Brown Butter Cinnamon Rolls
These brown butter cinnamon rolls feature the delicious caramelized, nutty flavors of brown butter in the dough, brown sugar cinnamon filling and icing. These cinnamon rolls are ultra soft, fluffy and only require one 60-minute rise, or make them the night before so that all you have to do is bake them the next day. You can make these as jumbo or regular sized cinnamon rolls.
Instant vs. Active Dry Yeast – What’s the difference?
These Brown Butter Cinnamon Rolls use instant yeast. I prefer using instant yeast, because it rises the rolls a bit faster, and there is no activation step for the yeast.
Instant yeast can literally be added into all of the ingredients at the same time. Now, I do like to add the instant yeast to the warm milk, just like you do for active dry yeast. While I’m measuring out the flour, I let the mixture sit for one to two minutes. Honestly just however long it takes me to measure out the flour. This is completely unnecessary. I just do it that way. This is also to make sure that the yeast truly is active and ready to be used. Sometimes you can get a bad batch of yeast that doesn’t work, or sometimes the yeast is too old to work properly.
If the yeast is active and good to use, it will smell yeast and appear frothy on the surface.
If you have active dry yeast and prefer to use that, you certainly can! Add the active dry yeast to the warm milk and add 1 tablespoon of granulated sugar to the mixture. Whisk to combine, then allow to sit for 5-10 minutes, or until the mixture is frothy on the surface and the mixture smells yeasty. This means the yeast is active and ready to be used.
Should I use Bread Flour or All-Purpose Flour?
In this brown butter 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 lately bread flour has been my go-to. I find that the bread flour produces a taller and softer cinnamon roll. The all-purpose flour produces a very tender cinnamon roll, but I find they don’t rise quite as high.
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. In my opinion, if you have bread flour on hand, I recommend using that.
Can I Freeze These Brown Butter Cinnamon Rolls?
Yes, you definitely can freeze these rolls! 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 brown butter cinnamon rolls in your oven or in the microwave. Make the icing fresh and spread over top of the warm rolls.
Make these the day before and let them rise overnight!
Yes, you can make these the night before, so that all you have to do is wake up and bake them the next day! I love doing this if I have family or friends coming over, or just when I want to get an extra hour or so of sleep. So, here’s how to do it.
Make the dough
You’ll make the dough, including the brown butter and the brown butter filling, just as you do for the day of recipe. But, instead of allowing the rolls to rise for 60 minutes, cut the rise time down to 40 minutes.
rise time
As mentioned above, the rise time is 40 minutes for the overnight rolls. Allow the dough to rise for 40 minutes in a warm place.
Shape the rolls
Roll the dough out into a 12×24 inch rectangle, and spread the brown butter cinnamon sugar filling over the dough, all the way to the edges. Roll the dough up, starting at the short end, into a cylinder.
divide the rolls
Cut the rolls into 8 or 12 roughly equal pieces (I like to use a piece of unflavored dental floss. I know that sounds weird, but it doesn’t squish the dough like a knife does and helps maintain that beautiful center swirl). Place rolls in a 9×13 inch baking dish. Now it’s time for the overnight rise!
Overnight rise
The cinnamon rolls should rise overnight for at least 8 hours, but can rise for up to 24 hours.
baking the day of
When baking the cinnamon rolls the day of, you have two options. You can allow the rolls to rise at room temperature for 1 1/2 hours, or you can preheat your oven to 100F. Once the oven temperature hits 100F, turn your oven off. Place the cinnamon rolls, covered, in the oven and allow to rise for 30 minutes. Remove the rolls from the warm oven and preheat the oven to 350F.
Pour 1/3 cup heavy cream over rolls before baking. This helps keep the rolls ultra soft and moist for days.
Bake the rolls for 30-35 minutes (for jumbo), or 20-25 minutes for regular sized, or until golden brown. Spread the frosting on the warm cinnamon rolls and enjoy!
Here are a few other cinnamon roll recipes you may enjoy
Let me know what you thought!
If you make these Brown Butter Cinnamon Rolls, I hope you enjoy them! Let me know what you thought in the comments and ratings below. I always appreciate your feedback and truly enjoy reading all of your comments! If you make these, make sure you snap a picture and tag me on instagram. I LOVE to see your creations!
Social
Make sure you follow me on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram or TikTok to stay up to date on all of my latest creations 🙂
Print
Brown Butter Cinnamon Rolls
- Total Time: 1 hour 55 minutes
- Yield: 8 jumbo or 12 regular size cinnamon rolls 1x
Description
These brown butter cinnamon rolls feature the delicious caramelized, nutty flavors of brown butter in the dough, brown sugar cinnamon filling and icing. These cinnamon rolls are ultra soft, fluffy and only require one 60-minute rise, or make them the night before so that all you have to do is bake them the next day. You can make these as jumbo or regular sized cinnamon rolls.
Ingredients
Dough
- 1 1/4 cups whole milk, warmed to 110F
- 2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 4 1/2 cups bread flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 large eggs
- 10 tablespoons unsalted butter
Filling
- 12 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 1/4 cups brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
Before Baking
- 1/3 cup heavy cream
Icing
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, browned
- 2 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 1 1/4 cups powdered sugar
Instructions
1. Make the brown butter. In a small saucepan, add 10 tablespoons butter. Cook over medium-low heat, swirling the pan and stirring occasionally. The butter will start to bubble and simmer, then the butter will begin to turn a golden brown color. Continue to cook until the butter is a deep golden brown. Pour into a heat proof safe bowl and allow to cool to room temperature. To speed up the cooling process, you can place in the refrigerator. You can also prepare the brown butter the day before.
2. Make the dough. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment, add the instant yeast, warm milk and granulated sugar. Allow the mixture to sit for 2-3 minutes, while you measure out the remaining ingredients. Since this is instant yeast, you technically don’t need an activation time, but I like to let the yeast sit in the warm milk to make sure it is active and working before adding the remaining ingredients. The mixture should have a yeast smell and the surface should appear frothy.
Add in the bread flour, salt, eggs and cooled brown butter.
Knead for 5 minutes on medium-low speed.
Transfer dough to a lightly greased bowl. Spray the top of the dough with nonstick cooking spray and cover with plastic wrap.
3. Allow the dough to rise for 1 hour in a warm place.
4. While the dough rises, make the remaining browned butter. When you make browned butter, some of the butter evaporates, so it is best to do the brown butter for the filling and icing separately, since the amount the evaporates can vary slightly. After browning the butter for both the filling and icing, pour into separate heat proof bowls and set aside to cool to room temperature.
Once cooled to room temperature, add the remaining ingredients for the filling and the icing to the separate bowls, then stir to combine. Set aside until ready to use.
5. When the dough is almost done rising, preheat oven to 350F.
6. Once the dough is done rising, punch the dough down and turn out onto a very lightly floured surface. Roll into a 12×24 inch rectangle. Spread the brown butter cinnamon sugar filling over the rectangle, spreading all the way to the edges. Roll up into a cylinder, starting at the short end.
7. Cut the rolls, using a piece of unflavored dental floss. Wrap the floss around the roll, then criss cross the floss over top of the roll. Pull tight to cut the rolls. Cut into 8 roughly equal jumbo rolls, or 12 for regular sized rolls.
8. Place into a greased 9×13 inch baking pan. Pour heavy cream over the rolls, then bake in preheated oven for 30-35 minutes (for jumbo) or 20-25 minutes (for regular sized). If the rolls are getting a little dark on the top, you can cover the rolls with aluminum foil.
9. Remove the rolls from the oven and allow to cool for a few minutes, then spread icing over the rolls. Serve and enjoy!
Notes
Overnight Cinnamon Rolls
- If you’d like to make these cinnamon rolls the day before, here’s what you need to do. Instead of allowing the dough to rise for 60 minutes, cut the rise time down to 40 minutes. Roll the dough out into a 12×24 inch rectangle and spread the brown butter cinnamon sugar filling over the dough. Roll into a cylinder, starting at the short end.
- Cut the rolls into 8 (jumbo) or 12 (regular sized) rolls and place in a 9×13 inch baking dish.
- Place the rolls in a 9×13 inch baking dish. Cover the rolls with plastic wrap and place in refrigerator to rise 8 hours overnight or up to 24 hours.
- The next day, take the rolls out of the refrigerator and allow to warm up/rise for 1 1/2 hours (it takes time for the dough to come up to room temperature. You don’t want to bake cold rolls, because it will prevent the rolls from properly rising in the oven. If you are short on time, preheat your oven until it reaches 100F. Once it reaches this temperature, turn your oven off. Place the covered rolls in the warm oven and allow to rise for 30 minutes.
- Pour heavy cream over the rolls and bake in 350F preheated oven for 30-35 minutes (for jumbo) or 20-25 minutes (for regular sized). Spread icing over warm cinnamon rolls and enjoy!
- Prep Time: 25
- Rise Time: 60
- Cook Time: 30
- Category: Breakfast/Brunch
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
