Stephanie Ramsey's Cinnabon Rolls
Submitted by DJRUDY
Copycat Cinnabon cinnamon rolls made with a pudding-enriched dough for an ultra-soft, gooey crumb, rolled with brown sugar and cinnamon and finished three ways: cream cheese frosting, caramel-pecan sticky buns, or classic.
YIELD
20 servingsPREP
120 minCOOK
20 minREADY
140 minThese are the big, pillowy cinnamon rolls that rival the mall version, and the secret is right there in the dough: a box of instant vanilla pudding. It keeps the crumb soft, moist and tender long after baking, the hallmark of a great Cinnabon-style roll.
The enriched yeast dough rises twice before you roll it into a huge rectangle, slather it with melted butter, and blanket it in brown sugar and cinnamon.
A neat trick for clean rolls: instead of squashing the log with a knife, slide a length of thread underneath and cross the ends to cut through, with no flattening.
Then choose your finish. Slather warm rolls in tangy cream cheese frosting, bake them over a buttery caramel-pecan layer for sticky buns, or keep them simple with just cinnamon sugar. One rule above all: do not overbake. Pull them the moment they turn pale gold so the centers stay gooey.
Pro Tips
- Pull the rolls the instant they turn pale golden. Overbaking is the difference between gooey and dry, and the recipe shouts this for a reason.
- Use the thread method to cut the log. It gives clean rounds without squashing the spiral.
- Frost while the rolls are still warm so the cream cheese frosting melts into every crevice.
Variations
- Cream cheese frosting for classic Cinnabon style, caramel-pecan topping for sticky buns, or plain cinnamon sugar for a simpler roll.
- Swap the pecans for walnuts in the sticky topping.
- Add a handful of raisins to the filling, or a pinch of cardamom for a Scandinavian twist.
Ingredients
Directions
BUNS:In small bowl, combine water, yeast and sugar.
Stir until dissolved.
Set aside.
In large bowl, make pudding mix according to package directions.
Add butter, eggs and salt; mix well.
Add the yeast mixture; blend.
Gradually add flour and knead until smooth, adding “sprinkles” of flour as needed to control stickiness.
Once the dough is no longer sticky and is soft and silky feeling (like as baby’s behind), the dough is ready.
Place in very large greased bowl.
Cover and let rise until double in bulk (about 1 hour).
Punch down and let rise again (about 45 minutes).
On a lightly floured surface, roll out to a 34” x 21” rectangle.
Spread 1 cup of melted butter over surface.
CINNABON TOPPING: In small bowl, mix brown sugar and cinnamon together.
Sprinkle all over top of surface.
Roll up very tightly. With a knife, put a notch every 2 inches.
With string or thread, place under roll by notch and criss-cross over to cut roll (makes a nice clean cut).
Place on greased baking pan, 2-inches apart.
Lightly press rolls down with your hands (just a LITTLE, it helps to hold them together better).
Cover and let rise until double again.
Bake at 350℉ (180℃) for 15 to 20 minutes. Take them out when they JUST start to turn golden.
DON’T OVER-BAKE! Frost warm rolls with Cream Cheese Frosting.
CREAM CHEESE FROSTING: Combine all ingredients and mix until smooth.
Spread on very warm rolls.
Rolls are best when served warm.
CARAMEL STICKY BUNS and TOPPING: In a sauce pan or in your microwave oven combine butter, brown sugar and corn syrup.
Heat and stir until blended.
Pour topping into the bottom of the pan (pans) you are using for the rolls, place unbaked cinnamon rolls on top on the caramel sauce.
Allow to rise in a warm place until double in size (about 1 hour).
Preheat oven to 350℉ (180℃).
Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until lightly brown.
After removing pans from oven, cover with foil; invert onto cooling racks, cool 1 minute, and remove pan.
Cool before serving.
Comments
These were phenomenal. I've tried a couple of roll recipes this week and these were the best. I let my dough rise a while longer to accommodate for my hard water, and it more than doubled. The rolls were huge and fluffy. Yum!