Easy Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls with Cream Cheese Icing
Simple to make, with a delicious browned butter coconut sugar filling, these cinnamon rolls will become a go to for holidays and beyond. Don't forget the cream cheese icing, and the "make ahead" notes below!
Servings: 12 cinnamon rolls
Equipment
- stand mixer (optional
- 9 x 13" baking pan
Ingredients
DOUGH
- 200 g milk
- 120 g active sourdough starter
- 70 g honey
- 1 egg
- 430 g all purpose or bread flour
- 5 g salt
- 6 tbsp butter softened
FILLING
- 8 tbsp butter melted (+ browned if you like)
- 3/4 cup coconut sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg
CREAM CHEESE ICING
- 4 tbsp butter melted
- 4 oz cream cheese
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp almond extract
- 1 tbsp milk
Instructions
IN THE EVENING
- Mix the milk and starter together then add the honey and egg. Stir in the flour and salt until a dough forms, then mix in the softened butter. Cover the bowl and let the dough rest for 20-30 minutes.
- Knead the dough for about 10 minutes either by hand or with a mixer, until the dough is nice and smooth and tight.
- Cover the bowl and let the dough ferment on the counter for 8-12 hours (depending on the warmth of your kitchen). I let mine go overnight, until the dough is doubled in size.
IN THE MORNING
- Make the filling by melting the butter (you can let it brown a bit for extra warm, nutty flavor) then mixing it with coconut sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt.
- Dust your surface with flour then turn out the dough, lightly shaping it into a flat square. Use a rolling pin to roll it out into a 16 x 16” square.
- Spread the filling evenly over top, leaving the uneven edges free to be trimmed into a neat square. Leave a 1” space along the top of the dough square free of filling where you can press the cinnamon rolls together.
- Use a pizza cutter to trim any uneven edges on the sides and bottom, then slice the square into 12 even strips.
- Roll each strip up, pressing the edge to seal each roll.
- Arrange the rolls into a 9 x 13” pan then cover with a light towel. Let the rolls rise for about 2 hours, or until they puff up. If you want to speed this up, place your pan near the preheating oven.
BAKING THE ROLLS
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF and bake the rolls for 25 to 30 minutes, or until big and golden.
- Make the frosting by combining the melted butter and cream cheese until mixed, then whipping in the sugar. Add the vanilla, almond, and milk and continue to mix until nice and creamy & smooth.
- Allow the rolls to cool for a few minutes before frosting the whole pan or frosting one by one. Enjoy warm, and save the extra in the fridge for reheating.
Notes
MAKE AHEAD / FRIDGE & FREEZER OPTIONS
- To make ahead for baking later, cover the pan of unbaked rolls (step 9) tightly with plastic and move them to the refrigerator (up to 24 hours) or freezer (up to 1 week). When ready, pull them out and allow them to come to room temperature. Once they’ve puffed up from their second rise, proceed with step 10.
- You can also refrigerate baked and frosted rolls and reheat when ready to enjoy!