Brioche Cinnamon Rolls

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5 from 3 votes

Brioche Cinnamon Rolls

Tender, flavorful brioche cinnamon rolls are a best-in-class version of an American classic. Don't miss this recipe.

Prep Time1

Cook Time22

Additional Time2

Total Time3 22

Course: Cookies + Bars

Cuisine: American

Keyword: brioche cinnamon rolls

Calories: 468kcal

Author: Carolyn Gratzer Cope

Ingredients

For the dough

1 cup (237 ml) warm milk (105° to 110°F)
4 teaspoons (12 grams) active dry yeast
¾ cup (150 grams) sugar
1 large egg beaten
8 tablespoons (112 grams) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 tablespoon ground cardamom see note 3
4 cups spooned and leveled (480 grams) bread flour (see note 4)
1 teaspoon (5 ml) neutral-tasting oil, such as safflower
2 tablespoons (30 ml) heavy cream

For the filling

8 tablespoons (112 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature
½ cup (100 grams) brown sugar
2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
1 cup (120 grams) finely chopped walnuts or pecans, optional

For the icing

2 cups (240 grams) confectioners’ sugar, sifted
6 tablespoons (84 grams) good salted butter (such as Kerrygold)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 8- ounce 225-gram package cream cheese

Instructions

Make the dough

Warm milk to between 105°F and 110°F. This takes about 30 seconds in my microwave when milk is straight from the fridge, but your mileage may vary.
Pour milk into the bowl of a stand mixer (don't attach bowl to mixer just yet) and sprinkle with yeast. Add a pinch of the sugar. Stir to dissolve. Let stand in a warm spot until foamy, about 5 minutes.
Add remaining sugar, egg, melted butter, salt, and cardamom. Give it a stir.
Add the flour.
Connect bowl to mixer fitted with dough hook. Turn machine to speed 2 and knead for 10 minutes, until dough is smooth and elastic.
Pour the teaspoon of oil into a clean bowl. Add dough and turn to coat lightly but completely.
Place a kitchen towel over the bowl and set it in a warm spot to rise until doubled, an hour or more.

Roll out, fill, and slice the dough

Lightly flour a work surface and rolling pin.
Turn dough out onto work surface and and gently shape into a rough rectangle with your hands.
Roll out the dough to an approximately 14-inch by 18-inch rectangle.
In a small bowl, combine the butter, sugar or brown sugar, and cinnamon. Mash it up with a fork (or even with your fingers) until well-combined.
Spread the filling evenly over surface of the rolled out dough.
If using nuts, sprinkle them on evenly and press gently to adhere.
Starting with one of the shorter edges, roll the dough into a log shape.
Use a piece of dental floss or a bench scraper to slice the log crosswise into 12 even slices.
Spray two 9-inch round cake pans or two 8x8-inch square pans with cooking spray and line with parchment.
Arrange half the slices in each pan, with plenty of room between them.
Cover rolls with kitchen towels and place in a warm spot for their second proof, about an hour.

Bake the rolls

Preheat oven to 375°F with a rack in the center.
Brush the tops of the rolls evenly with the cream.
Bake until lightly browned on top and just cooked through, about 22 minutes.
Place pans on cooling racks and cool at least partway before proceeding. You can serve the rolls directly from the pan or use the parchment to lift them out.

Make and spread the icing

Have ingredients at cool room temperature — an hour max out of the fridge.
Sift powdered sugar into a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle.
Cut the butter into approximate 1-tablespoon pieces and add to the mixer.
Beat, on low at first, and increasing speed to medium eventually, until well-incorporated. It's okay if the mixture is still crumbly rather than smooth at this point.
Beat in vanilla extract.
Add cream cheese and beat on medium speed until smooth and creamy.
Spread icing over rolls.

Notes

Whole milk enriches the dough and is my strong preference for these buns. If you like, you can use your favorite plant-based milk instead.
You can use active dry yeast and instant yeast interchangeably in this recipe.
I use ground cardamom from a spice jar and find it's the perfect amount. If you are grinding your own cardamom from pods, it will be much stronger, so use one teaspoon instead of one tablespoon.
Weighing your ingredients when baking is the best method. If you're measuring by volume, watch my video about measuring flour and use the spoon and level method.
If you don't have a stand mixer, you can mix the flour into the dough with a wooden spoon and then knead the dough by hand for 10 minutes on a lightly floured work surface. It's a sticky dough, so I prefer to use the mixer.
Bake rolls shortly before serving. Once cooled completely, leftovers will keep in an airtight container at cool room temperature for a day or two.
For overnight cinnamon rolls: After arranging the sliced dough in the pan, cover and refrigerate overnight. Remove from the fridge an hour before baking to let the dough finish rising. (Depending on the temperature of your fridge, they'll have risen a tiny bit or nearly all the way overnight.) Once rolls have risen, proceed as directed.
To freeze dough: After slicing the dough, arrange slices on a parchment-lined baking sheet and pop into the freezer right away. Once frozen solid, transfer to an airtight container and keep frozen for up to a year. When ready to use, arrange frozen slices in a baking pan as directed. Defrost in the refrigerator overnight or at room temperature, then let rise for an hour or so before proceeding.

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