The smell of freshly baked cinnamon rolls throughout the house, how can anyone resist! I have made these cinnamon rolls a couple of times after finding this recipe on a website named ambitiouskitchen.com. The writer of this website obviously knows what she is doing. Give these healthy rolls a try (cue sarcasm), you will not be disappointed.
Ingredients:
For the dough;
3/4 whole milk, warmed
2 1/4 tsp quick rise or active yeast
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 egg plus 1 egg yolk, room temperature
1/4 cup butter, melted
3 cups bread flour plus more for dusting
3/4 tsp salt
For the filling;
2/3 cup dark brown sugar
1 1/2 TBS ground cinnamon
1/4 cup butter, softened
For the frosting;
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup powdered sugar
3 TBS butter, softened
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Directions:
Warm the milk in the microwave for 40-45 seconds. If you are doing this on the stove top, bring the milk to 110 degrees F. Place warm milk in the bowl of an electric mixer. Sprinkle in yeast then add sugar, egg, egg yolk, and melted butter and combine.
Next, mix in flour and salt and mix with a wooden spoon until dough begins to form. Place this on your electric mixer with the bread hook and mix for 7-8 minutes. If you don’t have an electric mixer, this step will need to be done by kneading the dough with your hands on a floured surface.
Transfer the ball of dough to an oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap and a towel. Let this rise for 1 to 1 1/2 hours or until it doubles in size.
While waiting for the dough to rise, mix the brown sugar and cinnamon portion of the filling ingredients together and set aside. Assure you have the softened butter at the ready for the next step. Also, grease a 9 X 9 inch pan and line with parchment paper.
Transfer the dough to a well floured surface and rollout to a 14 X 9 inch rectangular shape. Spread softened butter over dough then add the filling, rubbing the brown sugar mix into the dough. Tightly roll the dough up, starting with the 9 inch side and cut into 1 inch sections with a serrated knife. Place these rolls in the prepared pan. Cover with plastic wrap and towel and let rise again for 30-45 minutes.
Once the rolls have finished proofing, preheat your oven to 350 F.
Remove the plastic wrap and towel and bake for 20-25 minutes. They should be slightly golden brown
While the buns are baking, make the frosting by blending cream cheese, powdered sugar, butter and vanilla in a stand mixer or by hand.
Once you take them out of the oven, let them cool for 5-10 minutes before frosting.
Enjoy!
