Brown Butter Cinnamon Rolls with Brown Butter Cream Cheese Frosting. Fluffy Brioche is filled with a spiced brown sugar and brown butter cinnamon filing, then rolled up and formed into perfect rolls. The rolls are then baked to perfection, and slathered in a brown butter cream cheese frosting, loaded up with specks of vanilla bean and brown butter. These are the perfect take on a cinnamon roll - the extra effort is well worth it!
Brown Butter Cinnamon Rolls
Hi hi! Happy Saturday! I am SO EXCITED to share this post and to make a wee announcement about a year long special project I am going to be working on - I’ve been busting at the seams to tell you all this and now it’s FINALLY TIME!!
I started this blog about four years ago as a way to combat homesickness in the big, scary city that is New York. I moved here only knowing rich, and we started our design business shortly after, which was (and still is), a huge amount of work, so I didn’t have a huge amount of time to go out and about and do things, or much time to socialise and make new friends. Turns out making new friends is really hard and scary as an adult, moving to a new city when you don’t really know anyone is really hard, winter in NYC sucks, and all of those things are a recipe for a solid dose of homesickness. I started baking recipes from home as a way to overcome the homesickness. Spoiler alert - it didn’t really work and I was still homesick, but along the way I managed to carve out my own wee corner of the internet that I love so much and am so lucky to have to call mine.
Where I am going with this is that as much as making recipes from home helped to alleviate the homesickness a little bit, it just wasn’t the same without the ingredients from home. I’ve spoken lots before on here about how amazing New Zealand ingredients are - the quality is great and the companies behind them are often amazing. Every time I went home I would come back with a suitcase jammed full of ingredients to work with - little jars of things, peanut butter, good vanilla, etc.
Slowly the rest of the world has realised how amazing these ingredients are too, and they have slowly started to creep their way into the American Market. Which brings me to my wee announcement - I am teaming up with Taste of New Zealand of New Zealand Trade and Enterprise to bring you a monthly baking segment, showcasing some of the amazing, amazing products that New Zealand has to offer. This still seems like some sort of dream to me - I get to bake with all the things that I miss about home, AND I get to include everyone along the way! Each month there will be a new baking project showcasing a New Zealand ingredient, and I honestly CANNOT WAIT to bring you along on the ride with me and show you all the amazing things that my country has to offer.
We decided to frame it as each month there would be a weekend baking project, and our first one is Brown Butter Cinnamon Rolls with a Brown Butter Cream Cheese Frosting. These are so, so delicious, and made SO much better by the use of an incredible butter from Lewis Road Creamery. I don’t think that I have enough words to explain just how excited that Lewis Road is starting to be available here in the States - there’s nothing like New Zealand butter, and Lewis Road makes some of the most delicious butter. The cream comes from Grass Fed cows, and is the most beautiful yellow colour, and tastes so, so amazing. I used the butter to make a silky, puffy brioche, and then amped it up a notch by browning a bunch to use in the filling and also in the Cream Cheese Frosting. If you haven’t had browned New Zealand butter before, you are in for a treat. Lewis Road is available in selected retailers throughout the States, and will hopefully be showing up in other groceries soon! If you see it in your local, make sure you grab some, because you’re in for a full amazing butter experience. I used Unsalted Lewis Road butter in these rolls, but their Salted is so, so amazing on bread, or for use in savoury applications. You’re going to love it - promise.
Why Browning the Butter makes these the best cinnamon rolls
These are cinnamon rolls, but taken up a notch. Adding in the browned butter to the filling adds a huge dimension of flavour which plays off against the cinnamon so well. I cooled the butter to a spreadable temperature and then mixed it with some cinnamon, dark brown sugar and vanilla bean paste, then slathered it all over the dough before rolling it up in to a tight spiral and cutting it into perfect swirly buns.
I then doubled up on the brown butter flavour with a brown butter cream cheese frosting, which is the sleeper hit in my opinion - brown butter and cream cheese is the most perfect combo, and is so, so amazing spread all over the brown butter cinnamon rolls. Browning the butter is a teeny bit more work, but you get a huge amount of pay off for just a little more effort.
How to make Brown Butter Cinnamon Rolls
These are super easy to make, and just so, so good. The steps are below:
- Make the dough - The base of these Brown Butter Cinnamon Rolls is a super squishy brioche dough which comes together pretty quickly in the mixer. It is my go-to dough I use for almost everything!
- Rise the Brioche - You can either do this in the fridge for a minimum of 3 hours, or up to overnight, or you can rise the brioche at room temperature. Both work great.
- Brown the Butter - There's brown butter in both the filling and the frosting of these, so you do it all at once to save dishes. The butter is browned then transferred to the freezer and chilled until spreadable. You can pop it in the fridge too if you've got the time, the freezer is just quick and efficient. Make sure you stir it a few times while it's chilling so that all the brown parts get mixed in while it's chilling. If you don't they all set on the bottom, which is fine, it's just a little annoying to stir up.
- Make the Filling - The brown butter gets mixed up with some brown sugar, cinnamon, and a wee bit of salt, and then is mixed until a paste forms.
- Roll out the dough and assemble the rolls - The dough is rolled out into a rectangle and spread with the filling, then rolled up tightly again and cut into rolls.
- Do a second rise - The rolls hang out until puffy and ready for the oven. This usually takes about 45 minutes to an hour, but can be done overnight if needed! (See tips for making cinnamon rolls ahead of time)
- Bake the rolls - Bake them until beautiful and golden brown.
- Make the frosting and finish the rolls - While the rolls are finishing baking, make the frosting. The rest of the brown butter goes into the mixer with some cream cheese, and then powdered sugar, vanilla, and a wee bit of salt are added. The frosting is mixed up until fluffy, then spread over the slightly cooled rolls. Just the best.
Tips for making Cinnamon Rolls ahead of time
There are a few options for making these ahead of time. Personally, I will usually do the first rise overnight in the fridge and brown the butter the night before, then assemble the morning of. However I know some people love to do as much prep as possible, which is totally understandable. If you're making these for Christmas morning, it is so helpful to be able to just pop them into the oven and have them ready. Here are a few options for making these ahead of time:
- Do the first rise overnight and assemble on the morning you are baking. For this option, the first rise is done in the fridge overnight, then the rolls assembled and given their second rise and baked the same day as serving.
- Do the first rise and assembly the day before. This works great too - you can do the first rise then assemble your rolls, and do the second rise overnight, so that when you are ready to bake the next morning, the rolls are all ready to go. Pull them out of the fridge and leave to sit on the counter while the oven preheats.
- Partially bake the rolls and then freeze. Disclaimer: I haven't tried this method, but I have heard from a few places that it works. You make the rolls as directed, then bake them just until they are puffed and are starting to set, about 15-20 minutes, then pull from the oven and leave to cool, then wrap and freeze. You then can either let them defrost in the fridge overnight and finish off the baking, or bake straight from frozen. Please be careful with the type of pan you use if you plan on freezing as glass and ceramic do not like going from frozen to a hot oven. Use a metal pan.
How to get a super neat cut on cinnamon rolls
I don't know about you, but it's always nice to have a super neat cut on cinnamon rolls to expose the spiral. There are a few ways of doing this to make sure that you get a nice cut
- Use Dental Floss - People use unflavoured dental floss to cut the cinnamon rolls, which gives a really neat cut on them. However, I do find it a little harder to get the floss in the exact spot that I want, which can lead to unevenly sized rolls.
- Use a Bread Knife - This is my preferred method. I use a sharp serrated knife, which gives super clean cuts and is especially helpful for if your rolls have a filling in them with nuts or fruit that dental floss cannot slice cleanly through.
- Chill your log of dough - Chilling down your log of dough also helps to give super clean cuts. There is more about this in the recipe card.
- Trim your ends if you want - After I have rolled up the dough, I often trim the ends off just so there's a flat surface for the roll to sit on. You don't have to do this!
- Don't stress, rising fixes everything - Even if your rolls come out a bit wonky, don't worry. As they rise the dough will puff up and they will look so much better than they did before rising. Trust me on this one. Also, who cares if they are wonky, they are going to be SO GOOD.
A few wee tips for Brown Butter Cinnamon Rolls:
- To get the flavour of the brown butter into the rolls but still have the structure of softened butter, I browned the butter, then poured it into a bowl and froze it to solidify it. I then brought it back to room temperature, stirring often, until it was soft and spreadable for using in the filling of the rolls and again for the frosting. Make sure you allow time for this - I would brown the butter before you start making the dough just to make sure there’s enough time to chill. This can also be done ahead of time - store the brown butter in a container in the fridge and bring to room temperature when you need.
- I’m going to get you to brown all of the butter at once and then it can just easily be divided up for the filling and the frosting. Saves browning two sets of butter.
- The brioche can have the first rise done overnight in the fridge if you like - this splits up the task a little and also makes it a little easier to roll out.
- If you roll up your dough and then cut the rolls and some are a little fatter than others, don't worry. To help make sure the rolls rise evenly, mix up where you put them in the baking pan - so put some big ones by small ones so that they all have space to expand.
- The quantity of the brown butter called for in the recipe for is less than the quantity of butter called for making the brown butter. This is because the butter browning process cooks moisture off from the butter, so it therefore reduces in quantity. I have accounted for this in the recipe, so you will see 500g butter called for to make the butter, but only 350g worth of brown butter used in the filling and the frosting. This is not an error - I just accounted for moisture loss when calculating the initial quantity.
Check out my other Cinnamon Roll Recipes:
- Laminated Brioche Cinnamon Buns with Peach Compote and Brown Butter Streusel(Opens in a new browser tab)
- Overnight Cinnamon Buns with Cream Cheese Frosting(Opens in a new browser tab)
- Dark Chocolate Peppermint Sweet Rolls
- Laminated Brioche Cinnamon Buns with Apple and Oaty Streusel
- Giant Sour Cream Brioche Cinnamon Bun
- Giant Skillet Cinnamon Roll
Thank you so much to Taste of New Zealand of New Zealand Trade and Enterprise for Sponsoring this post! All opinions are my own.
Made this recipe and love it?
If you made this recipe then I would LOVE for you to leave me a review below to let me know how you liked it! Also, please make sure to tag me on Instagram if you make it!
A note on salt and oven temperature
It is important to note the type of salt that is called for in a recipe. I use Diamond Crystal salt throughout my recipes - if you use a different sort of kosher salt or regular table salt you will need to adjust accordingly as some salt is 'saltier' than others. Morton's salt is twice as salty, so you will need half the quantity. Same goes for a regular table salt. I am working to get gram measurements throughout my recipes for salt but still getting there.
All oven temperatures are conventional unless otherwise stated. If you are baking on fan / convection, you will need to adjust the temperature. An oven thermometer is a great investment to ensure that your oven is the correct temperature.
Using the double / triple function in the recipe card
You will notice that there is a '1X' '2X' '3X' button in my recipe card. This can be used for doubling or tripling a recipe. However, please note that this only doubles the ingredient quantities in the ingredients list and NOT in the method. If there are quantities or pan sizes in the method of the recipe (for example weigh out 150g brown butter), you will need to scale this number manually. It will also not change the baking time in the recipe so you will need to adjust this yourself too. It is always a good idea to read through a recipe fully before doubling it just to check this. If you would like to scale this recipe or convert for another pan size, use my calculator!
Tools and equipment
For a list of my go-to tools and equipment, I have a post you can refer to here.
Why is this recipe in grams?
I post my recipes in grams as it is the most accurate way to bake. Cups are not only inaccurate but they vary in volume worldwide. There is no way for me to provide one cup measure that works for everyone. However, posting in weight fixes this issue. If you would like the recipe in cups you are welcome to convert it yourself via google, but please do not ask me to do it for you as I am not comfortable providing a recipe using a method that I have not tested. Baking with a scale is easy, accurate, and also makes cleanup super simple. Here is the scale that I use if you would like a recommendation! Here's to accurate baking!
Print
Brown Butter Cinnamon Rolls with Brown Butter Cream Cheese Frosting
- Prep Time: 1 hour
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 45 minutes
- Yield: 12 Rolls 1x
- Category: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Brown Butter Cinnamon Rolls with Brown Butter Cream Cheese Frosting. Fluffy Brioche is filled with a spiced brown sugar and brown butter cinnamon filing, then rolled up and formed into perfect rolls. The rolls are then baked to perfection, and slathered in a brown butter cream cheese frosting, loaded up with specks of vanilla bean and brown butter. These are the perfect take on a cinnamon roll - the extra effort is well worth it!
Ingredients
Brioche Dough
- 2 ¼ tsp active dry yeast
- 250g whole milk, lukewarm
- 4 Tbsp (50g) sugar
- 565g all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 eggs, at room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla bean paste
- 100g Lewis Road Creamery unsalted butter, at room temperature
Brown Butter
- 500g Lewis Road Creamery Unsalted Butter
Filling
- 250g Browned Lewis Road Creamery Unsalted Butter, spreadable texture, at room temperature (see
- notes)
- 375g dark brown sugar
- 3 Tbsp Cinnamon
- 1 Tbsp all-purpose flour
- Pinch of salt
- ½ tsp vanilla bean paste
Brown Butter Cream Cheese Frosting
- 100g Browned Lewis Road Creamery Unsalted Butter, spreadable texture (see notes)
- 200g cream cheese, at room temperature
- 250g powdered sugar, sifted
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp vanilla bean paste
Instructions
BRIOCHE DOUGH
- Place the lukewarm milk, 1 Tbsp of the sugar, and the yeast in a medium sized bowl, and stir to combine. Leave for 10-15 minutes, or until foamy.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment, place the flour, salt, and remaining sugar, and mix briefly to combine.
- Add the milk mixture, egg and vanilla to the dry ingredients, and mix on low for 2-3 minutes. Increase the speed of the mixer to medium, and mix for a further 5 minutes. Add the Lewis Road Creamery butter a little at a time, waiting until it is incorporated until adding the next piece. Mix for a further 7-10 minutes, until the dough is smooth and soft.
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place in a warm place until doubled in size, 45 minutes to an hour. Alternatively you can do the first rise overnight in the fridge.
BROWN BUTTER FOR FILLING AND FROSTING
- Place the butter in a medium saucepan, and place over medium heat. Cook until the butter has melted, and then continue to cook, swirling the pan often, until the butter foams and turns golden brown and nutty - this should take 3-4 minutes. Transfer to a bowl, allow to cool slightly, then transfer the bowl to the freezer and chill the butter until solid. Remove from the freezer and bring to room temperature, stirring often, until soft and spreadable.
FILLING AND ASSEMBLY
- Line a quarter sheet pan or baking dish (9”x13” or 23cm x 33cm) with parchment paper. In a small bowl, combine the browned Lewis Road Creamery Butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, flour, salt, and vanilla bean paste. Mix to combine.
- Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and roll into a rectangle that is 24” x 16” (60cm x 40cm), squaring off the edges often as you roll. Spread with the brown butter filling mixture, ensuring the filling is spread evenly over the surface.
- Starting with a long side, roll up into a tight spiral. Cut the log into two pieces and place them side by side on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper and lightly sprayed with cooking spray. Lightly cover the dough logs with plastic wrap, and transfer to the freezer for 20 minutes in order to firm up slightly (this helps give a neater cut). If you have chilled your dough overnight, you can skip this step if it feels like the rolls are going to hold together well.
- Once the dough logs have chilled, remove from the fridge. Using a sharp knife, slice each log into 6 equal pieces (I like to use a ruler), and arrange on the prepared baking sheet or baking dish, evenly spacing between.
- Lightly cover the pan with plastic wrap, and leave to rise for 45 minutes to an hour, or until puffy, and a small indentation is left when poked gently with your finger.
- While the rolls are rising, preheat the oven to 350°f / 180°c.
- Bake the rolls for 35 to 40 minutes, or until deeply golden brown. Remove from the oven and allow to stand for 15 minutes or so before icing with the Brown Butter Cream Cheese Frosting.
BROWN BUTTER CREAM CHEESE FROSTING
- Place the chilled spreadable browned Lewis Road Creamery Butter and cream cheese in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium speed until well combined. Add in the powdered sugar, salt, and vanilla bean paste, and whip until light and fluffy.
- Spread onto the cinnamon rolls while they are still slightly warm.
- Store leftover cinnamon rolls in an airtight container at room temperature. Rewarm in the microwave before serving.
Notes
The quantity of the brown butter called for in the recipe is less than the quantity of butter called for making the brown butter. This is because the butter browning process cooks moisture off from the butter, so it therefore reduces in quantity. I have accounted for this in the recipe, so you will see 500g butter called for to make the butter, but only 350g worth of brown butter used in the filling and the frosting. This is not an error - I just accounted for moisture loss when calculating the initial quantity.
Update to the recipe October 2021: A few people have told me that they have an issue with the filling leaking out during baking, so I have popped a Tbsp of flour into the filling to help combat that.
Keywords: Cinnamon Buns, Cinnamon Rolls, Cream Cheese, Brown Butter Cinnamon Buns, Brown Butter, Cream Cheese Frosting
Comments
Hands down the best cinnamon rolls ever. We are obsessed!!
★★★★★
Yayyy I'm so glad you like!
Can I make the dough Thursday afternoon and then put it in the fridge to rise overnight and bake them on Friday morning? Or is that too much time in the fridge?
Hi! No that's just fine - that's how I do it 🙂 you just want to make sure that the first rise isn't more than 24 hours x
The dough came out very wet and was really hard to roll? What did I do wrong?
I also had a lot of the brown sugar mix left over.
★★★★
Hi! Did you make the recipe by weight? It shouldn’t have been wet, if it’s a little sticky you can flour your surface but it shouldn’t need loads. Chilling the dough for the first rise can make it easier to roll out too. So sorry you had issues!
This recipe was so easy to follow, and the buns came out perfectly! I dropped some off for friends to enjoy, and got a text that they were better than our favorite pastry shop. Thank you for the recipe! This one is getting printed and added to the recipe binder.
★★★★★
Ahhh this is the ultimate compliment! Thank you so much 🙂
My. God.
Do yourself a favor and make this recipe. I've tried it twice and have trouble not eating them for breakfast, lunch, dinner and dessert. Erin does a wonderful job with instructions and I executed the recipe perfectly without any confusion.
★★★★★
These are the absolute best! My partner loves cinnamon buns so he was keen to compare to where he usually buys them - and these were far better! I did the brown butter and the first rise overnight. Perfect to save time! And OMG the frosting - I had to stop myself from licking the bowl clean.
★★★★★
Ohhhh so happy to hear they measured up! Isn't the frosting SO GOOD!? I used it on a carrot sheet cake for a recipe i'm working on and OH MY
Hello, I’m planning on making your cinnamon-rolls this weekend. Do I need to make any adjustment if I use instant yeast instead of active dry yeast? Thank you!
Hi hi! You can use the same amount - just chuck it in with the dry ingredients instead of doing the activation step 🙂
How much can you do the day before baking? I want to make these for breakfast Thanksgiving morning and want to ave as few steps as possible to finish off in the morning.
THANK YOU!
Hiii! So I haven't tried it (It is on my list of things to try) but you should be able to do the second rise overnight in the fridge - I can't think of why it shouldn't work. I usually make the dough the night before then just do the assembly in the morning but want to also try doing that second rise in the fridge overnight too 🙂 I hope you enjoy! They are my very favourite! If you do assemble morning of (they don't take too long to rise), you can brown the butter the night before so it is all ready to go too!
Thank you for the suggestion! I did the 2nd rise the night before and everything worked out perfectly! I also made the frosting before, so I just took it out of the fridge, pre-heated the oven, and baked! We’re thinking we’ll do the same thing Christmas morning too!
★★★★★
Oh yayyyyy thank you so much for letting me know / testing this out for me! I am so glad to hear that it worked so well for you xx
Loved this! Family raved and asked for it next family holiday. Browned butter was a game changer. Instructions were spot on. Thanks.
★★★★★
Yayyy I love to hear this!
Delicious! Easy to follow and the best part is it makes a big batch so I froze half to bake later and halved the frosting! Brown buttah 4 lyfe!
★★★★★
Yussss you're so smart! xx
Could I just halve the recipe and try it? I don’t really need 12 rolls
You can but I haven't tried it! I would make the full amount and freeze half seeing as it's no more work to make the full amount but it should work fine!
That’s a good idea. Thanks Erin.
Hi Erin! I'm very excited to try these (hoping to this weekend!) - I want to make them and freeze 1/2....do you have a recommendation for where in the process it's best to freeze them? My guess was after the 1st rise, but wasn't sure. Thanks!
Hiiii! I haven't frozen them before sorry! Some people have frozen them after assembling and others have frozen once baked but before frosting. I hope that's helpful!
Absolutely loved making (and eating!) these! I always find cinnamon rolls a bit off putting to make because it's a relatively long process but this recipe made it really simple! (Ps - I love that you use gram measurements, I live in the UK and cannot stand cup measurements)
★★★★★
Yay yesssss! I am so gad you loved them! They are my fave
Best cinnamon rolls ever!! I find it easiest to do the first rise overnight, and also brown the butter before.
I normally skip the icing (#balance) but may need to try the full shabang for Christmas morning 🙂
Yayyyy so glad you love! The icing is SO WORTH IT. x
Oh man this recipe is so good!!!! Thank you Erin, this makes the best cinnamon rolls ever!! I’ve made some thrice already
★★★★★
Yayyyy!
Oh Erin these rolls are delicious! I didn’t have a mixer so did it all by hand! So worth it! ❤️
★★★★★
Hiiii! Yayyyyyy I am so glad you loved them! Thank you so much for the review xxx
These are SO good. This is the best brioche dough recipe I have every used, Everything worked perfectly as described. Love, love that you give weights instead of cups. I live in the US but grew up in the UK and have never got used to cups; it's so inaccurate. I have tried several of your recipes now and they are all 5 star!! Thank you.
★★★★★
Yayyyyy I am so glad that you love them! These are my favourite too x
Hi Eirn, I have tried many recipes from your blog. @SugarHeust_. I had a question, I was wondering if I can do the final rise individually in separate 4" molds and bake them. If I can do that by how much will the baking time be affected. As of now it is between 40 and 45 mins. Please let me know I am preping for it today.
★★★★★
Hello! I'm wondering if you have tips on the temperature of the milk that the yeast goes into. Excited to try these!
Hi! Lukewarm, so 35-37°c ish
These are the best cinnamon rolls ever! Slightly caramelized on the bottom and pillowy and soft in the middle- the brown butter makes so much difference too!! I might've taken mine out a little earlier but that's probably partly due to my oven and partly because I like my cinnamon rolls slightly underdone
★★★★★
Ah yayyyyy so glad you love! I love mine a little gooey too x
These are incredible!! I made a half recipe for Christmas (just me and husband) in a springform pan. Assembled them and made frosting the night before and popped them in the fridge overnight. All I had to do this morning was let them come to room temperature and bake for about 30 minutes! Seriously DELICIOUS!
★★★★★
ahhh yay so stoked that you loved them! Thanks so much for the review!
Can I use vanilla extract as substitute for the vanilla paste? And can I use other unsalted butter?
Yep and yep 🙂
Yay! I made these and they are absolutely delicious!! Thank you so much so for sharing the recipe as well as the photos the both together were exactly what I needed to push me to make them! Before this the idea of making cinnamon buns was scary to me, now I am excited to continue making them!!
★★★★★
Ah yayyy so glad you love them! Thank you so much for the lovely review! x
The best cinnamon rolls I have ever made! I did the first rise in the fridge overnight and everything worked out well! It was a bit of a labor of love, but certainly worth the effort! Thank you for the recipe!
★★★★★
Hi! Ahhh yay so glad you enjoyed them! Thank you so much for such a lovely review xx
This is my go to recipe. I usually make the dough the night before and do the first rise in the fridge, but I have done it all on the same day before too and it works great. Thanks for such an amazing recipe - it is a family favorite
★★★★★
Yayyy love to hear that!
I made these rolls for my family and we all absolutely loved them. I could not be happier with how they turned out!! Thank you for the recipe 🙂
★★★★★
Hi! Eeee yay so happy you love!
Delicious! And a lot of fun to make! A lot of my filling did seep out and left a huge buttery slosh at the bottom of the pan, which was a little bit of a bummer. I refrigerated the rolls to solidify things before baking, but I think I may have taken the brown butter off of the heat before enough of the liquid boiled off... still 10/10
★★★★★
Yayyy so glad you loved! Sometimes they do leak a little, I am still trying to work out exactly what it is because it doesn't happen every time! As long as they tasted good! 🙂
Literally the best cinnamon rolls ever! And instructions were so easy to follow... will be a family staple for every holiday breakfast!
★★★★★
Yay so glad you love!
These turned out great, but personally I found the filling to be a bit too much, I would cut back on the brown sugar and cinnamon so that the brown butter could really shine. That being said I browned my butter a lot and I could barely taste it in the dough, so next time I think I’ll just save the brown butter for the top.
★★★
Thanks so much for the feedback
These are the literal best cinnamon rolls I’ve ever had! The fluffy brioche is like a pillow I want to curl up and sleep on. Brown butter is amazing and brings these to a whole nother level! I will be making these weekly!
★★★★★
yayyy so glad you love them! I do too 🙂 xx
5 star recipe if ever I tried one! Nothing to say except MAKE THESE, your day will instantly be made 1000x better!
★★★★★
Aw yayyyyy so happy you love them as much as I do!
The best cinnamon buns ever! I’ve made them a few times and they are always a big hit! Recipe was easy to follow too!
★★★★★
Ah yayyy so glad you love!
Made these the night before and baked them Christmas morning…mine may not have looked as pretty but they were decadent and delicious 😋
★★★★★
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Oh my goodness Erin, this recipe is 10 stars-worthy! That brioche dough is life and simple to make with your well-written recipe! It’s gone in my book of recipes that I often refer to, and I want to whip up another batch just so that I have tasty brioche bread. And I cannot brag enough about burnt butter...I’m making burnt-butter everything! Burnt butter shortbread cookies...can’t wait! I had some leftover pumpkin purée so I added to these rolls...absolute perfection! Okay, now I’m going to my corner to read, with coffee and a burnt butter pumpkin cinnamon bun. Byeee!
★★★★★
Ah yayyyyyy so glad you love!
So sorry, I've been calling it burnt butter when in fact it's brown butter...so sorry!
I think it's called different things in different places! Either way it's the best thing ever hahaha x
Hi Erin,
I was wondering could you use say an oat milk substitute for the milk and a dairy free butter please? Hoping they’d turn out the same 🙈 just have dairy intolerances in the house.
Thank you 😊
Hi! I haven't tried it sorry - I don't have much experience working with Vegan butter etc. Would love to hear how it goes if you do try!
THE BEST cinnamon roll recipe EVER! The recipe was easy to follow and I had my teens do some quick conversions for me for cups, tablespoons etc. Thank you for accounting the moisture loss in the butter. TRUST the process when it comes to the butter reducing! I had a wee bit of brown butter left (on purpose) to top some homemade biscuits later on🤤 I literally made double the batch for my big family and they were a hit. Be careful when reheating in the microwave, because the butter is already browned, the rolls will overcook and burn. I’m so thankful for this recipe and it’s now in my personal cookbook!
★★★★★
Ah yayyyy so glad you loved!
These cinnamon rolls were really good. I usually like sweet; but the cinnamon filling was really really really sweet, I measured the dark brown sugar in grams for the filling. I'm thinking maybe next time half the amount of dark brown sugar for the filling. Great cinnamon rolls otherwise!
★★★★
Just made these and wow they are delicious!! Can’t go wrong with these!
★★★★★
Since you mentioned living in NY, you should know that Americans don't use the metric system, we use decimal. Please post both in your measurements. It's a real pain for us to convert especially those of us "women of a certain age." I love your recipes.
I have been living in the US for 7 years now and there are plenty of Americans that use the metric system when it comes to baking. Go into any bakery in the US and you will not find them baking in cups. Open up any good baking magazine and you will find the measurements in grams too. The statement "Americans don't use the metric system" is simply not true - it may not be the system you personally are used to, but it does not mean that it is not used here.
A large majority of my readers are American and bake with a scale using gram measurements just fine. You are welcome to do the conversions yourself but I do not test in cups, so it would be the same amount of work for you to convert as it is for me and I have already done a whole load of work to provide this free recipe.It does not make sense when I have a recipe here that works perfectly well already. If I go onto a site that uses cups, I do not ask them to then do more work for free to make their recipe suit me, I work the conversions out myself and convert it into grams before I use it.
I am not comfortable providing a recipe using a method of measuring that is 1) not accurate and 2) not one that I tested myself. Baking with a scale is a very easy thing to do and means your baking is a lot more accurate. I am happy to recommend one to purchase if you would like. Thanks!
Wow, not the response I expected nor would I ever respond to one of my readers like you responded to me. Just because you’ve lived in the USA for 6-7 years, is not exactly a very good representation of knowing Americans. I am 68 years old and I have NEVER met another American that uses the metric system. If you have, they were either raised by European/foreign mothers or they became American citizens after being born in another country because it is not taught in our schools and we don’t use it throughout our lives, despite several attempts to force us to conform. My comment was on your recipe for Brown Butter Cinnamon Rolls where both decimal & metric measurements were used, but not throughout and I was merely asking you to be consistent. I have scales and I use them for recipes, when necessary, or I do the conversions. However, to make my point, it is frustrating to have some measurements in metric and others in decimal within the same recipe as in your Brown Butter Cinnamon Rolls. For your information, I, too, have a recipe website and I offer free recipes, but I went into it knowing I would offer them for free. If it’s too much work for you to make your readers happy, perhaps you should choose another venue.
I'm an American that uses metric weight to bake. I was not raised by European parents, nor am I a naturalized citizen. One does not need to know the metric system to bake using it. The scale does the work for you. I know plenty of other Americans who bake using metric weight. They were also not raised by European parents nor are naturalized citizens. It's ignorant to generalize and assume that Americans don't bake by metric weight just because you have never met anyone who uses it. I actualy don't know anyone who doesn't use metric weight to bake. It's more accurate and will ensure I have the same result as Erin. If the recipes on Erin's website are frustrating to you, perhaps you should visit other websites to find the recipes you're looking for rather than dictating to her the format you would prefer.
Hi Terri,
I have removed the cup measure of flour in the recipe in the interest of being consistent as you mentioned - I assume that is what you were referring to. I hope that makes my recipe less frustrating for you. All the best with your recipe website.
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Good god Terri....
it’s a free recipe. FREE FOR YOU TO USE OR NOT. You stated you owned a scale and clearly just want to be a curmudgeon. So just because you’re 68 means that you’re done with math and being nice?
I made these today and was able to scale them to bite size because you write your recipes in metric weight. The recipe worked perfectly. Thank you for all your hard work. #gramsforthewin
xoxo
★★★★★
I. LOVE. These cinnamon rolls. I've made them in an afternoon, I've done the long first prove to have less assembly on a holiday morning, I've had requests for these specific rolls for birthdays and occasions, and I'll never need to give another recipe a try. The whole thing is so good but that brown butter cream cheese frosting is just the heavenly icing on top.
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Hi! Ahhhh so happy you love them! I just used the icing on a tiny brown butter carrot cake and it was so, so good!
Excellent recipe, thank you so much. The browned butter icing was a revelation. These rolls have earned a spot on the permanent rotation. The world is a better place with these rolls in it.
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That is the ultimate compliment! So happy you loved! x
Beat cinnamon roll recipe ever!! Love all you do Erin!
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Ahhh so happy you love them!
Stop what you're doing and make these immediately!! Perfect recipe, perfect flavours, perfect fluffy to gooey ratio. Thank you Erin!
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Eeeee thank you!!
Freaking delicious cinnamon scrolls. Who needs Cinnabon when you have these in your life? Browning the butter adds such a different element and I love the brioche dough, its so light and fluffy. Thank you so much for sharing 🙂
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Why is literally everything you post AMAZING. Whenever I feel like baking now I just peruse your blog for inspo! Goals for Sydney second round of lockdown (rip) is to bake everything you make! Thank you 🙂
I’ve made the full recipe before and absolutely loved them but it did make a lot given that I live alone and don’t have a ton of freezer space, so this time I halved the recipe and baked on an 1/8 sheet and it worked perfectly! Highly recommend halving everything if you’re in a similar situation - super easy since everything in the recipe is in grams. Make sure to put your 1/8 sheet on a bigger baking sheet in the oven though cause the filling exploded over the top of my pan a bit.
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I love Erin's recipes because she puts so much detail and care into each step and all her notes. Really helps a novice but aspiring baker like me! Now these buns....PERFECTION. The brioche was soft and fluffy, the cinnamon filling oozed out onto the pan through cooking to create the perfect sticky base, and the burnt butter cream cheese frosting was a complete level up - the little extra effort to burn the butter is truly worth it. I will be baking these for any future brunch invites. I think this recipe is better than any I have bought in a store including Cinnabon. Oh also, I followed Erin's notes on prepping and assembling the day prior, then popped the assembled buns into the oven the next morning. This worked a treat! Thanks Erin for another amazing recipe. I basically live on your blog these days, just browsing and saving my faves to bake something different every weekend! haha
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Yayyyy thank you so so much for the lovely review!! So happy you love the recipes xx
Hi Erin,
The yeast is just not getting foamy. I've tried it 5 times, checked the temperature of the milk too. Any idea where I could be going wrong. Please help me .
Thank you,
Regards,
Mayanka
Hi! Sounds like your yeast might be expired?
Hi Erin! I just made these today (did an overnight first dough rise and finished assembling today) and they turned out friggin delicious. Thanks for such a thorough, clear post on these brown butter cinnamon rolls!
The only downside was I had major butter spillage in the oven while the rolls baked. I used a 9x13 quarter sheet. There was alot of excess butter at the bottom of the pan when I took them out of the oven so the bottom of the rolls were extra greasy. Still turned out delicious bc butter yum but I wonder how to combat this next time?
To be fair, I did not use Lewis Road Creamery butter (I will next time!) and I wonder if this is why I had so much excess grease/fat/butter when the rolls were finished baking. Also, don't think my butter was as browned as it could've been so I'll do better next time. Should I try rolling the log tighter? Any other tips besides baking with a tray under the pan to catch spillage?
Thanks for any feedback!
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Hi! Hmmm they shouldn't be super leaky! You could pop a tbsp of flour in with the filling next time - this helps to keep it all in there and to prevent any spilling. Butter brand shouldn't make a difference at all! <3
Thank you for all the time and effort you put into developing your recipes with the bonus tips and tricks. I feel so privileged to reap the rewards without the long hours spent perfecting a recipe so again thank you, thank you, thank you!
I have made these brown butter cinnamon rolls several times now and they never fail to deliver. I don't have a mixer but use a bread maker on the dough cycle to I don't have to knead by hand. Delicious every time.
Thank you for such a lovely lovely message - I am so lucky that I get to do this as my job! So happy you loved them x
These cinnamon rolls are my new favorite! I had some butter/filling leakage but there was still plenty of filling that it didn't lack in flavor. Thanks for another great recipe Erin!!
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Ahhh you are so welcome! You can also pop a tbsp of flour in with the filling too which seems to help it all stay in a bit!x
SO delicious! I’ve never made brioche before and it worked out perfectly!
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This was my first time attempting anything like this baking wise and the recipe was super easy to follow! Personally love how amounts are all put in grams - find this so much easier and less dishes to clean after! Buns were super delicious - 100% recommend.
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This recipe is perfect. The rolls are amazing.
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Hi Erin,
Loving your recipes, especially during our recent New Zealand lockdown. Thank you so much. I am so impressed how everything has worked out perfectly. I made these over the weekend and the butter melted and the buns were in a bath of buttery sugary syrup. I couldn't think what may have gone wrong and I suddenly thought I used NZ brown sugar should I have gone for cane sugar?
Thanks again
Hi! Hmmm that doesn't usually happen to me but it could be a variety of things. You could try adding a tbsp of flour into the filling just to help keep it all in place! 🙂
I was a little short on both brown sugar and powdered sugar but these still turned out perfectly! Been giving them out to friends today and everyone is blown away. Thank you for this recipe!! (Also I've made cinnamon rolls quite a few times but I'm not sure if I've ever used 3 TBS of cinnamon, I was nervous but it tastes great!!)
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Yay I am so happy that you loved them! Thanks so much for the review x
I use this scroll base for all sorts of fillings now, it works every time and it's so easy !
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The last cinnamon roll recipe you'll ever need. These turned out perfectly! Shared some with friends, and the general consensus was that these are better than the cinnamon rolls at our favorite bakery. Doughs make me nervous, but the instructions were specific and helpful! Thanks for the great recipe!
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These are soooo good!! They have become my go-to cookies and I always have them in the freezer! The best chocolate chip cookies!
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Ah I am so happy to hear!
These are great but it took me way longer than the 1 hr 45 minutes. The 45 minutes rise times twice is already an hour s half. I think you should say it’s 3.5 hours including the rise time
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Ah yeah i'll fix that, sorry about that!
I finally got a stand mixer so I decided to give these a try for breakfast on Christmas morning. The instructions were super helpful and I didn’t run into any issues along the way. Grams for the win! I did the second rise in the fridge overnight and they turned out amazing. These are super yummy and I will definitely bake these again. They’re worth making for the frosting alone!
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