Brioche Cinnamon Rolls

Our indulgent and sweet brioche cinnamon rolls are the best cinnamon rolls you’ll ever try. They are gooey, rich, and delicious cinnamon rolls are made with fluffy and tender brioche dough, filled with buttery, brown sugar cinnamon filling, and topped with tangy cream cheese frosting.

Course Breakfast and Brunch

Cuisine American

Prep Time 1

Cook Time 25

Total Time 4 25

Servings Cinnamon Rolls

Calories 915

Author In Fine Taste--Alyssa

Ingredients

Brioche Dough

6 cups all-purpose flour (720 grams)
¾ cup warm milk
½ cup granulated sugar (100 grams)
2 ¼ teaspoons active dry yeast (equivalent to one .25-ounce packet
2 ½ teaspoons salt
6 eggs large, room temperature
1 ¼ cups butter softened (283 grams)

Cinnamon Filling

1 ¼ cups butter softened (283 grams)
1 ½ cups light brown sugar packed (307 grams)
1 ½ tablespoons ground cinnamon

Cream Cheese Glaze

3-4 cups powdered sugar (375-400 grams)
6 tablespoons butter melted (84 grams)
6 tablespoons cream cheese softened (84 grams)
2 teaspoons vanilla
pinch salt
3 tablespoons milk

Instructions

Mix together warm milk, 1 tablespoon of sugar, and yeast. Let stand for 10 minutes until foamy and active.
In a stand mixer on low, with the dough hook attachment, mix together the eggs, salt, 6 cups of flour, the remaining 7 tablespoons of granulated sugar, and yeast mixture. Mix on low for about 2 minutes until completely combined, you may need to scrape down the sides a few times. Continue kneading the dough on a low-medium speed for 10-12 minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic.
Add one tablespoon of softened butter at a time to the dough as the mixer is running on a low. Make sure the butter has completely mixed in before adding in the next tablespoon of butter, continue doing this until all the butter has been incorporated.
Continue kneading the dough in your stand mixer until the dough is smooth and elastic and passes the window pane test (see notes). This may take an additional 5-10 minutes on a medium speed.
Scrape down the sides of the bowl and cover with a clean dish cloth or greased plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size (this usually takes 1-2 hours.
Knock the air out of the dough and turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. The dough should not be to sticky and you should not need to add an additional flour to the dough.
Using a lightly floured rolling pin, roll the dough into a rectangle about 18x12 inches. Spread the softened butter evenly over top of the dough.
In a bowl, mix together the brown sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle over the but buttered dough and lightly pat the sugar mixture down into the butter.
Starting at the long edge of the rectangle, tightly roll up dough and pinch a seam along the side the seal the dough into a long tube.
Slice the dough using a sharp serrated knife or floss into 12 even cinnamon rolls. Place on large, parchment lined baking sheet (or greased). Cover the cinnamon rolls with a clean dish cloth or loosely with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled (about an hour).
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and bake for 20-25 minutes until the exterior is a light golden brown.
for the cream cheese glaze, mix together the butter and softened cream cheese until smooth. Mix in the salt, vanilla, and half of the powdered sugar and 3 tablespoons of milk until completely smooth. Add in the remaining powdered sugar. If needed, add one additional tablespoon of milk to the glaze to get the desired consistency. Spread glaze over warm cinnamon rolls and enjoy. These are best warm and fresh from the oven.

Notes

The Windowpane Test
The windowpane test is widely regarded as the benchmark for determining dough readiness and whether it has been kneaded enough. What you're truly assessing is the elasticity and gluten formation within your bread dough.

The test is straightforward: take a small piece of dough and delicately stretch it. The goal is to be able to stretch the dough thin enough that light from a window, or even your fingers tugging gently on the dough, becomes visible.

If your dough passes the windowpane test then your dough has developed enough gluten to support the expansion of bubbles and gases and maintain the structure of the dough as it bakes.

Make these Overnight Cinnamon rolls
If you would like to make these brioche cinnamon ahead of time you can! Make the dough and let it do its first rise. Once doubled, roll the brioche dough out, add the filling, roll them up, and slice. Place on the baking sheet and cover tightly with plastic wrap so no air can get in and dry them out. Place in the fridge overnight. They can actually be refrigerated for a few days, however, you may find that the filling starts to leak out, which I don’t love.

The next day, pull the cinnamon rolls out of the fridge and keep them loosely covered. Place them somewhere warm and allow them to come to room temperature and rise until doubled in size. Then bake according to normal instructions.

Freezing Unbaked Rolls
To freeze the cinnamon rolls before they are baked, roll up and slice your cinnamon rolls. Place them on a cookie sheet and freeze for 30 minutes. Cover loosely with a layer of plastic wrap, and then place in either a freezer gallon bag or a storage container. You can freeze for up to 3 months.

When you’re ready to bake, thaw the brioche buns to room temperature, and let them rise in a warm place until doubled in size. Then bake according to instructions.

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