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Butter Cream Cinnamon Rolls

These Butter Cream Cinnamon Rolls are a decadent cinnamon roll topped with a light and fluffy Butter Cream frosting. The perfect make ahead recipe for the holidays or a long weekend.

These Butter Cream Cinnamon Rolls are my favorite Thanksgiving and Christmas morning treat! The cinnamon roll itself is sweet and delicious. The Butter Cream frosting has the perfect amount of sweetness to compliment the cinnamon roll itself.

If you put the Butter Cream on top of the cinnamon rolls while they’re still hot, it’ll melt down a little bit making the most delicious bite you’ve ever tasted!

Growing up my mom used to make these delicious Maple Caramel Cinnamon Rolls for Thanksgiving and Christmas. They were a labor of love and we all looked forward to them every holiday.

My aunt gave her the recipe for the Butter Cream frosting and eventually my mom started making a batch of the Maple Caramel Cinnamon Rolls and then two batches of these Butter Cream Cinnamon Rolls.

I’ve since carried on that same tradition with my own family. We’ll have them for Thanksgiving morning as well as Christmas morning. They get served up with a side of bacon, orange juice and a half of a grapefruit.

This is a lengthy recipe that will take you several hours to prepare. It makes a large 3 dozen cinnamon rolls (give or take). I highly recommend taking the time to read through the directions before jumping in.

Because these cinnamon rolls take a little time, I prefer to make them a few days ahead and then freeze. I’ll share tips below on freezing and reheating.

I’ve also included a few more pictures than normal to hopefully give you a good visual. If you are baking with yeast for the first time, do not be intimidated! I’ve included pictures of what your risen yeast should look like for this recipe.

Another note about this recipe, the dough for this recipe makes 3 dozen cinnamon rolls. This frosting recipe is enough to cover one dozen cinnamon rolls. Plan accordingly!

The Pecan Caramel Topping recipe includes enough caramel for ONE dozen cinnamon rolls. If you want to cover all of your dough with the Pecan Caramel topping, you’ll want to triple that portion of the recipe.

I prefer to make one dozen Pecan Caramel Cinnamon Rolls, then turn the other two dozen into a Butter Cream Cinnamon Roll.

Step by Step Picture Instructions

First you’ll make your dough. If you’ve never baked with yeast before, don’t be intimidated.

I encourage you to read through the directions all the way through before baking your cinnamon rolls.

The key to fluffy and risen cinnamon rolls is making sure your yeast is activated. You’ll use a mixture of warm water and warm milk. Make sure your liquids aren’t too hot (boiling) and not too cold.

A happy medium warm will activate your yeast and start it growing. I also like to sprinkle a teaspoon of sugar in with my yeast. The yeast will feed on the sugar and grow nicely.

Below is what it looks like once I have stirred my yeast and sugar into the liquids. You can see that it’s starting to bubble on the right.

Set it aside for five minutes to make sure that your yeast is activated. This step is the most important part of the recipe.

If your yeast is not activated, your cinnamon rolls will not rise.

After five to ten minutes your yeast mixture will have a filmy layer on top. The longer you let it set, the higher it will grow.

I let my yeast mixture sit for ten minutes and this is what it looked like below.

Once your yeast is completely activated, it’s time to make your dough mixture!
You’ll add in your butter, salt, eggs and flour.

Slowly mix the flour in cup by cup until you have a beautiful sticky dough. You can see the consistency of my finished dough below.

It will have a little stretch and stickiness to it.

Cover your dough with a clean dish towel and set aside. You’ll want your dough to double in size with this first rise.

I typically let it set on the top of a warm stove for an hour. You’ll get a beautiful rise if you make sure it sits somewhere warm and not drafty.

While your dough rises, it’s time to make your Butter Cream frosting. You’ll mix together your flour and milk in a sauce pan over low heat until it creates a sticky ball.

Set this sticky ball of dough aside and let it cool down completely. This will be the base of your frosting.

Remember, the Butter Cream recipe is for one dozen rolls. If you want to use the Butter Cream frosting on three dozen rolls, you’ll need to triple the batch.

You’ll add the cooled flour and milk mixture to a mixing bowl. Add in your softened butter, sugar and a splash of vanilla.

Beat on high until your frosting is light and fluffy. You can see what it looks like below.

You can add it to your cinnamon rolls once they have cooled down a little!

Once your dough has doubled in size, it’s time to assemble your cinnamon rolls.

Set out your cinnamon, brown sugar, white sugar and softened butter. I prefer using a salted butter to balance out the sweetness of the sugars.

There are measurements for each ingredient in the directions. But I’ll be honest, I never measure my fillings.

I like to make sure that the dough is covered in softened butter and then will sprinkle hefty amounts of the brown sugar, white sugar and cinnamon across the whole thing.

In my opinion, you can never have too much sugar, butter and cinnamon in a cinnamon roll!

Roll a third of your dough into a rectangle. Spread on your softened butter and then cover with brown sugar, white sugar and cinnamon.

Roll up the dough nice and tight, slice them up and place them into your greased pans.


After your rolls have been placed into the pan, put a clean rag over the top of them for a second rise.

I typically let them rise up one more time for around 30 minutes. You’ll get big and fluffy cinnamon rolls if you do this extra step of letting them rise.

Once they have baked for 25-30 minutes, you’ll take them out of the oven.

Let them cool for 10-15 minutes before you frost them. The Butter Cream icing will melt down a little bit and make the perfect gooey cinnamon roll!

Freezing Instructions

We will have these Cinnamon Rolls for Thanksgiving morning and also a batch for Christmas morning. Since these are a more labor intensive recipe, I’ll make them ahead and freeze.

To freeze, simply bake in a disposable aluminum baking tin.

Once they have cooled a little, I’ll wrap them (unfrosted) thoroughly in plastic wrap (lots and lots of layers to keep them fresh) and pop them into the freezer.

When it’s time to eat them, I’ll pull them out of the freezer an hour and a half ahead of time. Thirty minutes before breakfast I’ll pop them back into a 350 degree oven with tin foil on top. They’ll warm up after ten minutes or so (just keep checking to make sure).

You can also thaw them the night before in the refrigerator and warm them up the next morning when you’re ready.

I prefer to make the frosting the same day.

Additional Cinnamon Roll Recipes

You can find my Maple Pecan Cinnamon Roll recipe here.

Butter Cream Cinnamon Rolls

These Butter Cream Cinnamon Rolls are a decadent cinnamon roll topped with a light and fluffy Butter Cream frosting. The perfect make ahead recipe for the holidays or a long weekend.
Prep Time 45 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 4 hours
Servings 3 dozen cinnamon rolls

Ingredients
  

Cinnamon Roll Dough

  • 2 tbsp yeast
  • 1 tsp white sugar (to help activate your yeast)
  • 1 cup warm milk
  • cup butter
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 7-8 cups flour

Cinnamon Roll Filling

  • 1 ½ cups softened butter
  • 1 ½ cups brown sugar
  • 1 ½ cups white sugar
  • 6 tbsp cinnamon

Butter Cream Frosting

  • 2 ½ tbsp flour
  • ½ cup milk
  • 7 tbsp butter
  • ½ cup sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1 pinch salt

Instructions
 

Make the dough

  • Put your milk and water into a sauce pan. Heat it up until it's a touch warmer than luke warm. You don't want it too hot or else your yeast will die. And you don't want it too cold or else your yeast will not grow.
  • Sprinkle in your yeast and a teaspoon of sugar. The sugar will feed the yeast as it grows. Set your bowl aside for at least 5 minutes to make sure that your yeast has activated. After 5 minutes you should have a growing layer of yeast at the top of your bowl. If not, start over and try again. This step is crucial in having cinnamon rolls that rise.
  • Once you have activated your yeast, you'll add in your sugar, softened butter, salt and eggs. Mix until it's fairly combined (it's okay if your butter isn't incorporated all the way).
  • Slowly mix in 6 cups of flour one at a time. The dough will appear sticky. Your seventh cup of flour will be the one you use to get rid of some of that stickiness. I usually add in a quarter of a cup at a time. The dough will be somewhat sticky to the touch, but not so sticky that you can't get it off your finger.
  • Cover your dough with a clean dish towel and set aside. The longer you let your dough rise, the better it will be! I prefer letting it double in size in the bowl.

Assembling the cinnamon rolls

  • Turn the risen dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and, using a rolling pin, roll into a rectangle.
  • Spread 1/3 of your softened butter onto the dough rectangle (remember, you're making 3 dozen). You can add more or less butter. I typically add a bit more than the recommended amount of butter.
  • Top evenly with 1/3 of your brown sugar, white sugar and cinnamon. Feel free to add more or less of each ingredient. I prefer adding a bit more cinnamon. There isn't a right or wrong way to add the cinnamon and sugars. Just make sure they're sprinkled somewhat evenly.
  • Tightly roll up the dough to form a log. Cut 1-2 inch even rolls and place them in a greased 9×13 pan.
  • Cover with a clean towel and let them rise for another 30 minutes to an hour. The longer you let them rise, the fluffier they'll be!
  • Preheat your oven to 350°. Bake your cinnamon rolls for 25-30 minutes. You'll want to check the center cinnamon roll to make sure it's completely done. That center one tends to take a bit longer to bake.
  • Once your cinnamon rolls are baked completely, take them out of the oven and let them cool before frosting them.

Butter Cream Frosting Instructions

  • In a saucepan add the flour and milk. Cook on low and whisk until the two make a doughy ball. Set aside and let it cool completely before starting the next steps.
  • Mix together the butter and sugar until creamy. Add in a pinch of salt and 1 tsp vanilla. Mix again until incorporated.
  • Add the cooled ball of flour mixture to the butter and sugar mixture. Beat on high until your frosting is light and fluffy.
  • Frost the cinnamon rolls and enjoy! I love serving the frosting over warmed cinnamon rolls. It turns into a melted butter situation that is delicious!

Freezing Instructions

  • If you are planning on freezing your cinnamon rolls for later, you can bake them first. Freeze the cinnamon rolls and the frosting separately
    Let the cinnamon rolls cool completely and then cover with several layers of plastic wrap. When you're ready to eat them, pull them out of the freezer a few hours before serving to thaw. Then pop into a 350° oven for around 10 minutes or until they're warmed up.
    For the frosting- make ahead of time. Then promptly put into a gallon ziploc freezer bag. The night before serving, place the freezer bag of frosting into your fridge. It'll be ready to use in the morning!

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