your fingertips.
Tightly roll dough up, starting from the 9-inch side and place seam side down making sure to seal the edges of the dough as best you can. Trim the very edges of the log off, then cut the rest of the dough log into 9 equal 1 inch thick pieces.
Lightly grease a 9x9 inch baking pan and line with parchment paper. Place the rolls in the pan, touching each other. Cover with plastic wrap and a kitchen towel and let rise again for 30-45 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350F (180C).
Remove plastic wrap and towel and bake cinnamon rolls for 23-35 minutes or until just slightly golden brown on the edges. Don't overbake, so that they stay soft and gooey in the center, you want the edges to be a light golden brown.
While baking the rolls, make the cream cheese frosting. Beat together the softened cream cheese, softened butter, vanilla and salt until creamy and combined. Reduce speed to low and add powdered sugar. Mix until well combined. Store in the fridge until ready to use.
After the cinnamon rolls are out of the oven, let them cool for 5-10 minutes, before spreading frosting evenly over the type of the pan of rolls. You'll have extra frosting, feel free to serve that on the side! Enjoy warm and gooey!

Video

Notes

Ingredient notes:

Butter: You can use melted butter in place of the browned butter

Flour: You can substitute all purpose flour for the bread flour

Brown Sugar: Either light or dark works just fine- I prefer dark!

Recipe tips:

Don't let the butter burn! Once it starts to turn golden brown at the base, immediately remove to another bowl.

Cool the brown butter completely before using so it doesn't change the texture of the dough.

Let the dough rise properly, and do this in a warm place. I really like turning on my washing machine for a few minutes, then turning it off and placing the dough inside that warm and toasty washing machine cocoon.

Don't over bake the cinnamon rolls! They should be golden brown around the edges but paler in the center so they still have that gooey texture.

Making the night before:

After rolling the cinnamon rolls and cutting them up, place them on the same pan you'll bake on (with the parchment paper and everything). But instead of letting them rise for another 30 minutes at room temperature, cover well with plastic wrap and place in fridge overnight.

The next day take the cinnamon rolls out of the fridge and let the cinnamon rolls come to room temperature then rise for 30- 45 min, until puffy and nearly doubled in size. Preheat the oven while rising and bake as directed.

Storing leftovers:

Store leftovers in the fridge tightly covered for 2-3 days. I like reheating these in a warm oven, but you can also microwave them.

Freezing cinnamon rolls:

To freeze unbaked: Once they filled and cut, before the second rise, place in a pan and cover tightly. Place in freezer. The day before you want to bake them, thaw in the fridge overnight, the next day take them out of the fridge, let them come to room temperature then rise for 30- 45 min, until puffy and nearly doubled in size. Preheat the oven while rising and bake as directed.

To freeze baked: Allow them to come to room temperature, then either as a pan or individually, freeze them covered well. I've done this both frosted and not frosted, both ways worked out well. I've had them 2-3 months after freezing and they were still delicious! Heat either in the microwave for 20-30 seconds , or in a hot oven for 10-15 minutes. You can even freeze a batch of the frosting, preferably individually in mini zip lock bags to use at whim!

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