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Love Cinnamon Rolls, but not all the work it takes to make them? Let your bread machine do the hard work for you. Nothing beats fresh rolls straight from the oven!
Place the ingredients for the dough in your machine in the order listed. To keep the yeast from touching the liquids make an indentation on top of the flour. Set your machine to run on the dough cycle.
After the dough is done, take it out and split the dough in half. Place dough on a well-floured surface. Roll one mound of your dough out into a rectangle shape, approximately 1/4 inch thick. It doesn’t need to be perfect.
Spread half of the soft or melted butter over the rolled-out dough. I’ve tried both softened and melted butter. Melted butter is harder to get all the way to the edge without oozing over, whereas softened butter easily spreads all the way to the edge of the dough and melts into the dough as it bakes.
Top the butter with half of the cinnamon sugar mixture. I have tried both granulated sugar and brown sugar. Brown sugar and butter create a syrupy gooey filling. White sugar will stay more granular and have less depth of flavor but allows you to taste the cinnamon more. It’s all a matter of personal preference.
Starting from one of the small ends, roll the dough up tightly. A tight roll helps the cinnamon rolls hold their shape while baking and when serving.
I use dental floss to cut the dough into cinnamon rolls. Place a strand of floss under the rolled dough; loop around the dough cross the ends over each other and pull. The floss cuts through neatly and cleanly unlike most knives which can end up squishing the rolls. Cut the dough into 1-inch thick slices. The result will be pinwheel-shaped when turned on its side.
Place pinwheels on a greased or parchment-lined baking sheet.
I like mine touching each other so they all are soft and not too browned on the outside. If you prefer each one browned on the outside, you want them not touching, spread them 1-2 inches apart on the baking sheet. You can brush any remaining butter on top of the rolls. Cover rolls with a clean dish towel and let rise for 25-30 minutes.
Bake in a 350° preheated oven for 18-22 minutes or until lightly brown on top. When pressed gently in the center, the cinnamon rolls should also feel firm, not squishy.
Let the rolls cool for 5 to 10 minutes before icing. If the rolls are too hot, the icing will ooze right off and into the bottom of the pan. A warm roll, however, will let the icing easily spread over the top and also set in place before serving.
My family loves these with cream cheese frosting, but if you’d prefer a glaze this is a really good one. Cinnamon Roll Glaze.
Bread Machine Cinnamon Rolls
Ingredients
- 1⅓ cups lukewarm water
- ½ cup room temp butter, cut up
- 5 tbsp sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp salt
- 4½ cups all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup powdered milk (If you don't have powdered milk, you can substitute 1 cup of milk for the water. Making it 1 cup warm milk and ⅓ cup warm water)
- 1 Tbsp active-dry yeast
Filling
- 1 cup sugar (white or brown sugar)
- 1½ Tbsp ground cinnamon
- ½ cup softened or melted butter
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 4 ounces cream cheese, softened
- ¼ cup butter, softened
- 1½ cups powdered sugar
- 1½ tsp milk
- 1 tsp vanilla
Instructions
- Place the ingredients for the dough in your bread machine in the order listed.
- Run your machine on the dough cycle.
- When the dough is done, take it out and split the dough into two mounds.
- On a well-floured surface, roll one mound of your dough out into a rectangle. It doesn’t need to be a perfect rectangle. Roll out to 1/4 - 1/2 inch thickness.
- Filling - Spread half of the melted or softened butter over the rolled-out dough. Combine the sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle half of the cinnamon sugar over the melted butter making sure to cover as much surface with the filling as you can.
- Starting at one of the short ends of your rectangle of dough, roll it up tightly.
- Slice the dough into about 1-inch pieces. The result will be a pinwheel-shaped form when turned on its side.
- Place pinwheels on a greased or parchment-lined baking sheet. For soft rolls line them up so they are just touching each other slightly, not too close as they will get bigger as they rise. For each roll to have a browned outside spread them 1-2 inches apart on the sheet.
- Repeat the process with the second mound of dough. Cover the assembled dough with a lightweight hand towel and let rise for 25-30 minutes.
- Bake at 350 for 20 minutes or until lightly brown on top. Tap the middle of the roll to see if it bounces back. If it does, it’s probably done!
Cream Cheese Frosting
- In a mixing bowl, beat together cream cheese, and butter. Add powdered sugar, vanilla, and milk. Mix until well blended. Frost warm rolls.
