Fluffy Brown Butter Cinnamon Rolls... with a sweet maple glaze on top... just the perfect Valentines Day breakfast you were looking for. Swirled with cinnamon sugar, layered with nutty brown butter and frosted generously; these cinnamon rolls will make your valentines fall in love with you all over again. There is literally nothing not to love about these!
So I don't know about you, but one of my go to Valentines Day gifts for my husband is a homemade sweet breakfast. My husband is a big sweets guy, so he prefers his breakfast just as sweet as he likes his desserts. So what better to make for him than cinnamon rolls. I consider these are more of a "special breakfast". I don't make them that often because they do take a little while but oh are they worth it! That is why Valentines Day is the perfect day to pull out this recipe.
The way to my husbands heart truly is through his stomach. So why get all fancy buying material things for Valentines Day when I know all he really wants is a special homemade breakfast to show him that I love him. A Valentine's Day breakfast is an easy, inexpensive gift that is from the heart... and I win every time 😉
This recipe always brings me back to the first time I made cinnamon rolls for my now husband, Kevin. It was back when we were kids, probably about 16 or 17. We were dating and in high school and I used to bake him something every weekend and bring it to school with me Monday morning. We would take different buses to school and his would always get there before mine. I remember how he would wait for me outside of school every morning for my bus to pull up. And every Monday he knew I would be bringing him something sweet. That Monday it happened to be cinnamon rolls.
At the time it was my first attempt at making cinnamon rolls and I remember it was more difficult than I anticipated. It took me two attempts... my first dough didn't rise because the temperature of my milk was not warm enough. So I tried again. My second ball of dough was perfect and I rolled out my rolls and put them in the oven. About 30 minutes later when I went back to check on them the whole kitchen smelled like gasoline! My mother was actually the first one to notice the smell. Our oven was actually broken and I had almost burned our house down... whoops!! Thankfully I didn't. But I was still determined to make these cinnamon rolls for Kevin. So I called my grandma and asked her if I can bring them over and bake them in her oven. She of course said yes. Finally after an exhausting day of work, multiple attempts, and an almost burned down house, I finished my cinnamon rolls! And it was all worth it once I saw the smile on Kevin's face Monday morning when I told him I had made him cinnamon rolls this week. Of course I followed it up with: it was no big deal, super easy 😉
So now every time I make these cinnamon rolls it really does symbolize the love I have for him and it brings me back to that day; which is why I usually choose Valentines Day to make these.
So brown butter is literally the best invention ever and should be put on everything, which is why I use it in this recipe. Browning your butter adds a nutty delicious flavor to it and if you can believe it, it makes butter taste even better! This recipe doesn't hold back on it. It is in the dough itself, spread on the inside of the rolls, and brushed on top of the rolls.... pretty much these are brown butter heaven.
Maple is the perfect pairing for these cinnamon rolls. Maple, cinnamon and butter pair perfectly together and scream breakfast! It is so important to use real pure maple syrup, otherwise the flavor of your glaze is just high fructose corn syrup and artificial flavoring... yuck!! The real stuff makes all the difference. I also add cream cheese to my glaze because I like how the tang from the cheese cuts the sweetness perfectly. I go heavy with the glaze because.. well why not.... but you can add as much or as little as you like!
Tips:
1.Keep an eye on your brown butter. I have burned one too many sticks of butter to know better than to not have a back up stick in the fridge. When cooking yours, simmer it on a med-low heat, no higher and constantly stir it. Wait until your butter foams up and you start to see the butter underneath turn a caramel color. But act quick...too much longer after that and it will burn to a dark brown.
2. Make sure your milk is at 125 degrees F. Use a candy thermometer to get the perfect temperature. This will be the best temperature for your yeast to rise. If the milk is too hot, you may kill it and if it is not hot enough, the yeast may never activate.
3. Use Fleischmann's Rapid Rise yeast. I find this to be the easiest and fastest yeast to use.
4. Let your dough rise at room temperature. Do NOT put it in the fridge. This temperature will stop your dough from rising.
A perfect morning is waking up to smells of cinnamon sweetness in the air. Serve these warm out of the oven and enjoy how fluffy, soft and gooey these are. You are definitely going to win Valentines Day this year!
Lastly, if you try out this recipe, be sure to leave a comment/rating on how they turned out. I love hearing from you guys and will try my best to reply to every comment! And don't forget to tag me on Instagram!
Fluffy Brown Butter Cinnamon Rolls with a Maple Glaze
Ingredients
Dough
- 3 ½ cups flour
- 1 packet rapid rise yeast
- 2 tablespoon brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup whole milk
- 3 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup salted butter
Filling
- ¾ cup brown sugar
- 2 tablespoon cinnamon
- 1 cup salted butter
Frosting
- 4 oz cream cheese
- 1 ½ cups powdered sugar
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ cup maple syrup
Instructions
- Start by making the dough. Brown your butter by simmering it slowly on the stove over medium low heat until the butter turns a light caramel brown color and you smell the nutty aroma. Be careful not to burn it. Once browned, place aside and let it cool to room temperature.
- In a large bowl combine the flour, yeast, brown sugar and salt.
- Warm up your milk on the stove to exactly 125 degrees F.
- To your flour mixture add the milk, eggs, vanilla, and the brown butter.
- Using your dough hook, mix until just combined. Don't over mix.
- Cover the bowl of your dough with plastic wrap and let it sit at room temperature for at least an hour or until the dough doubles in size.
- Now make the filling. Brown your butter by simmering it slowly on the stove over medium low heat until the butter turns a light caramel brown color and you smell the nutty aroma. Be careful not to burn it. Once browned, place aside and let it cool to room temperature, until it solidifies.
- In a small bowl combine your brown sugar and cinnamon. Set aside.
- Roll out your dough into a large rectangle, about 10 inch by 16 inch. Spread about ¾ of your softened browned butter on your dough, evenly throughout. Reserve about ¼ of your butter. Then sprinkle your brown sugar mixture evenly throughout, on top of your butter.
- Roll up your dough with a tight roll, starting with the longest side closest to you.
- Cut your log into 12 even sections. Place them into a baking sheet with parchment paper. Space them out evenly. Cover them with plastic wrap and let them rise again for another 30 minutes. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
- Brush the top of your rolls with the remaining ¼ of your brown butter.
- Bake your rolls for 25 minutes or until golden brown.
- Now make your glaze. In a bowl combine your cream cheese, maple syrup and vanilla until smooth. Then add your powdered sugar.
- Once your rolls come out of the oven drizzle your glaze on top of them.
- Serve warm and enjoy!
Leave a Reply