I worked at Cinnabon back in high school, and it was honestly one of my favourite jobs. We used to fight over who gets to do the baking every shift! Cinnabon has it’s own secrets, but there are a few things I learned about cinnamon rolls that make them so ooey gooey delicious:
- You MUST use margarine if you want them to be Cinnabon-style! Butter is not the same.
- Cream cheese icing is what creates that amazing melted texture all over the buns.
- Proofing matters! If you double-proof like I mention below in the directions, you will have bigger fluffier softer cinnamon rolls.
Recipe: Cinnabon-style Cinnamon Rolls
Time: 2.5-3 hours (including prep, proofing and baking)
Serves: 9 big rolls comfortably, 12 mini rolls
What you’ll need:
Dough
- 2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast
- 1 cup milk, lukewarm
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 eggs
- 1/3 cup margarine, softened
- 1 teaspoon water (if needed)
Filling
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 3 tablespoons cinnamon
- 1/3 cup margarine, softened
Cream Cheese Icing
- 1 1/2 cups icing sugar
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup margarine, softened
- 1/3 cup cream cheese, softened
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Directions:
- Dough: Begin by dissolving the yeast in lukewarm milk and a teaspoon of sugar; let it sit for 5-10 minutes (it should look frothy)
- In your mixer bowl, combine dry ingredients (flour, sugar, salt), and then mix in eggs and margarine until it looks crumbly
- Change to the dough hook, pour in the yeast-milk blend and mix until the dough no longer sticks to the bowl
- TIP! If I find the dough to still be sticky, I add a teaspoon of water and mix
- Oil another bowl and place the dough in it; cover it with a kitchen towel or plastic wrap and let it rise for 1-1.5 hours (this is called ‘proofing’)
- Filling: Mix together brown sugar and cinnamon and put it aside
- Cream Cheese icing: While waiting for the dough to rise, mix together all the ingredients for the cream cheese icing and put it in the fridge (you won’t need it for a while)
- Grease your baking dish with some oil or cooking spray (dish can be a rectangle, square, circle, anything shape you want!)
- Flour a surface you plan to use; roll the dough out until it is a nice thin rectangle or square shape
- Gently mark a line 1/2 inch from the edge of the side facing you to ensure you don’t add margarine or sugar in this space — this makes sealing the roll easier + cleaner presentation
- Spread 1/3 cup softened margarine evenly over the dough until you’ve reached the line; sprinkle your sugar-cinnamon mix on top of the margarine
- Carefully roll the dough from top to bottom while adjusting the edges and evenness along the way
- Measure out how big you want the rolls to be, cut the dough accordingly and place each roll in the baking dish
- TIP! If they are all not even, that is okay! You may have a few lumpy-looking ones and others that are bigger; they will still be delicious
- Cover the baking dish and let the rolls rise for another 30-45 minutes; they will get bigger! You can also proof them overnight and bake them fresh the next morning
- Preheat your oven to 350°F
- Place your baking dish in the oven and bake for 20-30 minutes, or until the cinnamon rolls are a nice golden brown colour
- Once the rolls are done, spread the cream cheese icing to your liking
Now you can enjoy fresh Cinnabon-style cinnamon rolls at home!
Be sure to share your creation with me @anumrubec or #BakingwithAnum.
