Cinnamon Rolls with Cream Cheese Frosting
A slight riff on a classic cinnamon roll, this recipe’s addition of ground clove, nutmeg, and cream cheese frosting pushes the delicious to the exceptional.
Based on the Ambitious Kitchen Recipe, with some tweaks.
What You’ll Need:
For Dough:
¾ cup warm milk (I use 2% but any will work)
2 ¼ teaspoons quick rise/instant (1/4-ounce package)
¼ cup granulated sugar
1 egg plus 1 egg yolk, at room temperature
¼ cup melted butter
3 cups bread flour, plus more for dusting (you can use All Purpose if it’s all you have, but bread flour has a superior texture for this bake)
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon neutral oil (like vegetable/canola) for greasing a bowl
For Filling:
⅔ cup dark brown sugar
1 ½ tbsp cinnamon
¼ tsp nutmeg
½ tsp ground gloves
¼ cup unsalted butter, softened
For Frosting:
4 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
½ stick butter, softened
½ - 1 tsp vanilla
¾ cup powdered sugar
How to Make It:
Warm milk to around 110 degrees F (microwave it for 40-45 seconds)
Transfer warm milk to the bowl of an electric mixer and sprinkle yeast on top
Add in sugar, egg, egg yolk and melted butter. Mix until well combined.
Stir in flour and salt with a wooden spoon until a dough begins to form.
Place dough hook on stand mixer and knead dough on medium speed for 8 minutes. Dough should form into a nice ball and be slightly sticky. If it's sticking to the bottom of the mixer, add in 2 tablespoons bread flour. If you don’t want to use an electric mixer, you can use your hands to knead the dough for 8-10 minutes on a well-floured surface.
Transfer dough ball to a well-oiled bowl (use a neutral oil like vegetable/canola), cover with plastic wrap and a warm towel. Put the bowl in a warm, draft free spot. Allow dough to rise for 1 hour to 1 ½ hours, or until doubled in size.
Once the dough has doubled in size, remove and place on a pre-floured surface. Roll it out into a 9x14 rectangle
Spread a thin layer of the softened butter over the dough before sprinkling the cinnamon mixture over it. Leave one edge un-buttered so you can seal the rolls.
Starting on the edge opposite of the un-buttered side, roll dough into a baton shape
Using a serrated knife, cut the rolled dough into 9 equal pieces. You’ll likely want to trim about ½ inch from each side first so that the rolls are equal
Place portioned rolls in a circular cake tin, lined with greased parchment paper
Cover with plastic wrap and a towel for a second rise. Preheat oven to 350° F
Once the rolls double in size, unwrap and put the rolls in the oven to bake for 25 minutes
Remove rolls from the oven and set aside
While they cool, make the frosting by combining the cream cheese, vanilla, butter, and powdered sugar in a bowl/stand mixer. Mix thoroughly
Spread frosting over warm cinnamon rolls and enjoy
Make Ahead Note: Holiday mornings are hectic enough. Make these cinnamon rolls the day before and stop at step 12. Cover well with plastic wrap then place them in the fridge overnight. In the morning bring, take the dish out of the fridge and let them rise for 45 minutes to 1 hour before baking.
