Homemade cinnamon rolls fill your house with a delicious aroma. They take a bit of time, due to the dough needing to rise and rest, but thankfully they reheat really well.

Ingredients:

Dough:

  • 1¼ cups nonfat milk
  • ¼ cup granulated sugar
  • 2¼ teaspoons active dry yeast (1 standard packet)
  • 4 tablespoons (½ stick) unsalted butter, softened and cut into 2 pieces
  • ½ teaspoon kosher salt
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 2 cups bread flour
  • 2 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour

Filling:

  • ¾ cup packed dark brown sugar
  • 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
  • 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened and cut into 4 pieces

Glaze:

  • 1 cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted
  • 2 tablespoons milk (any variety will work)
  • ¼ teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Instructions:

  1. Grease a 13x9-inch pan with the butter, or lightly coat with the nonstick cooking spray; reserve.
  2. Put the milk, sugar, yeast, 4 tablespoons of butter and salt into a blender jar. Blend on medium speed until completely combined and mixture is slightly warm, about 2 minutes.
  3. Add the eggs and vanilla. Pulse to mix, about 4 pulses.
  4. Add the bread flour. Pulse until homogenous, about 4 pulses. Transfer dough (it will be more of a batter at this point) to a greased mixing bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rest for 1 hour.
  5. After the hour has elapsed, add the 2 cups of all-purpose flour and knead by hand until completely mixed. Cover again with plastic wrap and allow to rest and rise for an additional hour.
  6. While the dough is resting, prepare the filling. Put the filling ingredients into a small bowl and stir to combine.
  7. Once the dough has sufficiently risen (it should be about double the size), turn out onto a floured surface and divide the dough into two pieces (keep covered with plastic wrap). Allow to rest for 15 minutes. Roll each ball into a flat sheet, about 12 inches by 18 inches. Divide the filling mixture over each piece of dough, leaving about ½-inch border (the filling is a thick paste, so either spread using clean hands or a small spatula – it is OK if it does not fully cover every bit of the dough). Roll each sheet up from the 12-inch side of the rectangle (this is easiest if this is the side horizontal to you). Cut each roll into 8 equal pieces.
  8. Place pieces into the greased pan, cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
  9. While the rolls are rising, preheat oven to 350°F with the rack in the middle position.
  10. Place the prepared pan into the preheated oven. Allow to bake until lightly brown, about 25 minutes.
  11. While cinnamon rolls are baking, prepare the glaze. Put the confectioners’ sugar into the blender jar. While blender is running on the lowest speed, add the milk and vanilla through the opening in the top of the lid. Gradually increase to the highest speed while adding the milk and vanilla and let mix for 1 minute. Reserve until ready to use. Note: You may have to blend or stir again right before using to smooth out the glaze.
  12. Let the cinnamon rolls cool in the pan for about 5 minutes, and then transfer to a cooling rack. Spoon the reserved glaze over warm rolls.

Enjoy!

You May Need:

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