I used to have a classic cinnamon rolls recipe on here, but many, many years after first posting it, I was no longer happy with it. Then I discovered the joy of adding oranges or apples to cinnamon roll dough and omg, I’d hit jackpot. But somewhere at the back of my mind I did want to bring back a ‘regular’ version of cinnamon rolls. Ones that had a bit of glaze, not enough to drown the rolls and make them unrecognisable, but one that would lift them up a bit, set into a crackly, sugary topping and be utterly delicious.
These are the ones! They couldn’t be easier to make, seriously. And they are ridiculously good. Super soft, fluffy, bursting with cinnamon flavour and a lovely vanilla flavour from the glaze. Let’s make some cinnamon rolls!
The yeast does most of the work here and the dough is easy to make, no stress, no stickiness and all of that. Which basically means, you have no reason not to make these today! You will need to account for two rises, one before shaping the rolls and one after, the whole thing takes about 4 hours to happen.
I’m not usually a fan of glazes and frostings when I buy cinnamon rolls at a store, because they’re just sooo sweet and pretty much cover the whole roll and by the end of it, I have no idea what I ate. This one is restrained in both quantity and sweetness, though if you like a thick glaze, by all means double the recipe! It sets into a crackly glaze much like a donut!
The rolls themselves are soft and buttery, with the cinnamon sugar filling almost turning into a caramel towards the edges. Soooo good! They are definitely at their best on day one, but they reheat well if you’d like to store them in the fridge for a few days.
I like nice and browned tops, but you can reduce the baking time by a few minutes if you prefer. I have to say though, the crusty tops are a beautiful contrast with those pillowy centers! All toasty and golden mmmmmmm. Excuse me, just grabbing another cinnamon roll!
Ok, enough chatting. Let’s bake!
Cinnamon Rolls with Vanilla Glaze (Eggless)
Ingredients
For the dough
- 2 and 1/4 tsp active dry yeast
- 1/2 cup warm water (125 ml)
- 1/4 cup caster sugar + 1 tsp extra (50 gms)
- 2 tbsps butter at room temperature
- 1/2 tsp salt (1 tsp if using unsalted butter)
- 1/2 cup whole milk (125 ml)
- 3 cups all-purpose flour (360 gms) + 1/2 cup (60 gms) as needed
For the filling
- 1/4 cup caster sugar (47 gms)
- 2 tsps cinnamon powder
- 1/4 cup butter, at room temperature (55 gms)
For the glaze
- 1/2 cup icing sugar, sifted (55 gms)
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 tbsps cream (or milk for a thinner glaze)
Instructions
- In a small bowl, mix the yeast, warm water and 1 teaspoon sugar. Cover with clingfilm and set aside for a 5 to 10 minutes until the yeast has dissolved and the mixture is frothy.
- To make the dough, first combine the 1/4 cup sugar, butter, salt and milk in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. You can also do this by hand in a mixing bowl.
- Pour in the yeast mixture and stir to combine. Now add 3 cups of flour and knead on low speed for 3 to 4 minutes. If the dough seems sticky, add the remaining half cup of flour, but depending on how warm it is in your kitchen, you may or may not need it, so add it slowly and stop when the dough begins to look soft and pliable.
- When the dough leaves the sides of the bowl and begins to form a ball, knead it a few times with your hands. It should spring back slowly when poked with a finger and this is when you know it's ready to rise. Kneading entirely by hand may take a little longer but it's absolutely doable.
- Form the dough into a ball and place in a lightly oiled bowl (I just use the mixing bowl). Cover with clingfilm and leave to rise in a warm area for 1 to 2 hours, until doubled.
- When the dough has puffed and doubled in size, lightly flour your kitchen counter or a silicone mat which is more convenient for clean-up.
- Punch down the dough to release any air bubbles, then turn it out onto the floured surface or mat. Sprinkle a little flour on top and use your fingertips to pat it out into a roughly 10x12 rectangle, making sure it's the same thickness all around.
- In a small bowl, combine the cinnamon and sugar. Spread the butter onto the rolled out dough, making sure it reaches every inch of it. Sprinkle on the cinnamon sugar, covering the dough entirely.
- Starting at the shorter end, slowly roll the dough up tightly. Slice into 12 even pieces. I have also made 9 larger rolls out of this dough, which seem to fit more easily into the pan, if you want to try it that way.
- Place each roll, cut side up in a lightly greased 8 inch square baking pan. Cover with clingfilm and let rise again for 30 minutes to 1 hour, until puffy.
- Preheat the oven to 190 C, then remove the clingfilm from the dish.
- Bake the rolls for 20 minutes or until they are browned on top, have risen and smell amaaazing! If they seem to be browning too quickly, lower the temperature to 175 C.
- Allow the rolls to cool in the pan for 5 minutes while you make the glaze. Simply combine the sugar, vanilla and cream in a small bowl till smooth. Add more cream or milk if you find it too thick.
- Drizzle the glaze over the warm rolls and cut each one out of the pan with a sharp knife. Eat immediately! Store at room temperature in an airtight tin overnight, after which in humid places, they are better stored in the fridge for 4 to 5 days. Reheat as needed. Happy baking!
Notes
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Hi Gayatri, I made these rolls today, tried for the first time and it is absolutely awesome!! Every one simply loved it. Thank you so much for posting this.
That’s great to hear Archana ! Thank you for trying these rolls 🙂
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They turned out absolutely lip snacking!
Yay I’m so happy to hear that !
❤
Hey Gayatri..as we speak my cinnamon rolls are proving and the house smells divine. . Just wanted to know of the same dough could be used to make a pizza base ? Or any other kind of bread ?
And thank you so much for all your super recipes …they r always reliable and turn out wonderfully !!
Hi! Thank you for your kind words 🙂 This dough can be baked as a loaf of bread, sure or for savoury rolls as well. Wouldn’t recommend it for pizza because it’s too bready to make a nice crust. The “Breads” category in the menu will show you more options for pizza. Hope that helps!
Hi Gayatri,
Is it possible to use instant yeast instead of dry yeast? If yes, would the measurement stay the same. I tried out two different brand of dry yeast but failed to get the yeast to poof.
Hi Nidhi, I haven’t used instant yeast but the measurement would be the same, the rise time will be lesser. If your dry yeast isn’t proofing the water is probably too hot or too cold, or check the expiry date, those are the main reasons it won’t rise. Hope that helps 🙂
Thank you Gayatri! I’m a dedicated follower of your posts and your recipes and tips have really helped me while baking! So thank you!! 🙂
Thank you for saying that! Made my day 🙂
Gayatri, these rolls look absolutely sinful!!! YUM!
They really are yum! Let me know if you try them 🙂