Gooey Brown Sugar Fluffy Homemade Cinnamon Rolls

Who doesn’t know cinnamon buns, or cinnamon rolls as they are also called? They are a soft and fluffy sweet bread with a filling of brown sugar and cinnamon that, once it goes into the oven, turns into a delicious caramel, leaving you with a sweet, tender roll, a little crispy on the outside and super fluffy on the inside. If it didn’t take as long as it does, I would be making these every single weekend 🙂

The simplified process is to make a dough, cover it with the filling, roll it up, cut it into thick slices, lay them in a pan and bake. It sounds like a lot, but most of the time is just the dough resting and rising while you do something else, so it is easier than it looks, it just takes a bit of time.

I’ve also added to the notes the classic cream cheese frosting, I’m Portuguese so i feel its too much sweetness, but if you want, the recipe is bellow, its super simple, lets check the recipe!

Gooey Brown Sugar Fluffy Homemade Cinnamon Rolls

Servings: 12
Time: 1hr 20mins
Difficulty: Normal
Rating: ★★★★★
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Warning: Your kitchen will smell so good that you will have to lock the doors!!! 🙂

Ingredients

Flour – 800g
Baker’s Yeast – 40g
Milk – 480ml (Warm)
Water – 120ml (Warm)
Sugar – 100g
Eggs – 2
Butter – 3 Tablespoons
Salt – 2 Teaspoons
Butter – 170g
Brown Sugar – 400g
Cinnamon – 40g

Directions

In a bowl, begin by dissolving the baker’s yeast in warm water along with the sugar to activate it, the water should be warm, but not boiling.
Once fully dissolved, add the warm milk (at the same temperature as the water) and stir well. Then, add a portion of the flour, hummm about 200g, mix thoroughly, and let it rest for about 10 minutes.
After this time, add the softened butter, eggs, and salt, and stir again.
Add the remaining flour until a dough forms. Remove it from the bowl and let it rest briefly on a work surface (I use a marble slab) dusted with a little flour, allow it to rest for about 10 minutes.
Knead the dough until it becomes smooth and glossy, adding more flour if necessary. Knead it very well, the better it is kneaded, the better the flavor and texture will be.

Shape the dough back into a ball and place it in a large, spacious bowl (one that is several times the size of the dough ball). Cover and seal it tightly with plastic wrap, then let the dough rise for about 2 hours in a warm spot (I left mine next to the oven while I was baking cookies).
After 2 hours, you will see that the dough has doubled in size or more. Remove the dough and divide it into two balls. Roll one ball out into a rectangle, then prepare it with the filling ingredients: first, brush it with butter, and then sprinkle it with half of the sugar and cinnamon. Now, carefully roll up the dough to form a long log. Cut it into slices, I usually eyeball it, aiming for about two fingers width per slice, you can mark the log beforehand to ensure the slices are even. Arrange the slices on their sides on a baking tray, leaving a little space between them, as they will rise again and fill in the gaps!
Repeat the process with the other ball of dough. Cover both trays with plastic wrap and let them rise for another hour, until they have doubled in size once more.

Place both trays in an oven preheated to 200ºC (392ºF) for about 15 to 17 minutes (depending on your oven). Remove them from the oven once the tops look nice and shiny and are fully baked.

Take them out of the oven and let them cool slightly before separating the individual rolls!

Notes & Tips: Optionally, you can add a cream cheese frosting. I usually don’t, because it is a little sweet on top of sweet, but the traditional recipe calls for it and it is simple. Add 220gr of Cream Cheese, 120gr of Butter and 1/2 a teaspoon of Vanilla, start whisking everything at maximum speed and add 600gr of sugar little by little until you get a very smooth, thick cream. Then after the buns are baked, add that to the top when it cools down!

Also for the frosting, make sure the cream cheese and butter are at room temperature so it comes out smooth and lump-free. If you only have powdered (confectioners’) sugar, it is perfect for this.

Before baking, you can brush the buns with a little more melted butter and sprinkle them with more sugar and cinnamon for a more decadent version!

You can add nuts to the filling for a different texture. Walnuts and almonds both work really well.

Don’t skip the second rise. It is what makes the buns puff up, fill the gaps and turn out super soft.

You can easily make half the recipe if you want! And these are great re-heated in the microwave the next day!

And yes this is another oldie but goodie, i apologise for the old photos, but trust me, the recipe is worth it! ;D

This recipe for Gooey Brown Sugar Fluffy Homemade Cinnamon Rolls was originally created on BakeAfter.com. Esta receita de Caracóis Doces com Canela foi publicada em português no Iguaria.com.