I don’t know about you but I am a sucker for cinnamon rolls…

Originally Published 04/06/2021

Like any kid growing up in the 90’s, whenever we went to the mall Cinnabon (and Auntie Ann’s) was a must! We grew up a solid hour and a half drive from the closest mall, so it was a treat!

There were also some mornings my sisters and I would wake up to the tasty surprise of Pillsbury cinnamon rolls Mom had made for us! 

Don’t get me wrong, if offered either a Cinnabon or Pillsbury cinnamon roll I would happily eat them! But nothing compares to a fresh out-of-the-oven homemade cinnamon roll!

This recipe for Brioche Cinnamon Rolls is the absolute best!

The dough itself is heavenly! The addition of sugar, butter, milk, and eggs makes the rolls super soft and light. They practically melt in your mouth. And then to top them with cream cheese frosting!? Ugh… too legit to quit!

The dough is also pretty easy to work with, and not too sticky! So don’t be intimidated! I promise you after you try out this recipe, you’ll want to make these Brioche Cinnamon Rolls all the time!

This recipe for Brioche Cinnamon Rolls is written with both weight and cup measurements.

The cups/spoons measurements for this recipe are close approximations to the weighted measurements.

A kitchen scale is an amazing thing! If you don’t have one I would highly recommend purchasing one and trying it out!

It is a much more accurate way to bake!  

Anyways, on to the recipe!

First,

add the sugar to the mixer and pour the warm milk over the top of it. Then sprinkle the yeast over the top of the milk.  Any type of active yeast will do the trick.

However, I prefer to use LeSaffre Saf – Instant Yeast in the gold package. It is specifically made to rise sweet doughs, like brioche, which are generally heavier due to the addition of milk, butter, and eggs.

After the yeast sits and activates, add the room-temperature butter, eggs, and vanilla extract. Give everything a little mix (it’s gonna look crazy lumpy because of the butter) and then add the dry ingredients! Let the dough hook knead the dough until it’s smooth and well combined.

If you poke the dough it should be wet to the touch, but it shouldn’t stick to your fingers. If it’s super sticky feel free to add in up to 1/4 cup more flour. It will make it much easier to roll out if the dough is not wet and gooey at this point.

Cover the dough with plastic wrap and let it rise on the counter for 45-60 minutes. The fast-acting yeast works quickly!

While the dough for the Brioche Cinnamon Rolls is rising,

it’s time to make the cinnamon filling. This is super simple and easy. Just mix the room-temperature butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, and ground ginger.

Seriously though, the butter has to be at room-temperature. I’ve tried using it melted and it will work ok, but it’s a lot easier to spread around the dough if it’s still semi-solid instead of melted liquid.

Once the dough has finished rising, lightly flour your countertop and scoop the dough out onto it.

Roll the dough out into a 10″x16″ rectangle and then gently spread the cinnamon filling evenly over the top of it. 

Make sure to leave a seam cinnamon filling-free along one of the long sides of the rectangle. When you go to roll it up, this bare dough will stick to the other dough and help seal the roll up!

Roll long side to long side to create the cinnamon roll log! 

As far as how many Brioche Cinnamon Rolls this recipe makes,

that is kind of up to you! The standard amount I like to get out of this recipe is 12 rolls.

Begin by cutting off each end of the cinnamon roll log where it starts to get smaller around and squirrely looking,

Generally, the log still measures around 16″ long after cutting the ends. 16″ long divided by 12 rolls gives us 1.33. So, the width of each roll is 1.33″.

Next, I take a ruler and go down the cinnamon roll log making a knife mark where I’d like to cut! This keeps everything nice and even.

If you’d like to make larger cinnamon rolls, simply measure the length of the cinnamon roll log and divide it by 8 or 10 to get the new cutting width!

Also, if you don’t care to be so technical, just eyeball it and cut the rolls!

(I use a large, sharp chopping knife to cut with. I’ve tried a serrated bread knife and that seems to shred the dough more than nicely slice it.)

So, however you decided to cut the Brioche Cinnamon rolls,

the next step is to place them in the lightly greased 9″x13″ pan, cover them and let them rise for another 25 minutes.

Most of the time I make these, I’m taking them to friends. So, I prefer to bake them in 9″ round tins.

These tins are also great if you want to either keep these in the fridge to bake the next day or freeze the rolls to bake at a much later time. Six cinnamon rolls fit in a tin, so you need at least two of these if you want to bake them this way.

Once the Brioche Cinnamon Rolls are done rising for the second time, place them in the oven on the middle rack and bake them at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes! They should be a nice light golden brown color when they’re done!

While the Brioche Cinnamon Rolls are baking,

put together the cream cheese frosting!

Also super simple, just combine the room temperature cream cheese, butter, vanilla, and powdered sugar. 

I’ve got a handheld immersion blender that also has a whisk attachment. I like to use this to whip the frosting until it’s fluffy!

After the Brioche Cinnamon Rolls come out of the oven, let them cool for a bit before you frost them! If you prefer more of a glaze, frost them while they are warmer. If you prefer the frosting to stay light and fluffy on top, wait until the rolls are almost cool to put the frosting on!

Finally,

it’s time to enjoy these super delicious, amazingly light, fluffy, perfectly sweet Brioche Cinnamon Rolls!

These are truly at their finest served right after they’re frosted, but they will keep a couple of days after being baked and are still pretty amazing warmed up after the fact.

You can also make these a day ahead of time and stick them in the fridge overnight. In the morning, get them out of the fridge and let them rise on the counter for 45-60 minutes before baking. 

If you want to, after these are placed in the tin, cover them and put them in the freezer to pull out and enjoy at a future date! They will just need 3-4 hours to warm up before baking.

I hope you give this recipe a try and fall in love with how easy and delicious it is to make your very own amazing cinnamon rolls right in your kitchen!

Thanks for reading ❤️

Print Recipe

Brioche Cinnamon Rolls with Cream Cheese Frosting

These easy-to-make Brioche Cinnamon Rolls are the softest, most delicious cinnamon rolls you’ll ever eat, they literally melt in your mouth!

Prep Time30 minutes mins

Cook Time25 minutes mins

Resting Time1 hour hr 25 minutes mins

Course: Bread, Breakfast, Dessert, Snack

Servings: 12 cinnamon rolls

Equipment

• Kitchenaid Mixer with Dough Hook Attachment
• Measuring Cups and Spoons
• Small Mixing Bowl
• Medium Mixing Bowl
• Whisk
• Rubber Spatula
• Serrated Bread Knife
• 9″x13″ Baking Dish

Ingredients

Brioche Dough

• 195 grams Warm Whole Milk 3/4 Cup
• 60 grams Granulated Sugar 1/4 Cup
• 9 grams Yeast 2 1/4 tsp
• 85 grams Salted Butter room-temperature 6 tbsp
• 2 Eggs room-temperature
• 5 grams Vanilla Extract 1 tsp
• 535 grams All-Purpose Flour 3 3/4 Cup
• 2 grams Cinnamon 1/2 tsp
• 3 grams Salt 1/2 tsp

Cinnamon Filling

• 97 grams Brown Sugar 1/2 Cup packed
• 6 grams Cinnamon 2 tsp
• 3 grams Ground Ginger 1 tsp
• 113 grams Salted Butter room-temperature 8 tbsp

Cream Cheese Frosting

• 43 grams Salted Butter room-temperature 3 tbsp
• 4 ounces Cream Cheese room-temperature
• 5 grams Vanilla Extract 1 tsp
• 151 grams Powdered Sugar 1 1/4 Cup

Instructions

Brioche Dough

• In the mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment, add in the sugar, warm whole milk, and then sprinkle the yeast over the top. Let it sit for 3-5 minutes to activate.
• Next, add the room temperature butter and eggs as well as the vanilla extract, mix briefly with the dough hook. It won’t come together much and will look lumpy.
• Lastly, add in the all-purpose flour, cinnamon, and salt. Mix for 5 minutes or until everything comes together to form a fairly smooth dough. The dough should not be super sticky, if it is add 31 grams (or 1/4 cup) more flour.
• Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough rise for 45-60 minutes.

Cinnamon Filling

• In a small mixing bowl, combine brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger, and room temperature salted butter. Mix until well combined.
• Assemble & Bake
• Lightly grease a 9″x13″ baking dish.
• Once the dough has finished rising, lightly flour the countertop and roll the dough out into a 10″x16″ rectangle. Scoop the cinnamon filling into the center of the rectangle and evenly spread it all over the top of the dough. Leave a 1/2″ seam bare of the filling on the long side of the dough furthest from you.
• Start rolling the dough on the long side closest to you (the side on which you took the cinnamon filling all the way to the edge) and roll it all the way up to the edge you left bare.
• Use a serrated bread knife to cut a little bit off each end of the cinnamon roll log to make it even. Then cut 12 equal pieces, each piece should be about 1″ wide. Place each cinnamon roll in the lightly greased baking dish. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for 25 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees while the rolls are rising.
• Bake on the middle rack for 25-30 minutes or until they are a nice golden brown color.

Cream Cheese Frosting

• In a medium-size bowl, combine room temperature butter and cream cheese, as well as the vanilla extract. Stir together.
• Next, add in the powdered sugar. Mix into the cream cheese and butter before whipping to avoid the powdered sugar flying out everywhere. Whisk or stir together until combined! If you’d like the frosting fluffier, use your KitchenAid with the whisk attachment to whip it.
• Once the cinnamon rolls are finished baking, remove them from the oven and allow them to cool in the pan on a cooling rack for 5-10 minutes. They can be frosted while they are still warm, the cream cheese frosting will melt and turn into more of a glaze. Or, they can be frosted when they are almost cool, or completely cool and the frosting will remain light and fluffy, more like Cinnabon. Bakers preference!
• Serve immediately and enjoy immensely!

Notes

If you would like to make giant cinnamon rolls, the cinnamon roll log can be cut into 8 rolls instead of 12.

These cinnamon rolls can be made the day before. Once they are shaped and in the pan, do not let them rise, cover them and place them straight in the fridge. The next day when you are ready to bake them, pull them out of the fridge and let them warm up on the counter for 45-60 minutes, and then bake as directed.

These cinnamon rolls can also be frozen and used at a later date. Once they are shaped and in the pan, do not let them rise. Cover them and place them in the freezer. When you are ready to bake them, remove them from the freezer and allow them to defrost in the fridge overnight, and then warm up for 45-60 minutes on the counter prior to baking. Or, thaw on the counter for 3-4 hours before baking them as directed above.

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