Take your classic cinnamon rolls up a notch with brown butter! Its nutty, caramel-like flavor adds a new level of depth to these soft and pillowy rolls. Topped with a fluffy cream cheese frosting (also made with brown butter) for a breakfast treat you'll simply adore.
Yield: 9 rolls
Cook Time: 38 minutesminutes
Total Time: 4 hourshours
Ingredients
For Brown Butter:
1¼cup/ 282g(2½ sticks) unsalted butter
For Tangzhong:
3tablespoons/ 42gwater
3tablespoons/ 42gwhole milk
2teaspoons/ 16gall-purpose flour
For Dough:
¼cup/ 56gbrown butter
⅓cup/ 80gwhole milk
1large egg, at room temperature
2cups/ 250gall-purpose flour
1 ½teaspoons/ 5ginstant dry yeast
1tablespoon/ 13ggranulated sugar
1teaspoonkosher salt
For Filling:
½cup/ 113gbrown butter, melted
¾cup/ 160gbrown sugar
2teaspoons/ 4gcornstarch
2tablespoons/ 16gground cinnamon
pinchfine sea salt
For Frosting:
3tablespoons/ 42gbrown butter, softened
2oz/ 60gcream cheese, softened
1cup/ 120gpowdered sugar, sifted
½teaspoonvanilla paste or extract
pinchfine sea salt
Instructions
For brown butter:
Melt butter in a saucepan (if you have a light colored one, it'll be easier to gauge the color) set over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Once the butter stops sputtering and the foam subsides, keep a close eye on it. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until the solids on the bottom turn golden brown. Remove from heat.
While the butter is still melted, divide it into 3 smaller bowls, one with 1/4 cup (4 tablespoons, for dough), one with 1/2 cup (8 tablespoons, for filling) and the rest (about 3 tablespoons) for the frosting. I like to stir the butter frequently as I measure it out, a tablespoon at a time into each of the 3 bowls, so the brown bits get distributed equally among them.
The 1/4 cup bowl you'll be using right away; the other two you can leave out at room temperature for a few hours, or, if you'll be shaping and baking the next day, cover and refrigerate overnight. Remember the get out the butter for the frosting ahead of time so it has time to soften up a bit.
For dough:
Start by preparing your flour paste or tangzhong: combine water, milk and flour in a small saucepan set over medium heat. Whisk gently until no clumps remain. Continue to whisk until the mixture thickens to the consistency of thick paste, about 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from heat.
Add butter and gently whisk until incorporated (it will still look a little greasy/separated), then whisk in milk until smooth. Add in the egg and whisk until fully incorporated. At this point the mixture should feel lukewarm, not hot, to the touch.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, whisk together the flour, yeast, sugar and salt to combine. Pour in the lukewarm flour paste, and mix on low speed until mixture forms a shaggy dough, about 1 to 2 minutes. Increase speed to medium-low, and mix until dough is smooth and elastic, but still somewhat sticky, about 10 minutes. Add more flour only if absolutely necessary (a softer initial dough will result in a softer final product).
Shape the dough into a ball (lightly oil your hands if necessary) and place in a lightly greased bowl. Cover with plastic wrap or a kitchen towel and allow to rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Alternatively, if you want to bake your rolls the next day, tightly cover the bowl with plastic wrap and pop it in the refrigerator to rise slowly overnight (my preference, as cold dough is so much easier to work roll out and shape).
For Filling:
Melt brown butter in a small bowl. Add sugar, cinnamon, cornstarch and salt and stir until evenly incorporated.
To Assemble:
Spray a 9-inch square cake pan with cooking spray or line with parchment paper. You can also use a muffin tin to bake rolls individually, or bake them spread out on a sheet pan for crispier rolls.
Turn dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Pat into a rectangle, then roll out evenly into thin rectangle approximately 12-by-16-inches in size. You want this piece to have an even overall thickness, with corners as square as possible.
Using an offset spatula or the back of a spoon, spread an even layer of filling over dough, leaving a 1-inch space empty along the top long edge.
Working with the long edge nearest you, start to roll up the dough fairly tightly, taking care not to stretch out the ends too much. Pinch along the edge of the dough to seal the seam, then roll the seam so it is face down. If your dough was not refrigerated, you can chill the roll at this point for 15 to 20 minutes to firm it up and make cutting easier.
Using a ruler, measure out where you will cut your rolls, using a small knife to mark the cuts. For a 9-inch square pan, I cut 9 rolls (approximately 1¾-inch wide), but if you are using a round pan you might want to cut 7 or 8 for a more even arrangement. Use a sharp serrated knife to cut the rolls. You can also wrap a piece of dental floss or fishing line around the dough, which will create perfect, clean cuts.
Alternatively, you can use the slice-and-roll technique as I did, and cut strips of dough first (use a multi-blade pastry cutter tool or a ruler and pizza cutter to cut straight lines), then roll up individual rolls one at a time.
Place rolls into prepared baking pan, evenly spacing rolls with a bit of space between them. Lightly cover and set pan in a warm spot until rolls are noticeably puffed, about 45 to 60 minutes.
Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until tops are lightly golden brown and filling is bubbly (to be precise, the center of the dough should read about 190 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer). If your rolls are browning too quickly, you can tent them with foil and return to the oven to continue baking.
For Glaze:
While rolls are baking, make the frosting. Cream softened brown butter and cream cheese with an electric mixer until smooth. Add powdered sugar and beat until light and fluffy, about 2 to 3 minutes. Add vanilla and salt to taste. If necessary, add more powdered sugar and/or a splash of room-temperature cream to thicken or thin to desired consistency.
Let rolls cool for about 10 minutes, then generously spread frosting on top. Serve warm. Rolls will also keep well for a few days, tightly covered or in an airtight container. Reheat in the oven or microwave prior to serving.