Soft Fluffy Cinnamon Rolls (Printer-Friendly)

Soft, fluffy buns filled with cinnamon sugar and finished with a vanilla glaze. Perfect for breakfast or brunch.

# What You'll Need:

→ Dough

01 - 4 cups all-purpose flour
02 - 1 packet active dry yeast (2¼ teaspoons)
03 - 1 cup lukewarm whole milk
04 - ⅓ cup granulated sugar
05 - ¼ cup unsalted butter, melted
06 - 1 large egg, room temperature
07 - ½ teaspoon salt

→ Filling

08 - ½ cup packed brown sugar
09 - 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
10 - ¼ cup unsalted butter, softened

→ Glaze

11 - 1 cup powdered sugar
12 - 2 to 3 tablespoons milk
13 - ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract

# How To Make:

01 - Combine lukewarm milk and active dry yeast in a small bowl; let sit for 5 minutes until frothy.
02 - In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, granulated sugar, and salt. Add melted butter, egg, and yeast mixture; stir until a dough forms.
03 - Knead the dough on a lightly floured surface for 8 to 10 minutes until smooth and elastic. Place in a greased bowl, cover, and let rise in a warm place for 1 hour or until doubled in size.
04 - Punch down the dough and roll it into a 16 by 12 inch rectangle. Spread softened butter evenly over the surface. Mix brown sugar and cinnamon, then sprinkle the mixture evenly over the buttered dough.
05 - Starting from the long edge, tightly roll the dough into a log. Slice into 12 equal pieces.
06 - Arrange rolls in a greased 9 by 13 inch baking dish. Cover and let rise for 30 to 45 minutes until puffy.
07 - Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
08 - Bake the rolls for 22 to 25 minutes, or until golden brown.
09 - While rolls cool slightly, whisk powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla extract until smooth.
10 - Drizzle glaze over the warm rolls before serving.

# Expert Tips:

01 -
  • The dough comes together faster than you'd expect, and the two-hour timeline includes all the rising time, so you're not actually standing there waiting.
  • These rolls stay soft for days if you cover them right, so you can bake a batch and have warm breakfasts ready without any fuss.
  • The glaze-drizzling moment is pure satisfaction, and everyone pretends they didn't eat three rolls while you weren't looking.
02 -
  • Yeast is only alive if your liquid is warm but not hot—above 120 degrees Fahrenheit and you've killed it, so if you're not sure, let it cool a bit longer.
  • The dough needs to rise in a genuinely warm place, and a cold kitchen means double the rising time, so don't fight the weather or you'll end up with dense rolls.
  • Slicing the rolls before the second rise is tempting but wrong; let them puff in the pan first or they won't rise as much in the oven and you'll have flat rings instead of pillows.
03 -
  • If your kitchen is consistently cold, place the bowl of dough inside a larger bowl filled with warm water, changing the water when it cools down—this creates a gentle heat that respects the yeast.
  • Use a bench scraper or credit card edge to slice the rolls instead of a knife if you don't have dental floss, and cut with a confident downward motion rather than sawing back and forth.
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