Swedish Cinnamon Rolls

Swedish Cinnamon rolls - cardamom spiced dough is filled with a spiced filling, then rolled out and twisted into rolls. The rolls are finished with Swedish pearl sugar and baked until perfectly golden.

Swedish Cinnamon Rolls

Oooooohhh suddenly it's almost the end of the year. What. I'm not quite sure how this happened. It was March, and suddenly it's November. And Thanksgiving is on Thursday. I'm still not quite sure what to make of Thanksgiving - it's not something we celebrate in New Zealand, and i'm very unsure about all this hands up turkey butts stuff i'm seeing on Instagram Stories. It's so funny moving to another country and suddenly there is this whole new holiday you have never experienced before! I love it though - it seems to be all about family, which is my favourite part of the holidays! This year we are going to Jill's for Turkey Day - and if her regular food is anything to go by, the food is going to be next level amazing. I'm heading in tomorrow to help prep, and help out where I can. I'll most likely end up on pie duty, which isn't a bad place to be at all.

Another thing i'm planning on making for thanksgiving are these Swedish cinnamon rolls. I'm not sure about traditions, but it seems as if everyone gears up for a giant dinner, but i'm hoping I can sneak these in as a little morning tea treat, or take them as a quick and easy breakfast so it's one less thing for people to think about. Jill's family are insanely enthusiastic about cinnamon rolls, so I have no doubt that these will go down well!

The recipe for these came from one of my besties! It's her Mum's recipe, and she brought the swedish version over with her a few weekends ago, and we cozied up inside to make them. From what I have seen there are loads of amazing Swedish holiday baking recipes - so I can't wait to see what is next!

These are pretty simple - an enriched dough, spiced with a little cardamom, is rolled out thin, and filled with a spiced sugar and butter paste. You then fold it like a letter, pop it in the fridge for a quick second, then roll it out slightly more, before cutting it into strips. These strips are then twisted into pretty little knots, left to rise slightly, then loaded with swedish pearl sugar (aka the best thing ever), and baked off. The result is a lovely fluffy roll, with a delicious spiced filling swirled throughout. Quite possibly my new favourite.

A few wee tips for Swedish Cinnamon Rolls

• I watched this gif of Alana's about 20 times before I gave it a go, just to help work out where my fingers needed to go when I twisted them. Basically you go around your fingers and thumb twice, then take your thumb out before you take the strip over the top and tuck it under. Watch the gif. It makes it much less confusing. Even if they get a bit messy, I promise they will still taste amazing
• Want to make these for breakfast? The first proof can be done overnight in the fridge!
• The swedish sugar isn't necessary, but if you can get your hands on it, it's hugely worthwhile!
• If you don't have a stand mixer, no worries - you can do this by hand! Just make sure to carefully knead in the butter. It may pay to have a friend on hand too to help knead!

Related Recipes

• Dark Chocolate, Tahini, and Sesame Buns
• Brown Butter Cinnamon Buns
• Apple and Cardamom Babka
• Apricot Crumb Buns

Swedish Cinnamon Rolls

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 5 from 9 reviews

• Author: Erin Clarkson
• Prep Time: 45 minutes
• Cook Time: 20 minutes
• Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
• Yield: 12 rolls 1x
• Category: Baking
• Cuisine: Swedish

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Description

Swedish Cinnamon rolls - cardamom spiced dough is filled with a spiced filling, then rolled out and twisted into rolls. The rolls are finished with Swedish pearl sugar and baked until perfectly golden.

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Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

Dough 

• 1 cup (250ml) whole milk, lukewarm
• ⅓ cup sugar, divided
• 2 ¼ tsp active dry yeast
• 3 ½ cups (525g) all-purpose flour
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 tsp ground cardamom
• 1 small egg, at room temperature
• 75g (5 Tbsp) unsalted butter, at room temperature

Filling

• 115g (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• ½ cup (100g) brown sugar
• 4 tsp cinnamon
• 2 tsp cardamom
• ½ tsp vanilla bean paste
• Egg wash - 1 egg whisked with 1 tablespoon water
• Swedish pearl sugar to finish (optional)

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Instructions

BREAD DOUGH

1. Place the lukewarm milk, 1 tablespoon of the sugar, and the yeast in a medium sized bowl, and stir to combine. Leave for 10-15 minutes, or until foamy.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment, place the flour, salt, cardamom and remaining sugar, and mix briefly to combine.
3. Add the milk mixture and the egg 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 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.
4. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place in a warm place until doubled in size, 45 minutes to an hour.

FILLING AND ASSEMBLY

1. Place all of the filling ingredients in a small bowl, and mix well to combine.
2. Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured surface, and roll into a 24"x15" rectangle. If you find that the dough is snapping back and hard to work with, cover it lightly with a tea towel and leave it for 5 minutes to relax before continuing to roll out.
3. Using an offset spatula, spread the filling evenly over the dough, ensuring the mixture goes right to the edges. Holding the short side, starting on the left, fold the dough over a third, then fold the right side over so that it covers the left, the same way that you would fold a letter to go into an envelope. Transfer the dough to a baking sheet, cover lightly with plastic wrap, and place in the fridge for 10-15 minutes to help the filling firm up a little.
4. Remove the dough from the fridge and transfer back to your work surface. Roll out slightly. Using a ruler and a pastry wheel, working on the short side, cut the dough into strips approximately 2cm (0.8 inches) wide.
5. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Working with one strip at a time, holding both ends, twist the strip a couple of times. Then, hold one end in your hand, and wrap the other end twice around your four fingers and thumb. Remove your thumb, and loop the strip over the top of the roll, and tuck it in underneath along with your thumb loop. (Alana's gif is v helpful here!)
6. Place each bun on the prepared baking sheet, leaving a little space between each. Once you have twisted all of your buns, cover the baking sheet loosely with plastic, and allow to sit in a warm place for 30-40 minutes, or until the cinnamon rolls have risen slightly. While the rolls are rising, preheat the oven to 400˚f / 200˚c.
7. Lightly egg wash each roll, and sprinkle liberally with pearl sugar. Bake for 15 minutes checking after 12, or until golden brown. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheet, before transferring to a wire rack and allowing to cool completely.
8. Store remaining rolls in an airtight container. Warm slightly in the microwave before serving.

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