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Best easy homemade cinnamon rolls with brown butter and cream cheese frosting for breakfast, brunch.
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5 from 11 votes

Best Brown Butter Cinnamon Rolls With Cream Cheese Frosting

Homemade brown butter cinnamon rolls are rich, soft, and gooey, the best and easiest sweet rolls you will make at home. The nutty and toasted flavor of brown butter enhances the taste of these baked rolls. Cinnamon buns are one of the best sweet treats or desserts to start the morning on a happy, festive note during the holiday season or any weekend morning.
Prep Time30 minutes
Cook Time30 minutes
Rest Time1 hour 30 minutes
Total Time2 hours 30 minutes
Course: Breakfast, Desserts, sweets
Cuisine: American, Denmark, Sweden
Servings: 12
Calories: 676kcal
Author: Kushi

Equipment

  • Baking pan

Ingredients

For the cinnamon roll dough

  • 1 cup Warm milk
  • 2 ¼ teaspoon Active dry yeast or Instant yeast
  • 2 Eggs , room temperature
  • ½ cup Salted brown butter , in melted form (check tips)
  • 4 ¼ cups All purpose flour , more if needed
  • 1 teaspoon Salt
  • ½ cup Sugar

For the cinnamon sugar filling

  • ½ cup Salted brown butter , melted
  • 1 cup Brown sugar
  • 2 tablespoon Cinnamon

For pouring on unbaked rolls

  • ½ cup Heavy cream (optional)

For the cream cheese frosting

  • 8 oz Cream cheese , softened
  • ½ cup Salted butter , softened
  • 2 cups Confectioner's Sugar (powdered sugar)
  • ½ tablespoon Vanilla extract

Instructions

Easy Homemade Cinnamon Rolls Dough

  • In a bowl, add lukewarm milk and sprinkle yeast. Let the yeast activate. Add egg, brown butter (check tips), salt and sugar.
    1 cup Warm milk, 2 ¼ teaspoon Active dry yeast, 2 Eggs, ½ cup Salted brown butter, 1 teaspoon Salt, ½ cup Sugar
  • Add flour in increments and knead till smooth and elastic dough is formed. You may add up to another additional ½ cup flour if needed depending on weather conditions and brand of flour you are using. You may feel the dough is sticky during the kneading process but that's ok. Don't add too much flour. This is what makes your rolls or buns softer.
    4 ¼ cups All purpose flour
  • Transfer the dough to a greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap.
  • Let it rise in a warm place or just until doubled in size.

Prepare cinnamon sugar filling and roll

  • In bowl, combine brown butter, sugar and cinnamon powder. Keep this aside.
    ½ cup Salted brown butter, 1 cup Brown sugar, 2 tablespoon Cinnamon
  • Once the dough has risen, transfer it to a well-floured surface. Roll the dough into a rectangle approx. 24 inch by 15 inch dimensions.
  • Using spatula, spread the cinnamon sugar mixture prepared above over the whole rectangular rolled dough.
  • Starting on long end, tightly roll the dough.
  • Now cut the rolls into 12 slices and place them in a 9-inch by 13-inch baking pan.
  • Cover the baking pan and allow the rolls to double in size approx 20 to 30 minutes.

Bake brown butter cinnamon rolls

  • Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
  • Warm the heavy cream just until you can touch it. Don't make it hot or don't use chill heavy cream.
    ½ cup Heavy cream
  • Pour this over the top of risen rolls so that the rolls soak down.
  • Bake the rolls for about 20 to 25 minutes till they are light golden in color and cooked through at the center completely. The baking time may vary depending on the pan, size of rolls, type of oven, and various other factors. Have a close look at 20 minutes mark. they may take up to 27 to 30 minutes. If you feel the rolls are getting browned, cover them with aluminum foil and bake.

Prepare cream cheese frosting

  • While the rolls are cooling down, prepare the cream cheese frosting.
  • In a bowl, add cream cheese and butter. Blend it using hand held mixer.
    8 oz Cream cheese, ½ cup Salted butter
  • Add vanilla extract and powdered sugar and beat until just combined .
    2 cups Confectioner's Sugar, ½ tablespoon Vanilla extract
  • Spread the frosting over the rolls when its warm if you want the frosting to soak. Alternately, spread the cream cheese frosting when the cinnamon rolls come to room temperature to make it look more prettier.
  • Brown Butter Cinnamon rolls are now ready. Serve and enjoy. You can also store them in an airtight container for up to 3 to 4 days. Warm and serve as required.

Notes

  1. You can also use regular butter or salted butter instead of brown butter and prepare traditional and classic cinnamon rolls. It tastes fantastic.
  2. Heavy cream can be substituted with coffee cream, evaporated milk, or even dairy-free milk. 
  3. You can reduce the butter in the dough up to ⅓ cup if you want to cut down on fat. 
  4. The rolls will still be soft and good without the addition of heavy cream. But adding it will make your cinnamon buns rich and gooey. 
  5. Loving the nuttiness of brown butter? You can also use brown butter in the frosting to make brown butter cream cheese frosting. 

How to make brown butter?

(If using brown butter, plan ahead so that it cools down before using it in the recipe)
  • Cut the butter into cubes, add it to the pan and melt it over medium-low heat.
  • Once the butter has melted, increase the heat a little above medium.
  • Keep scraping and swirling the pan using the spatula or spoon during the process.
  • The butter will foam and sizzle around the edges. Slowly the bubble or foam disappears, and light brown specs will start forming at the bottom.
  • Be attentive throughout, as there are very few seconds between brown butter and burnt butter. Once you smell the nutty aroma of the butter, switch off the flame. Transfer it to a heat-proof bowl immediately.
  • Let it cool down before using it in any baking recipes.

How to store brown butter cinnamon rolls?

Baked cinnamon rolls :

Baked cinnamon rolls remain fresh for a few days, say up to 3 days, at room temperature in an airtight container. This will even keep them moist and prevent them from drying out. If you keep them in the pan, cover them tightly with aluminum foil.

Uncooked cinnamon rolls :

The best way to store them is to keep the cinnamon roll dough before the second rise in the refrigerator if you need it the next day. Freeze the rolls if you plan to store them for a long time. Thaw, allow to rise at room temperature, and bake as needed.

Nutrition

Calories: 676kcal | Carbohydrates: 84g | Protein: 9g | Fat: 35g | Saturated Fat: 21g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 9g | Trans Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 122mg | Sodium: 344mg | Potassium: 179mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 48g | Vitamin A: 719IU | Vitamin C: 0.1mg | Calcium: 93mg | Iron: 3mg