Introduction: How to Make Amazing Cinnamon Rolls (No Mixer Needed)
In this Instructable, I will teach you how to make Amazing Cinnamon Rolls from scratch. Cinnamon Rolls are one of my favorite treats. You can eat them for breakfast, you can eat Cinnamon Rolls for a snack or as a dessert! These cinnamon rolls are super tasty, super easy to make, and super cheap. Let's dive into the fantastic world of baking and bake some crazy awesome Cinnamon Rolls. Watch the video or follow the steps below or do both!
You can print the recipe here on my website.
Ingredients:
***Hopefully my metric calculations are correct. :)
Dough
- 2¾ cups all-purpose flour (330 grams)
- ¼ cup granulated sugar (56 grams)
- 2 tbsp. butter (30 grams)
- 1 large egg
- 1 package instant yeast (or 2¼ tsp.) (9 grams)
- ½ cup water (118ml)
- ¼ cup milk (59ml)
- 1 tsp. salt (4 grams)
Filling
- ⅔ cup brown sugar (149 grams)
- ¼ cup (½ stick) butter (56 grams)
- 1 tbsp. ground cinnamon (15 grams)
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract (about 5 ml)
Vanilla glaze
- 1½ cups powdered (confectioner's) sugar (339 grams)
- ¼ cup (½ stick) butter (56 grams)
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract (5 ml)
- 2-3 tbsp. milk (30 to 45 ml)
Step 1: Heat Water and Milk
First we will put our milk and our water into a microwave safe container, and microwave it until the temperature reaches around 105 to 115 degrees F. We are doing this because the yeast needs warm liquid to activate it.
Step 2: Add Warm Liquid to Bowl
Next we will add our warm liquid to a large bowl and add about 1 tsp of our sugar to the liquid. This will provide a bit of food for the yeast. Then add your yeast and use a fork or whisk to mix it a bit. Then set the yeast mixture aside for 5 to 10 minutes and let it do its thing. (This is called Proofing the Yeast).
Step 3: Mix Salt and Flour
While the yeast is proofing, we will mix our salt with our flour.
Step 4: Melt Our Butter
Next we need to melt our butter. I just melted mine in the microwave for about 20 seconds.
Step 5: Mix in Butter and Rest of Sugar
Notice the first picture, how much the yeast has grown. This is what we want to see, this is how we know the yeast is alive and thriving. Now add the melted butter and rest of your sugar and mix together with a whisk or fork.
Step 6: Add Egg
Now add the egg and mix together completely.
Step 7: Add Flour
Now we add our flour little by little, I continue to use my whisk for the first cup of flour or so, then I switch to a wooden spoon. You can certainly use a stand mixer to make your dough, but if you don't have a mixer, you can do it all by hand like me. Continue to add the flour, about 80% or so of it, until you get a nice tacky dough, then add a bit more of the flour and kneed it a little bit in the bowl until it gets the access flour of the sides, etc. Then take the down out and put it on the counter with your remaining flour.
Step 8: Knead the Dough and Cover
Next we need to knead the dough. "Kneading the dough makes bread and rolls light, airy, and chewy. It's a crucial step in making yeast breads. Without well-developed gluten, your bread or rolls would be flat and tough." To knead the dough, take the dough and fold the top over and press in with the palm of your hand, then give it a half turn and complete the process. Knead the dough for about 8 minutes. Then place the dough in a greased bowl and cover with a towel or plastic wrap so it can rise for 1 hr or until the dough has doubled. ***Sometimes I dampen my towel, or add a bit of oil on the top, to prevent the dough from drying out while it rises.
Step 9: Roll Out the Dough
Once the dough has risen and is about double in size, we will roll out the dough in a rectangle shape. You can roll it out as thick or thin as you want.
Step 10: Mix Filling
Now we will mix out filling. Add the brown sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla extract to a bowl and mix together with a spoon.
Step 11: Brush the Top With Flour and Add Filling
Next we will take our softened butter (about 2 tablespoons) and brush the top of the dough with the butter. Make sure to get the edges. Then we add the sugar mixture to the top, you can use the back of your spoon to smooth it out.
Step 12: Roll Up the Dough
Now we just roll up the dough. I like to roll it up fairly tight.
Step 13: Make Cut Marks
This next step is for convenience. I like to take a knife and add marks to the top, so I know where to cut the dough to make about 12 even pieces.
Step 14: Use Floss to Make Your Cuts
Now this is a neat little trick to cutting your dough, of course you can just use a knife, but I really like this method. You take about a Yard/Meter of dental floss, put it under the dough where your mark is, and then cross it like you were going to tie a knot and then pull each side. It will cut right through the dough, super easy.
Step 15: Cover and Let Rise
Now once we have all of the dough cut and put in a 9 by 13 inch baking pan, we cover it with plastic wrap and let rise for another 45 minutes to an hour, or until doubled.
Step 16: Bake Until Gold Brown
Now we brush on butter to the tops of the cinnamon rolls, to add flavor and help them brown. Then bake in a preheated at 375 degrees F, for about 15 to 20 minutes, until they are nice and golden brown on top.
Step 17: Make Glaze
Now we need to make our glaze. We will add our powdered sugar, melted butter, and vanilla extract, plus about 2 Tablespoons of milk, you can add another Tablespoon of milk if you want your glaze more runny. I like my glaze a little on the thicker side.
Step 18: Add Glaze to Top
Now just add the glaze to the top of the cinnamon rolls!
You can print the recipe here on my website.
Step 19: Total Cost and Time
These cinnamon rolls are super cheap to make. This batch cost me right around $3.11, or about $0.30 per roll. They generally cost over a $1.50 or more per roll to buy at a bakery, or somewhere. Costs will definitely vary depending on how much your ingredients cost where you live, and what deals you can find. It takes a bit of time, but the majority of that time is just letting the dough rise, so you can definitely do other stuff while that is happening. It takes about 30 minutes of prep time, 2 hrs of rise time, and about 15 to 20 minutes of baking time.
