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Brioche Cinnamon Rolls

Brioche cinnamon rolls

I absolutely love brioche and I absolutely adore cinnamon rolls. Bringing the two together is beyond obvious but leave it to me to point out the obvious. These cinnamon rolls turned out tender, buttery, rich, and sweet, with that fabulous bite of cinnamon. These are my new favorite cinnamon rolls.

When I made these I was multi-tasking and trying to get all my kitchen chores crossed off my list so I could take an afternoon nap and I ended up veering from the brioche recipe…actually veering is a polite way to say that I totally blew off the first step of the brioche, the making of the sponge. I’m happy to say that my mistake didn’t seem to harm their tender texture or their superb fluffiness and it saved me 40 minutes so I’m calling it my timesaver method…40 minutes is a sweet little catnap.

I know that not everyone has a stand mixer but honestly I can’t imagine making brioche without one…15 minutes of working the dough on medium speed would be nearly impossible for a hand mixer to handle and only the strongest kitchen geek could manage it by hand…we certainly have none of those around here. I also love baking them on the silpat lined baking sheet since it helped form a sweet carmely crust of sugar on the bottom of each roll…isn’t that excellent!

Brioche Cinnamon Rolls
(printer-friendly version)
1/3 cup warm milk
2 ¼ teaspoons active dry yeast
5 large eggs
4 1/2 cups unbleached flour
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt

Fit the mixer with the paddle attachment and dump all of the above ingredients into the mixer bowl and work it on medium speed until it comes together and forms a nice ball of dough. Switch to the dough hook attachment. Mix for 10 minutes on medium. This will help smooth the dough out. While the dough is being worked you should hear it slapping against the sides of the bowl.

6 ounces unsalted butter at room temperature

Take the butter and smash it about with a rubber spatula…the point of this is to work the butter into the same texture and smoothness as the dough. With the mixer on medium low add the butter to the dough in increments of tablespoons and allow the mixer to work in each increment until it is fully incorporated. The dough may fall apart as the butter is being added but don’t worry, it will come back together…just keep the mixer working the dough.

Once all the butter has been added turn the mixer speed up to medium high for a minute or two and then lower it again to medium low and let it work the dough for 5 – 7 minutes, again it should be slapping the sides of the bowl.

Remove the dough from the mixing bowl and place it in buttered bowl and cover it with plastic wrap and refrigerate it overnight.

When you wake up the next morning remove the dough from the refrigerator and turn it out onto a floured counter and let it warm up for a hour. Cut the dough into two equal pieces and roll it out to about 1/3” thickness, brush each piece with softened butter and sprinkle it with cinnamon sugar (2 tablespoons cinnamon and 1 cup sugar). Roll your rolling pin over the top to lightly compress the sugar/butter into the dough and then roll them up, reserving the neatest, straightest edge for the outside edge of the roll. Secure the roll by pinching the loose edge to the roll and then smooth the pinch out. Cut the rolls into 1” pieces and line them up on a silpat lined baking sheet. Place them in a warm spot and let them rise for an hour or until they are doubled in bulk. Bake them at 350°F for about 10 – 12 minutes or until they are golden brown and register 210° on an instant read thermometer. Remove them from the oven and let them cool for as long as you can resist them. I always end up putting them under a fan for a fast cool.

I like to drizzle the top of these delicious babies with a simple powdered sugar, milk, vanilla glaze.

comments

26 Responses to “Brioche Cinnamon Rolls”

  1. Lydia (The Perfect Pantry) on September 26th, 2008

    I’m passing this along to my brioche-loving (and -baking) husband, with a big note on top that says “Please???”!

  2. Lo on September 27th, 2008

    Brioche is definitely a thing of beauty — and these cinnamon rolls are making me drool at this early hour!

    I’m envisioning these with a cream cheese icing, even though it would make them IMPOSSIBLY rich.

  3. lalaine on September 27th, 2008

    How I’d love to wake up to these scrumptious breads every morning!

    In the Philippines we have a version of brioche we call ensaymadas, which we usually top with grated cheese, melted butter, and sugar. Sometimes, extreme toppings include salted egg slices, taro paste and ham. Good stuff!

  4. eliza on September 27th, 2008

    it looks very tempting! i’m glad you share the recipe, definitely need to make it sometime. thanks!

  5. Ashley on September 27th, 2008

    Holy cow. I have been waiting for this recipe. I can never find amazing cinnamon rolls and I have high hopes for these. The pictures are amazing.

  6. JEP on September 27th, 2008

    I would love to wake up to a batch of these tomorrow a.m. Photo is amazing!

  7. MadLisa on September 27th, 2008

    That photo is food porn at its finest!
    Don’t be surprised if I show up for a sleepover…!!

  8. My Sweet & Saucy on September 27th, 2008

    Brioche! Now that sounds like one amazingly delicious cinnamon roll!

  9. Jason Sandeman on September 28th, 2008

    What a delicious photograph. The recipe looks to be great too as well. In fact, I will be trying it out today, and I will let you know how it goes.

  10. Jeanine on September 28th, 2008

    YUM!! Those cinnamon rolls look mouth watering!

  11. Jaime on September 28th, 2008

    Aren’t those glorious looking?? I don’t think if you can ever go wrong with brioche, now can you?

  12. Lisa on September 29th, 2008

    That recipe sounds like a treasure. I just love cinnamon rolls. Having the dough ready to go in the morning is a big plus. Then there’s your picture. I’m sold!

  13. Christy on September 29th, 2008

    These look like they are going to add pounds to my hips. But I’m willing to sacrifice to find out! Approximately how many does this recipe make?

  14. vanessa on September 29th, 2008

    Christy, I’m thinking it was about 2 dozen.

  15. Deborah Dowd on September 30th, 2008

    These look so incredible, I can almost smell them!

  16. Kham Tran on September 30th, 2008

    I just love cinnamon scrolls and those look amazing!

  17. Sarah on October 1st, 2008

    In a word, YES!

  18. noble pig on October 1st, 2008

    This is going to go well with my coffee, I love it! Thank you!

  19. Helena on October 3rd, 2008

    I chickened out! I wanted to make your brioche rolls for tomorrow, which is the unofficial cinnamon roll day in Sweden. Too afraid to make brioche I was, as I have no experience making it yet. But I do agree with you, the buttery & cinnamony combination would be total yum!

  20. Jude on October 4th, 2008

    Oh my goodness that looks good. More icing for me, please.

  21. liza on October 9th, 2008

    been craving these for ages, and had no recipe…will try this in the morning thanks

  22. Margie on October 24th, 2008

    Sometimes there’s wisdom in the obvious. I’ve nearly given up looking for a great cinnamon roll, relying instead on the instant gratification of cinnamon rolls made quickly from buttermilk biscuit dough. You’ve got me convinced to give yeast another try. Plus with that photo, resistance is futile.

  23. tastesofhome on October 28th, 2008

    these look soo good! I must try this, I made cinnamon rolls a few times but found mine too hard..

  24. Charles on October 31st, 2008

    These look awesome. I love to look at beautiful women but I would seriously rather look at these than gaze my eyes upon a picture of Natalie Portman.

  25. Phyllis on November 3rd, 2008

    After a lengthy search this recipe sounded like the one to try. I doubled the recipe and my Viking mixer almost died. These are the best I have ever made. This recipe is a keeper.

  26. abbacat on November 24th, 2008

    Just wanted you to know - I made these & even my “I don’t really like cinnamon roll” husband called me to tell me that they were fantastic, and my co-workers devoured an entire pan in 5 minutes & keep harassing me to make more.

    Fantastic recipe, even though it did make me fear for my aging KitchenAid during the first portion of kneading!

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