Delectable, gooey and full of cinnamon goodness. They remind me of the famous ones you get at that place, you know the one. So because my wife forbids me from making them any other time of year, I only make these cinnamon buns at Christmas; now a long-standing tradition.
The icing is cream cheese based and so you absolutely need the cream cheese. It’s just not the same without it. You can spread out the icing in a swirl pattern, or just glob it on and let it drip down the side. Any way you choose to ice them, make sure the cinnamon buns are cooled down first. The icing should be at room temperature before using otherwise you might end up with a sticky mess.
I made this recipe from scratch mainly because I can’t easily get to that other place to order up some fresh ones. I made this based upon a typical brioche but reduced the eggs and butter a bit. You will need to keep the dough in the fridge overnight at least 12 hours so this is not something to make up on a whim some Sunday morning. Jennifer and I worked very hard on this recipe. We ate sometimes a dozen of these at a time to get it just right. It was tough but we managed.
Remember that to make these soft and airy they must touch together after the initial rise so don’t space them too far apart; about 6mm (1/4 inch) should do the trick. Don’t overbake them either or they will get hard when they cool. Pull them out when they just start to turn slightly golden. That should keep them nice and soft.
Food Safety
It is very important to use room temperature ingredients. Warm cold icing from the fridge quickly and do not leave it out on the counter to warm. Butter is safe to warm up on the counter overnight. Eggs need special considerations to maintain safety. Please review the egg safety tips for using eggs at room temperature in our safety guide. These cinnamon buns should be kept refrigerated and warmed before eating for best results.
Cinnamon Buns
Equipment
- Mixer 350W 5 quart
- 3 Mixing bowls
- Set Measuring spoons
- 1 French rolling pin
- 1 Sharp knife
- 1 Marble or granite rolling surface
Ingredients
Dough
- 750 g Flour all purpose
- 75 g white granulated sugar
- 15 g sea salt
- 3 large eggs at room temperature
- 150 g butter room temperature
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 360 g whole 3% milk
- 14 g instant dry yeast
- 1 stick melted butter to coat the rolled out dough later
Cream Cheese Icing
- 130 g half & half about 1/2 cup
- 450 g confectioners’ sugar about 4 cups
- 100 g butter about 1 stick, melted and kept warm
- 225 g cream cheese about one 8oz block, softened to spreadable consistency and warm
- 1/2 tsp vanilla
Cinnamon Sugar
- 2 cups firm packed light brown sugar
- 6 T cinnamon powder
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
Instructions
Dough
- Add flour to mixing bowl of a 350-watt 5 quart or larger mixer
- Scald milk by simmering to 80 – 82°C (176 – 180°F)
- Add sugar to milk and dissolve
- When milk mixture is 44 to 47°C (110 to 115°F), sprinkle yeast over milk and let stand 10 minutes
- Beat eggs and add to milk mixture
- Add vanilla to milk mixture
- Add milk mixture to flour in mixing bowl
- Mix for 3 minutes on lowest setting using dough hook attachment
- Add butter 1 tablespoon at a time while mixing for 12 minutes at lowest setting.
- Add salt and mix at lowest setting for 3 minutes
- Place into a 6L round container and let rise to almost double, about 25 to 45 minutes depending on temperature
- Place the container into the refrigerator for 10 to 14 hours
- Remove dough from container and place onto floured board.
- Flour the dough and a French tapered rolling pin and roll dough to thickness between 3 to 10 mm (approx. 1/8 to 3/8 inches)
- The dough will be a rectangle with rounded edges, about 400mm long by 500mm wide (approx. 15 x 20 inches)
- Brush surface with melted butter. You will use about 1/2 the butter, give or take.
- Spread about 3mm (1/8 inch) thick layer of cinnamon sugar
- Taking the long edge, roll the dough like a scroll and make a log, leaving the seam underneath resting on the board
- Using a razor sharp knife about 250 to 300mm (10 to 12 inches) long, cut log into disks about 30 to 40mm thick (1 1/4 to 1 1/2 inches)
- Place disks onto baking parchment on a baking sheet with about 6mm (1/4 inch) spacing all around them so they will expand and touch each other during baking. This protects them from drying out during the bake.
- Let stand about 20-30 minutes until dough is room temperature and has started to expand a bit
- Bake at 180 to 185°C (350 to 365°F) for 30 to 35 minutes until just a slight touch of brown starts to emerge. Check at about 20 minutes to be sure.
- Let cool to room temperature and then cover in icing
Cinnamon Sugar
- Blend brown sugar, cinnamon and salt together until no lumps and finely distributed
Cream Cheese Icing
- In a mixing bowl for use with an electric mixer, add half & half to confectioners’ sugar and blend very well leaving no sugar lumps or clumps.
- Add warmed liquid butter slowly in a drizzle and blend well
- Add softened and warm cream cheese slowly to the mixture and blend well leaving no cream cheese lumps or clumps
- Let cool to room temperature and use within 1 hour or chill. If chilling, remove from fridge and warm to room temperature
Excellent ! These cinnamon buns are easy to make and taste just like the real thing!