Cinnamon Scrolls

When the fragrant scent of warm cinnamon and brown sugar encased in milky, soft, buttery, sweet dough fills up your home, these baked goods will be utterly irresistible. Originating in Northern Europe, cinnamon scrolls are a popular breakfast, lunch, snack or dessert. If you want a smaller batch, this recipe works well when halved.

Prep: 1 hour 40 mins
Cook: 25 mins
Servings: 12

Ingredients:

Dough:
1 cup warm milk
2 tsp yeast
¼ cup sugar
1 egg
½ tsp vanilla (optional)
75g butter, melted
3 cups of all-purpose/plain flour, sifted
½ tsp salt

Filling:
60g butter, softened
½ cup caster sugar
1 tbsp cinnamon

Icing:
100g butter, softened
170g cream cheese, softened
2 cups icing sugar¹
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 ½ tsp milk

Method:

Dough:
In a medium sized bowl combine warm milk, 1tsp of the sugar and the yeast. Stir gently to combine and allow the yeast to proof for 5 to 10 mins. It should become foamy.
Whisk the egg, butter and vanilla together in a small bowl, then add it to the yeast mixture until combined. Mix the flour, sugar and salt. Add the yeast and egg mixture to the flour and mix to form a dough.

Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 10 minutes. The dough should become smooth and elastic. When you press your finger into the dough it should bounce back. Form the dough into a ball and place in a greased bowl. Cover lightly with plastic film or with a tea towel and place in a warm spot, free of any drafts, to rise for 1 hour. The dough is ready when it has doubled in size and sticks to the bowl slightly.

Transfer the dough onto a lightly floured surface and punch out the dough. With a rolling pin, roll out a 3mm-thick rectangle. Approximately 30cm x 45cm. To make the filling, spread the butter evenly over the top of the dough. Mix the sugars and cinnamon in a small bowl and sprinkle generously over the buttered dough. From the long-edge side, gently roll the dough up into a log. With a sharp knife, cut into 12 even slices.

Preheat the oven to 200˚C. Lay the slices onto a baking tray, tucking in the edges and leaving some space between each slice. Cover and set aside to rise for 20 to 30 mins.
Brush the slices lightly with milk and bake in the oven for 25 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove from oven when ready and set aside.

Icing:
While the cinnamon scrolls are cooling, prepare cream cheese frosting by creaming together butter, confectioner's sugar, cream cheese and vanilla for 2 minutes or until smooth. Add more icing sugar for a thicker consistency or a dash of milk to make it runnier. Spread frosting generously over rolls while they are still slightly warm.

-Enjoy!

Notes:
¹Also known as powdered sugar or confectioner’s sugar

I own all the content and images for this recipe. I wrote this recipe for HalalGuide.