Brown Butter Cinnamon Rolls

Tender and moist brown butter cinnamon rolls can be made the morning of or the night before! Served with a brown butter cream cheese frosting this cinnamon roll recipe will be your new favorite! 

This post has been sponsored by Glad Products Company. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Over the month of December, I made cinnamon rolls about 10 times—twice in England as well. I don't know about you but that is a lot of dough. While many assume cinnamon rolls are hard to make, they really aren't hard at all. All you need is some patience.

I prefer to make them in my stand mixer just out of pure convenience, but I've made them by hand as well. I usually opt for prepping the cinnamon rolls the night before I want to bake them. Then, in the morning, you only need to let them sit on the counter 45 minutes before you bake them. I love recipes you prep the day before. Before you put the cinnamon rolls in the fridge overnight, you must ensure your cinnamon rolls are tightly wrapped so no air gets in. If air hits the dough, it can create a hard skin on the dough and make the dough tough. The absolute last thing you want is to create a tough dough after you've spent all that time making these cinnamon rolls.  

To ensure there is no air when I am chilling the dough, I use Glad® Press’n Seal® . It has an airtight and leak-proof seal. God forbid the pan fell over in the fridge, the seal is strong enough for liquids, I don't want any cinnamon butter liquid running all over!!! (Have you ever spilled melted butter or oil in the fridge? Let me tell you, it takes FOREVER to clean up!)

I pick up my Glad Press'n Seal at Target. I recently moved, and I am so excited that there is a Target 0.2 miles away!!! There goes all my money!!

Let's get to the recipe.

How do you make cinnamon rolls?

The hardest part about making cinnamon rolls is rolling them out and making sure they are stored properly before baking. I wish I had a large island in my kitchen; counter space is limited, and the house I am living in now has tiles with a thick grout line. The amount of stuff that seeps into the grout lines is frustrating. I feel like I am always grabbing an old toothbrush to scrub those lines. Now, I've made the smarter/cleaner decision to use Glad Press'n Seal. You just roll it out on whatever surface you want, sprinkle some flour, add the dough and you are good to go.

The best part, just unpeel it and throw it away; no more toothbrush scrubbing for me. Glad Press’n Seal seals to almost any surface, so it's perfect.

Back to the recipe-

In a small pot over low heat or in the microwave, melt the butter into the milk. Be careful not to burn the mixture, you just want it warmed. Check to see if the mixture is the right temperature for the yeast you are using. Mine needed to be between 120-130F. It is very important you use the right temperature of liquid to activate your yeast; too hot and you could burn it.

In a large bowl or the bowl of an electric mixer, dissolve yeast in the warm milk and butter mixture. Add sugar, salt, and egg, mixing to combine. Next, stir in two cups of flour. Mix until smooth. Slowly add in remaining flour to form a soft (not super sticky) dough. Knead the dough for 5-6 minutes. If using a stand mixer, fit your dough hook attachment on it.

Once the dough is kneaded, place the dough in a large greased bowl. Move the dough around so that all of the dough is moist; this helps prevent a skin from forming.

Cover the bowl with Glad Press'n Seal to prevent any air from getting in. Place the bowl in a warm place for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until your dough has doubled in size.

In a medium bowl, mix together the cinnamon and brown sugar. Then, brown the butter (check out my how to brown butter post).

Roll out Glad Press'n Seal over whatever surface you plan to work on, and lightly sprinkle with flour. Roll the dough out to form a 12-inch X 16-inch piece.

Using a pastry brush, spread the browned butter evenly over the dough, I do about 50% of the butter, then sprinkle the brown sugar mixture and add the remaining butter on top. Gently and tightly roll the dough to create a 16-inch log.

Use a sharp knife (not serrated) or an unflavored floss to cut the dough into 12 equal rolls.

Place the rolls in a 9"X13" pan or casserole dish. Cover with Glad Press'n Seal to ensure the dough has an airtight seal, and place in the fridge overnight. Using Glad Press'n Seal provides an airtight and leak-proof seal (unlike aluminum foil), so you don't have to worry about your dough.

You could make your frosting the night before baking and keep it in the fridge overnight, or you could make it while the rolls are cooking.

In the morning take your cinnamon rolls out of the fridge and let them sit in a warm place for 45 minutes- to an hour, or until the rolls have doubled in size.

Take the wrap off and bake the rolls in the oven for 20-25 minutes at 350F/180C, or until a light golden brown. I prefer to use an instant-read thermometer to check if my dough is cooked through to 190F/88C.

After the rolls have baked, let them cool for 10 minutes. Then, add the frosting, I always serve a generous portion of frosting, and I love to add the frosting when the rolls are still warm so it melts into every crevice.

And there you have it! While cinnamon rolls do take a few hours to proof, making them the night before and using things like Glad Press'n Seal makes them painlessly easy! So, go to Target now and grab all the ingredients—your belly will thank you later!!

Other brunch recipes

My sour cream coffee cake is absolutely delicious and perfect for you brunch table.

For a savory dish try my Vegetarian Quiche Recipe.

★★★★★ Please let me know if you make this recipe by leaving a star rating and comment below!

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