The BEST SOFT FLUFFY Cinnamon Rolls!

I've been making these cinnamon rolls for YEARS now, first derived from my favorite food blogger Ambitious Kitchen! She has been an inspiration to some of my favorite recipes to date and never disappoints! Over the years I have tweaked this recipe many times to make it my own and add a spin to it!

Every Thanksgiving and Christmas I'll make these as a special treat. Let me tell you one thing.. they are finger licking good. Messy, warm, soft, and all the beautiful things that a cinnamon roll should be! Cinnamon rolls are personally my favorite dessert. I've had delicious cinnamon rolls to some that are just questionable. But these truly are the best!

These have served so many smiles and happy memories and I sure do hope that you can bring this recipe from my kitchen to yours! Full recipe below and take your time with each step! :)

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Ingredients:

For the dough:

• ¾ cup warm unsweetened almond milk

• 2 ¼ teaspoons quick rise or active yeast (1/4-ounce package yeast)

• ¼ cup granulated sugar

• 1 egg plus 1 egg yolk, at room temperature

• ¼ cup unsalted butter, melted

• 3 cups bread flour, plus more for dusting

• 3/4 teaspoon salt

For the filling:

• 2/3 cup dark brown sugar

• 1/4 cup light brown sugar

• 1 ½ tablespoons ground cinnamon

• pinch of nutmeg

• ¼ cup unsalted butter, softened

For the cream cheese frosting:

• 4 oz low-fat cream cheese, softened

• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

• ¾ cup powdered sugar

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Extras:

• Pumpkin Rolls: If you want to make pumpkin cinnamon rolls you could add 1 tbsp pumpkin spice in the filling and 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice in the cream cheese frosting!

• Apple Rolls: If you want to make apple cinnamon rolls you could add 1 tbsp apple pie spice & 1/2 cup chopped up (diced) granny smith apples in the filling and 1 tsp apple pie spice in the cream cheese frosting!

Directions:

1. Place almond milk in a microwave safe bowl and microwaving it for 40-45 seconds. It should be like warm bath water. Not too hot or else the yeast will die! Transfer warm milk and sugar to the bowl of an electric mixer and sprinkle yeast on top. Add in sugar, egg, egg yolk and melted butter. Mix until well combined. Next stir in flour and salt with a wooden spoon until a dough begins to form.



2. Place dough hook on stand mixer and knead dough on medium speed for 8 minutes. Dough should form into a nice ball and be slightly sticky. If it's TOO sticky, add in 2 tablespoons more bread flour. If you don’t want to use an electric mixer, you can use your hands to knead the dough for 8-10 minutes on a well-floured surface.



3. Transfer dough ball to a well-oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap and a warm towel. Allow dough to rise for 1 hour to 1 ½ hours, or until doubled in size. This may more or less time depending the humidity and temperature in your home.



4. After dough has doubled in size, transfer dough to a well-floured surface and roll out into a 14x10 inch rectangle. Spread softened butter over dough, leaving a ¼ inch margin at the far side of the dough.


5. In a small bowl, mix together brown sugar and cinnamon. Use your hands to sprinkle mixture over the buttered dough, then rub the brown sugar mixture into the butter.



6. Tightly roll dough up, starting from the 9-inch side and place seam side down making sure to seal the edges of the dough as best you can. You will probably need to cut off about an inch off the ends of the dough as the ends won’t be as full of cinnamon sugar as we’d want it to be.



7. Cut into 1 inch sections with a serrated knife or floss. You should get 9 large pieces.


8. Place cinnamon rolls in a greased 9x9 inch baking pan or round 9 inch cake pan lined with parchment paper. Cover with plastic wrap and a warm towel and let rise again for 30-45 minutes.

9. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Remove plastic wrap and towel and bake cinnamon rolls for 20-25 minutes or until just slightly golden brown on the edges. You want to under bake them a little so they stay soft in the middle, that’s why we want them just slightly golden brown. Allow them to cool for 5-10 minutes before frosting. Makes 9 cinnamon rolls.



10. To make the frosting: In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar and vanilla extract. Beat until smooth and fluffy. Spread over cinnamon rolls and serve immediately. Enjoy!!

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