Cinnamon Rolls are definitely one of those foods that I have a love-hate relationship with. When they are good, they are really good. When they are bad, I can barely get through a few bites.

I also hate that cinnamon rolls become too dry within a day. This is a great recipe that keeps the rolls moist for a few days. Not only that, the amount of butter and sugar you cram into these rolls melts into delicious, crunchy caramel and it’s covered in a thin buttercream frosting

 

Caramel Cinnamon Rolls:

Dough:

• 5 Cups AP Flour
• 1 Cup Sugar
• 1 tsp. Cinnamon
• 1/2 Tbsp. Salt
• 1 Cup Milk
• 1 Cup Lukewarm Water
• 1 Tbsp. Yeast
• 1/2 Cup Melted Butter
• 1 Tbsp. Vanilla

1. Preheat the oven to 375 F. Spray two cake pans with vegetable oil. Mix the flour, sugar, cinnamon, and salt together. Activate the yeast in the warm water for 10
   minutes.
2. Add the flour mixture, yeast with water, milk, butter, and vanilla into a mixing bowl. Turn on low until it’s mixed well. If it’s not a smooth, loose dough, add a 1/2 cup at a time until it becomes stiff enough to hold onto the dough hook but not stiff enough not to slightly pull away from the dough when you poke it.
3. Mix for 5-10 minutes until the gluten is developed enough to hold it’s shape when you pull a piece of dough off and stretch it. If it breaks apart, mix it longer.
4. Let the dough rest for a half hour. Sprinkle flour on your counter and turn the dough out. Roll the dough out until it is a 1/2” thick rectangle.

Cinnamon Roll Filling:

• 4 Cups Sugar
• 2 Tbsp. Cinnamon (More if you like the flavor of cinnamon)
• 1 1/2 Cups Melted Butter, Split into 1 Cup and a 1/2 Cup

1. Mix the 1 cup of butter with the other ingredients until it becomes a thin paste. It should be like slightly thinner peanut butter. If you need to add more melted butter, you can.
2. Spread the butter mixture over the rolled out cinnamon roll dough. Roll the dough up, trying not to squeeze any of the paste out. Once you reach the end, pinch the dough together so it closes the circle.
3. Get either a sharp knife or some unwaxed floss and start cutting the dough into 24 cinnamon rolls. Place 12 cinnamon rolls into each cake pan. Brush the dough with the leftover 1/2 cup melted butter and cover them with plastic.
4. Proof for another 1/2 hour and bake them for 15-20 minutes. Pull them out when they’re golden brown. While they are cooking, they will look like they are swimming in butter. This is normal and the cinnamon rolls will soak up the butter.
5. Pull the cinnamon rolls out and let them cool for an hour.

Buttercream Frosting:

• 1 Cup Melted Butter
• 6 Cups Powdered Sugar
• 1 Cup Water
• 2 Tbsp. Vanilla
• 1/2 Tbsp. Salt

1. While the cinnamon rolls are baking, mix all the frosting ingredients together until it’s a thin buttercream frosting. Frost the cinnamon rolls after they are cooled.

When the rolls are cooled, you’ll notice that when you pull them out of the pan, they’ll have a layer of caramel on the bottom. This gives the rolls texture and the crunch is great. Delicious!

Another AWESOME recipe to go with this recipe is a salted caramel buttercream. Here is a link to it:

Salted Caramel Buttercream

These rolls keep moist for a couple days or longer if you put them in a sealed container. If you have any questions, comment below!