These truly are the best brioche cinnamon rolls ever!
We don’t often have sweet stuff for breakfast or brunch at home. They are mostly a weekend or special occasion treat. So when we do feel like cinnamon rolls, we make sure they are glorious!
I previously shared my overnight cinnamon rolls recipe on the blog. They are absolutely divine, but the buns are not as rich (less butter and eggs), and smaller in size compared to this recipe.
But the good news is that this recipe can easily be turned into an overnight brioche cinnamon roll recipe too, so that you can serve freshly baked cinnamon rolls in the morning.
If you’re a fan of my brioche bread, brioche buns, and brioche tarts (and I KNOW a lot of my readers are!), then oh boy, you’re going to LOVE these too!
Large cinnamon rolls, made with my buttery brioche dough, and a cinnamon packed filling. Yeah that’s right, these are big, buttery, cinnamony buns. With not just ONE type of cinnamon, but TWO! Then a delicious and creamy cream cheese frosting to top it all off!
What you need to make brioche cinnamon rolls
Brioche dough
I am using my brioche dough recipe here. It’s already beloved by so many of my readers, and consistently yields excellent results. This is a classic brioche dough with 50% butter. This is not a lean brioche dough (which is made with less eggs or butter). As a result, it’s also a dough that is very soft and wet to manage. But if you follow all the steps that I lay out here, you can absolutely nail this recipe. You can check out my brioche bread post for plenty of tips. The one difference with these cinnamon rolls is that I skip the first room temperature proof, since there will be TWO overnight cold proofs (in the fridge).
Cinnamon for the cinnamon butter filling
I am using TWO types of cinnamon for my filling for these brioche cinnamon rolls. Korintje cinnamon (from Indonesia) and Ceylon cinnamon (from Sri Lanka). Both have very robust, yet different flavor profiles. Ceylon cinnamon is milder and has a floral fragrance and sweet flavor (it’s what I use to make this authentic masala chai or this vanilla steamer). Korintje cinnamon has a spicier flavor (it’s what I use to make cinnamon babka or these snickerdoodle blondies for example). Most supermarket cinnamon is similar to Korintje cinnamon. You can use whatever cinnamon is available to you though.
Brown sugar
I prefer using dark brown sugar for my filling here. The deeper, molassey flavor is something I simply prefer. But you can use light brown sugar instead too.
Butter
I use JUST enough unsalted butter (mixed with as much salt as I prefer) to make my cinnamon sugar paste for the filling. You don’t want to use too much, because the bread is already rich with butter. So don’t go crazy with the butter in the filling.
Cream cheese frosting
In all honesty, I prefer eating these brioche cinnamon rolls without any cream cheese frosting. The rich brioche dough and cinnamon filling are the well-deserved co-stars in this show, and you don’t need no cameos from some cream cheese guest star here. But I get it though, because I used to be in the “frosted” camp too, not so long ago. This easy cream cheese frosting is thick enough to be spread on the brioche, or you can use a piping tip (or snipped ziploc bag) to drizzle it on top of the buns. All you need for this frosting are,
Butter Cream cheese Confectioner’s sugar Salt Vanilla
Timeline for making brioche cinnamon rolls
For overnight brioche cinnamon rolls
Make the brioche dough in the morning. Let it chill until evening / night time (at least 8 hours). Make the cinnamon filling. Once the dough is chilled, roll out the dough into a rectangle. Spread the cinnamon butter filling. Roll up the dough and cut into 12 pieces. Place the cinnamon rolls on a prepared baking tray (or split into two trays). Cover the trays and leave in the fridge overnight.
Remove cinnamon rolls from the fridge about 2 hours before you’re going to bake them. Allow the cinnamon rolls to come to room temperature and then proof until the rolls are in contact with each other (proofed until 1.5 – 2 times the original size). Preheat the oven and bake until the buns are golden brown. Make the cream cheese frosting / glaze. Once then cinnamon rolls are baked, let them cool slightly. Spread the cinnamon frosting before you serve (they will melt on top of warm buns, but will stay intact on cooled down brioche cinnamon rolls).
Overnight brioche cinnamon rolls method #2
Make the brioche dough in the afternoon / evening. Let the dough proof for about 1 hour at room temperature. Deflate the dough, and let it chill overnight in the fridge (at least 8 hours, up to 12 hours).
Make the cinnamon filling. Roll out the chilled dough into a rectangle. Spread the cinnamon butter filling. Roll up the dough and cut into 12 pieces. Place the cinnamon rolls on a prepared tray (or split into two trays). Cover the trays and let them proof at room temperature until proofed 1.5 to 2 times the original shape. Preheat the oven and bake the rolls (proofed cinnamon rolls) until golden brown on top. Make the cream cheese frosting / glaze. Once cinnamon rolls are baked, let them cool slightly. Spread the cinnamon frosting before you serve (they will melt on top of warm buns, but will stay intact on cooled down brioche cinnamon rolls).
How to make brioche cinnamon rolls (step by step method)
Tips to perfect the brioche dough
I won’t go into all the details to make perfect brioche dough here. You can find EVERYTHING you need to know in this post here. But I’ll share a few important facts.
This true brioche dough is a very soft dough because of the high egg and butter content. The dough may seem like cake batter, but you have to keep kneading to get the right consistency. Add the butter slowly. I like to knead the dough for about 2 minutes at a time after adding butter. This helps develop the gluten and to incorporate the butter. Take your time kneading the dough at the end too, and it will turn into a shiny, smooth, soft ball. Impatience is not your friend here. You can use AP flour or bread flour if you like. Make the dough on the morning before the day you want to make cinnamon rolls, so the dough has time to chill. A chilled brioche dough is much easier to roll out and shape into cinnamon rolls.
Making the filling
The filling couldn’t be easier to make! Make this when you’re ready to roll out and shape cinnamon rolls (after the brioche dough has chilled). The butter needs to be very soft, or you can even have it melted (but cooled). Mix the sugar and cinnamon (both types of cinnamon, if using) and salt, and mix to form a paste. If you don’t want your filling to melt away, you can add 2 tbsp of flour to the mixture as well. This mixture should be nice and spreadable. If it’s not easily spreadable, you can microwave the mixture for a few seconds to soften. But DO NOT let the mixture melt.
Assembling the brioche cinnamon rolls
Remove the chilled dough from the fridge. Flatten it with your hands to remove any excess air. Shape it into a rough square. Roll it out into a rectangle that is about 18 x 14 inches. Try to maintain the rectangle shape as much as possible. Spread the filling as evenly as possible over the dough, leaving a 3/4 of an inch border along one long edge. Roll up the dough, starting from the long edge (with filling), towards the opposite long edge (without filling). Make sure the roll is not loose and not too tight either when you’re rolling it up. Cut the edges of the cinnamon roll log. This is optional. Cut 12 equal pieces, and place each piece of brioche cinnamon roll on a parchment paper-lined half sheet baking tray.
Tips for cutting cinnamon rolls
Brioche dough is really soft at room temperature. It might be a little harder to cut through a large log of cinnamon dough without distorting it. I’ve got a couple of tips to help you maintain the shape and make it easy to cut through the brioche.
How to cut cinnamon rolls using dental floss
First, mark 12 equal portions along the roll. Carefully slide a long piece of dental floss under the log of dough. Align it with the first mark on the dough. Bring the two ends of the dental floss up and over the roll. Then pull the two ends of the floss in opposite directions, so that it cuts cleanly through the dough, along the first mark you made. Repeat until you have 12 equal sized cinnamon rolls.
Proofing and baking
Place the rolls on a parchment paper lined half baking sheet pan and cover with plastic wrap. At this point, you can either store the cinnamon rolls in the fridge overnight and bake in the morning, OR you can let them proof and bake immediately. Make sure the cinnamon rolls have doubled in size, and are touching each other slightly in the pan. Preheat the oven to 350 F / 180 C. Place the baking pan with the cinnamon rolls in the oven, and bake until they are golden brown on top, and the internal temperature is about 180 – 190 F.
Frosting the cinnamon rolls
While the cinnamon rolls are baking, you can prepare the cream cheese frosting. All you need for this are cream cheese, confectioner’s sugar, butter and salt. You can add more cinnamon to the frosting too. This is an optional step. I know lots of people LOVE cream cheese frosting on their cinnamon rolls, but my family prefers these brioche cinnamon rolls with zero frosting. That’s because the rolls are soft, sweet, and rich, all on their own. They simply don’t need any more sweetness and richness from the frosting. BUT, if that’s the way you (cinnamon) roll, then by all means, frost these babies to your heart’s content! 🙂 Once the cinnamon rolls are baked, you’ve got a few options. These large cinnamon rolls are an absolutely amazing treat for special occasions! Another great thing about this recipe is that you can freeze baked brioche cinnamon rolls (unfrosted) for later. Simply let them thaw out at room temperature before devouring again!
Can I halve this recipe?
I don’t recommend halving the dough portion here. Regular household mixers will knead the dough better when made in the quantities given in this recipe. HOWEVER, you can make 1/2 a batch of cinnamon rolls with half of the dough. Then make a gorgeous brioche loaf with the other half of the dough (French toast anyone?) or even make brioche burger buns. You can also make just 6 large cinnamon rolls with half a batch (in a 9 x 13 pan). Or if you prefer smaller cinnamon rolls, you can make 12 smaller rolls in a 9 x 13 pan as well. The smaller cinnamon rolls will bake faster, so keep an eye on them. These brioche cinnamon rolls are incredibly soft, buttery and sweet, and packed with so much cinnamon flavor. If you like brioche, and you also like cinnamon rolls, this two-in-one combo is going to blow your mind! 😀 These are perfect for breakfast or brunch, or as a special occasion treat for Christmas mornings, other holidays and birthdays!
