Description
These Jumbo Cinnamon Rolls taste just like Cinnabon, but better! Soft, fluffy layers of sweet dough is wrapped around plenty of brown sugar cinnamon filling. The extra cinnamon filling creates a gooey sauce on the bottom of the cinnamon rolls when baked. These are slathered with a melt in your mouth cream cheese frosting, that makes these divine. These jumbo cinnamon rolls are perfect for Holiday breakfasts, get togethers, or when you are just craving a big cinnamon roll.
Ingredients
Dough:
- 1 1/2 cup warm milk (warmed to 110F)
- 1 packet (2 1/4 teaspoons) instant dry yeast
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 5 1/4 – 5 3/4 cups bread flour (or all-purpose) (please see note at bottom for correctly measuring the flour)
- 1 teaspoon salt (6 grams)
- 2 large eggs
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
Filling:
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened/semi-melted
- 1 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
Before Baking
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
Icing
- 1 1/4 cup powdered sugar
- 4 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1–2 tablespoons milk or heavy cream
Instructions
1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with the dough hook attachment, add the warm milk, yeast (if you are using active dry yeast INSTEAD of the instant, see note at bottom), sugar, 5 ¼ cups flour (see note at bottom to correctly measure the flour), salt, eggs and softened butter. Knead the dough a couple minutes at medium-low speed. The dough should be soft, slightly tacky, and not too loose. If it needs more flour, add more flour in. Knead for a total of 5 minutes on medium-low speed (please note the dough is very soft). Do not add more than 5 3/4 cups. If you don’t have a stand mixer, you can knead the dough by hand. If kneading by hand, knead the dough for 10 minutes. Please note, the dough is very soft.
2. Transfer the dough to a large, greased bowl. Cover with plastic wrap. Allow to rise in a warm place for 45 minutes (if your house is cooler, they could take up to 60 minutes to rise. The dough should be roughly doubled in size). I recommend turning your oven on. Once the temperature reaches 100F, turn your oven off. Place the covered dough in the warm oven. If you do this method with the warm oven, 45 minutes should be sufficient.
3. Make the filling. In a bowl, beat together. The butter, brown sugar and cinnamon.
4. Punch the dough down and transfer to a lightly floured surface. Roll the dough out into a 14×20 inch rectangle. Spread the filling over the dough. Roll up into a log, starting at the short end.
5. Cut the log into 8 roughly equal pieces. Place into a greased 13×9 inch pan. Cover with plastic wrap.
6. Allow the rolls to rise while the oven preheats. Turn oven on to 350F. Once the oven reaches temperature, uncover the cinnamon rolls. Pour heavy cream over tops of cinnamon rolls. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until golden brown on top.
7. Make the icing. Using a handheld mixer, or a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese and softened butter until light and fluffy. Add in the powdered sugar and vanilla. Add the milk/heavy cream according to your desired thickness for the icing.
8. Spread the icing over the cinnamon rolls while they are warm. Serve and enjoy!
Notes
Measuring the flour
When measuring the flour, make sure you use a spoon to scoop the flour into your measuring cup. Gently pile it into the cup until it forms a heap at the top. Do not pack the flour in. Use the back of a knife to level off the cup of flour.
Instant vs. Active Dry Yeast
This recipe calls for instant yeast. Instant yeast does not need an activation time. I still like to add the yeast to the milk and sugar and let it sit for 30 seconds to a minute or so, while I’m measuring the flour. However, it does not need this activation time. That’s the benefit of instant yeast. It works instantly. Just make sure you keep the warm milk between a temperature of 108-112F.
If you have active dry yeast on hand, feel free to use this instead. Substitute in a one to one ratio. The active dry yeast, however DOES need an activation time. Add the yeast along with the milk and 1 tablespoon of the sugar to your mixing bowl. Whisk to combine and allow the mixture to sit for 5-10 minutes, or until the mixture is frothy in appearance. This means the yeast is active and ready to use. If it does not get frothy in appearance, it means the yeast is not working, and you will have to discard it. This could happen for two different reasons. Either the yeast was old and expired, or the warm milk was too hot. I recommend keeping the milk temperature between 108-112F. You will need to add an additional 15-20 minutes onto your first rise time as active dry yeast does rise slower than instant.
Second rise
The rolls don’t need a long second rise, because it can make them too airy. While this is great for some things like pizza dough, you don’t want large air pockets in your cinnamon rolls. The rolls will continue to rise and expand in the oven as they bake, giving them the perfect amount of softness.
Bread flour vs. all-purpose flour
In this jumbo cinnamon rolls recipe, you can use either bread flour or all-purpose flour. I used to use all-purpose flour all the time for cinnamon rolls, but recently, I discovered how wonderful bread flour works for cinnamon rolls. If you want these jumbo cinnamon rolls to truly be like cinnabon cinnamon rolls, then I recommend using bread flour.
Bread flour has a higher protein content, which means the flour is able to form a stronger gluten structure than all-purpose flour. This results in taller, softer, fluffier rolls.
With that being said, all-purpose flour will create great rolls too, and they will be just as delicious.
Can these be frozen?
Yes, they definitely can be! After baking the cinnamon rolls, allow them to fully cool to room temperature. Once they are cool, place them in a zip-top bag and close. Place in your freezer until they are ready to use. The night before you are ready to eat these, place them in the refrigerator to thaw. You can reheat the cinnamon rolls in your oven or in the microwave. Make the icing fresh and spread over top of the warm rolls.
- Prep Time: 15
- Rise Time: 45
- Cook Time: 25
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American