Our building hours on Friday March 29 are 8am to 4pm for Good Friday.

Cinnamon Buns

Our awesome Summer Camp Director, Abi, loves to start her day with these delicious Cinnamon Buns. Big, fluffy, and soft… they are super-great for breakfast (and a snack at camp). You’ll never go back to any other recipe once you try this one!

 

Prep Time: 2 hours
Bake Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 2 hours and 20 minutes
Yield: 9

 

Ingredients for the Dough

  • ¾ cup warm milk (whole milk or 2% preferred) (110°F)
  • 2¼ teaspoons quick rise or active yeast (¼-ounce package yeast)
  • ¼ cup granulated sugar
  • 1 egg plus 1 egg yolk, at room temperature
  • ¼ cup unsalted butter, melted
  • 3 cups bread flour, plus more for dusting
  • ¾ teaspoon salt

 

Ingredients for the Filling

  • ⅔ cup dark brown sugar (light brown sugar also works)
  • 1½ tablespoons ground cinnamon
  • ¼ cup unsalted butter, softened

 

Ingredients for the Cream Cheese Frosting

  • 4 oz cream cheese, softened
  • 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
  • ¾ cup powdered sugar
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

 

Method

  1. Warm milk to around 110°F. I like to do this by placing milk in a microwave safe bowl and microwaving it for 40 to 45 seconds. It should be like warm bath water. Transfer warm milk to the bowl of an electric mixer and sprinkle yeast on top. Add in sugar, egg, egg yolk and melted butter. Mix until well combined. Next stir in flour and salt with a wooden spoon until a dough begins to form.
  2. Place dough hook on stand mixer and knead dough on medium speed for 8 minutes. Dough should form into a nice ball and be slightly sticky. If it’s TOO sticky (meaning it’s sticking to the bottom of the mixer, add in 2 tablespoons more bread flour.) If you don’t want to use an electric mixer, you can use your hands to knead the dough for 8-10 minutes on a well-floured surface.
  3. Transfer dough ball to a well-oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap and a warm towel. Allow dough to rise for 1 hour to 1½ hours, or until doubled in size. This may more or less time depending on the humidity and temperature in your home.
  4. After dough has doubled in size, transfer dough to a well-floured surface and roll out into a 14 x 9 inch rectangle. Spread softened butter over dough, leaving a ¼ inch margin at the far side of the dough.
  5. In a small bowl, mix together brown sugar and cinnamon. Use your hands to sprinkle mixture over the buttered dough, then rub the brown sugar mixture into the butter.
  6. Tightly roll dough up, starting from the 9-inch side and place seam side down making sure to seal the edges of the dough as best you can. You will probably need to cut off about an inch off the ends of the dough as the ends won’t be as full of cinnamon sugar as we’d want it to be.
  7. Cut into 1-inch sections with a serrated knife or floss. You should get 9 large pieces.
  8. Place cinnamon rolls in a greased 9 x 9 inch baking pan or round 9-inch cake pan. (I also recommend lining the pan with parchment paper as well, in case any of the filling ends up leaking out.) Cover with plastic wrap and a warm towel and let rise again for 30 to 45 minutes.
  9. Preheat oven to 350°F. Remove plastic wrap and towel and bake cinnamon rolls for 20 to 25 minutes or until just slightly golden brown on the edges. You want to under bake them a little so they stay soft in the middle, that’s why we want them just slightly golden brown. Allow them to cool for 5 to 10 minutes before frosting. Makes 9 cinnamon rolls.
  10. To make the frosting: In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract. Beat until smooth and fluffy. Spread over cinnamon rolls and serve immediately. Enjoy!