90-minute Brown Butter Cinnamon Rolls
I have made these cinnamon rolls so many times since I first posted in in 2012 that I could make them with my eyes closed. These are truly the best cinnamon rolls and they are my go- to for every brunch, weekend away with friends, Christmas morning and pretty much every special occasion in between.
These are a classic cinnamon roll recipe taken up a notch with the addition of brown butter. It adds a subtle nutty flavor and is my favorite element of this recipe.
After just 90 minutes, you’ll pull the most beautiful, golden brown rolls out of the oven and feel like a bit of a kitchen hero. They are really that good.
If you are short on 90 minutes and want to make these in advance, I’ve realized that you can indeed make them the night before, store in the fridge, and proof on the counter morning of. I have never frozen the rolls before baking but I have no doubt that would work too.
Whether for a special Christmas morning treat or simply something a little extra special for your Sunday brunch, this is a recipe you just must have in your back pocket.
Ingredients needed for 90 Minute Cinnamon Rolls:
- All Purpose Flour
- Yeast
- White Sugar
- Salt
- Warm Milk
- Browned Butter
- Dark Brown Sugar
- Cinnamon
Supplies needed for 90 Minute Brown Butter Cinnamon Buns:
- Large bowl
- Small Bowl
- Plastic Wrap or Damp Cloth
- 9×12 baking dish or cast iron skillet
- Wooden Spoon or Rubber spatula
- Serrated knife or unflavored dental floss for slicing
- Rolling Pin
Ingredients for the Cream Cheese Frosting:
- Cream Cheese
- Powdered Sugar
- Unsalted Butter
- Vanilla Extract
The Process:
Heat milk and the butter in a small saucepan. In a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer add the flour and yeast and then the warm milk mixture. Mix by hand, with the dough hook attachment, or an electric mixer and add the remaining flour as needed until a scraggly dough is formed.
Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead until a smooth and soft dough has formed. Cover with saran wrap or a damp cloth and while the dough rests mix up your cinnamon mixture and brown the butter. Roll dough out into a 9×12 inch rectangle, slather with brown butter and the cinnamon sugar and then roll up and slice into 12 equal pieces. Let the dough rise in a warm place for 45 minutes and then bake in your preheated oven! Enjoy warm cinnamon rolls!
Storing Brown Butter Cinnamon Rolls:
This recipe will last well in an airtight container. Due to the cream cheese frosting I prefer to keep them in the fridge.
How to Reheat Cinnamon Rolls:
I love my Cinnamon Rolls warm or room temperature. But if you make a big batch and want to save some in the fridge- you can for up to a week! Check out my post on How to Reheat Cinnamon Rolls.
Can I make these Brown Butter Cinnamon Rolls in advance and bake the next morning?
Yes! I do this often and it works well. Follow the recipe up to when you cut the rolls and place them in the pan. Instead of doing your second rise right away, wrap the pan in plastic wrap and pop the whole pan into the fridge.
In the morning take the pan out of the fridge and let it finish proofing on the counter ideally in a warm place. Add about 30 minutes to the proof time as the dough will need to come to room temperature first. After the rolls have doubled in size you can bake like normal.
Can I bake these 90 minute Brown Butter Cinnamon Rolls in Muffin Tins?
Absolutely! I only suggest keeping a close eye on them while they bake as they are more likely to get overdone this way. Start at 15 minutes and go from there.
Other icing/frosting options:
I like a classic cream cheese frosting but also love my Brown Butter Frosting on these rolls. (Add a little cream cheese to that for Brown Butter Cream Cheese Frosting!)
Other Cinnamon Roll Recipes on my blog:
Not in the mood for Cinnamon? Try Lemon Poppyseed Buns or Dark Chocolate Swirl Buns!
90-minute Brown Butter Cinnamon Rolls
Ingredients
Dough:
- 3/4 cup milk
- 1/4 cup butter
- 3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 (.25 ounce) package instant yeast (or 2 1/4 teaspoons)
- 1/4 cup white sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 egg
Filling:
- 1 cup brown sugar, packed
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon of butter
Frosting:
- 2 tablespoons softened butter
- 4 oz cream cheese
- 1 tsp vanilla extract or paste
- 2-3 cups of powdered sugar (depending on how sweet you like it.)
Instructions
To make the frosting:
- Whip together the softened butter and cream cheese with an electric mixer until smooth and creamy. Add the vanilla and the powdered sugar, 1/2 cup at a time. Beat until creamy and spreadable.
Notes
*when it's cold in my kitchen, I like to preheat the oven for a few minutes, (usually to about 200F,) and proof them in there.
These sound wonderful!
These need to be in my belly. LOVE these!!
Hi,
If you like Cinnamon rolls, why not try the Swedish version too:-) Also not longer than 90 minutes. The Swedish Cinnamon rolls are baked in a very hot oven for a only5-10 minutes.
Please visit:
http://meandmysweets.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/cardamom-and-cinnamon-buns.html
Hope you like it!
Cheers!
Oh YUM! I loooove cinnamon rolls & easy makes them even better! :) Totally trying these the next time I need a brunch food!!
I adore cinnamon rolls and yours look fantastic! I’ve always had luck with Peter Reinhart’s recipe from the Bread Baker’s Apprentice (with the exception of one batch of sticky buns that just wouldn’t double…my kitchen was that cold that day!) His recipe thankfully doesn’t need to proof overnight. I’d love you to try it out and hear how you think they compare!
http://seizethefood.blogspot.com/2011/04/cinnamon-buns.html
I’ll have to try out your version this weekend to do a little taste test of my own. 90 minutes? I’m already sold!
The future in-laws loved them! Good job, Audra…
Thanks for the tip! I will check it out for sure!
If it had brown butter it must be good!
Oh good lordy. That first picture literally had my mouth watering. What a fabulous – and relatively easy – recipe, Audra! I love nothing more in this world than a gooey cinnamon roll and it looks like you hit the homemade jackpot with these. I hope to try them soon!
I cant believe after MBM and Cinn Bun Pie that you made…MORE cinn rolls. You are AWESOME and Ive finally met someone else who loves cinn rolls as much as I do :)
Gosh, I don’t know how you get that TIGHT spiral in those cinnamon rolls but it’s gorgeous! I still need a lot of work :) Great post!
Wow, those look so good! I wish I could have one right now haha.
Cinnamon rolls are my life. I love this, Audra, absolutely brilliant!
I LOVE a quick Cinnamon Roll recipe! I think this recipe might change my life too :)
Yesss! This sounds just like my Mom’s recipe. They are soooo good! I am glad you found one to your liking!
They were fabulous folks! Thanks Audra.
Oh wow, way to make cinnamon rolls even more seductive! ;) Looks like I just want to rip one out of the pan!
I hate rising times. That’s why I don’t like making cinnamon rolls for breakfast. But if this takes only an hour and a half, I could totally make these for breakfast, since I get up aq little earlier than the average eenager :)
These look amazing!
I love the idea of browned butter in cinnamon rolls. I can imagine how much more flavor an already decadent treat would have that way. YUMMY!
I’ve had the same kind of quest and can’t wait to try these!
OMG I want to come over for brunch please make these for me!
Oh my gosh, so excited to see this recipe! Like you, I’m severly lacking in the patience department when it comes to baking. I’m totally going to try these soon. They look delicious :)
These look amazing!!! I totally want to make these, perhaps this will be my easter weekend plans. =)
Lauren we could actually do that. Lets have a brunch! We need to get together!
i feel the same way! i’ve been wanting to make cinnamon rolls but didn’t want to do all the work, 90 minute cinnamon rolls sound perfect can’t wait to bake these this weekend!
I really enjoy that this recipe isn’t a two-day overnight recipe.
I made these tonight with the addition of blood orange (heaping T zest in the sugar mixture, 1/3 cup juice in the icing). It makes a pretty pink. They are proofing now. I’ll let you know how they turn out but they smell delicious.
I used my stand mixer for the dough with the whisk attachment, switching to the dough hook when adding the last cup of flour. It was perfect.
Ooh sounds awesome! Let me know!
These sound fabulous – can’t wait to give them a try!
I made this recipe on Easter Sunday. I’ve always been intimidated by recipes involving yeast, but I gave it a try. They turned out great! They are fast and easy to make and delicious!!! Thank you for sharing this recipe. I saw you on the Sunday Morning program and checked out your blog–I’ve been hooked ever since!
Gorgeous!!
Wow wow wow wow these are AMAZING! I made a batch this week as a gift for our local fire department that had to come to my house for a false alarm. Then I had to make another batch today for my family because they thought their sample was so great from the first batch! I’m wondering now how I could make these to taste like an almond kringle … hmmm … yum!
Thanks for the fantastic recipe! I will say I was able to get away with just one batch of the frosting to have enough for two batches of rolls.
I’m so glad you liked these! I’ve made them so many times now :)
And yes- I tend to slather the frosting pretty thick, half a serving may be fine as well :)
Making this for Sunday morning with friends that we are staying with. Wondering how you think this would hold up if I made Saturday afternoon but didn’t bake – as i place it in the refrigerator after letting it sit up for the 30 minutes. Or should I just bake them and rewarm them? Any thoughts?
Hey Hope! I’ve always made these day of (usually I make them first thing in the morning and then wait to bake them until 20 minutes before we’re ready to dig in.) But- I think it will be OK if you make them the night before. I think that if they are proofed and puffy- you can cover them tightly with plastic wrap and then stick them in the fridge until the morning. Let me know how it goes! :)
Oh my goodness. I made these and they were absolutely amazing. I love cinnamon, sugar, and cream cheese frosting and this just turned out beautifully. Thank you!
Wondering if you’ve tried making and freezing them…with or without baking first.
I made these from AllRecipes without browning the butter but I had to let them rise for about an hour or so until they were doubled. It took a lot longer than 30 minutes. They still came out amazing, though. Also, I used instant yeast, not active dry. What do you think it is?
Where did you put the rolls for them to proof? Was it very warm? I find that when I preheat the oven to 200 and then turn it off, it is the perfect place to proof the rolls. They always are huge after 30 minutes!
I haven’t Janice, if you try it please let me know how it goes!
So glad you liked them Jane!
Made these twice ‘coz the 1st time I was stupid enough not to check the expiry date of my yeast so it was a disaster I almost cried. My househelp didn’t want to throw them away so I dumped them into a pot of boiling oil out of frustration and got a Bake & Fried Cinnamon Roll instead. Surprisingly my girl loved them :) But I was devastated so I baked them again last Monday and oh boy, they were gorgeous! :) I can’t explain the happiness I felt after overcoming my fear of baking with yeast and something that entails kneading :) Thanks so much for posting this. Oh btw, I got orders for these :)
Thanks for the lovely recipe! If anyone would like to see the ones I made with a sweet potato thrown in for good measure, which sort of turned out like a sweet potato pie in rolled up form, you can check ’em out here… bit.ly/TbU3Jr
This recipe inspired me to finally try cinnamon rolls! I just want you to know I was beyond pleased with the results.. These are SO delicious! Would you believe me if I told you this was also the first time I’ve ever tried eating cinnamon rolls?! Thanks for making the experience so sweet!
these were so delish! thanks for sharing this recipe :)
Yay! So glad you liked them!
Where’s the recipe for the cinamon rolls? This has the pictures with the recipe for the garlic one.
Shoot- not sure how that happened. Let me fix it!
I made these twice now and it is such a great recipe, just a quick question: the second time around my dough was harder to roll out as it kept coming back smaller it wasn’t as easy to manipulate. Can you think of any reason this might be?
I have made these several times and they are absolutely amazing. The best was when I made several batches before having my daughter and my parents were able to bring hot cinnamon rolls to the hospital to thank the nurses.
Have you ever tried freezing them? I am planning on serving them for a Father’s Day brunch but I will be out of town before hand and will not have time to make them.
Ability is the final category of skills for the Knight, including the
basics of increased health regeneration or increased mana regeneration, along with
basic upgrades to receive less damage or deal more damage.
X-Men reveals the clash and battle between humans and mutants.
I’m all for suspension of disbelieve, but that is just asking
too much.
ok i have to say after making these from your recipe over a dozen times i was always pushing the time on the proofing bc they just werent puffing up enough…i tried so many different things..but i just went to RE print this and noticed you say INSTANT YEAST! when i had first started making these, i had not realized there were different kinds of yeast, but now that I’ve been baking more yeast breads I actually have both kinds in my cupboard! I am so excited to try this again using instant yeast, as I’m sure it will solve my problem! You might point that out in your description if you think other people might not realize there is a distinction in what yeast to buy. um couple of other things…i need those chocolatey salty cookies in my tummy. and i need to get rid of almond paste. know any nyc bakers who want a mason jar full? I just need the room in my fridge again!!!! :) also my boys SCREAMED when i told them i would make these for the weekend. it is their favorite thing i make. thanks to your recipe. miss you audra!!!!!!
These are our go-to cinnamon buns. Who doesn’t love a fresh, hot cinnamon bun?!
These cinnamon rolls look just irresistible!
honestly audra i think i’ve shared your recipe/post on these to so many people and this recipe gets people totally hooked on the baker chick as their go to baking inspiration ha ha ha! did i miss it or could you tell me what is different about THIS recipe than the original? Just the pix? or did you change something in terms of ingredients? Sorry I read fast…did I miss something? I LOVE THIS RECIPE!!!! Thanks!
Just a few subtle changes. I have always felt like a stick was too much butter to spread inside so I reduced it a bit. I also reworded a few things :)
Hi Audra! I read through the recipe and would just like to double check one thing: the rolls need only to rise once before baking? You didnt let the dough rise before rolling it out? Thanks!
Yup- only one proof after forming. The dough does rest for 10 minutes before rolling out but that’s it!
Thank you!
Hi Audra, Your recipe calls for cutting 12 rolls in a 9×13, but the photos show 9 rolls in a 9×9. Did you adjust the recipe, or did you just make extra large rolls? I have a party of 8, and would prefer the smaller amount, so was curious. Thanks
Good quesiton. THe recipe indeed makes 12 rolls. For this shoot, I wanted to use a 9×9 pan so I put 9 rolls in there and made 3 more in a muffin tin :) You could halve the recipe and make smaller rolls, but I’d suggest just making the whole thing. People always seem happy to go back for seconds of these :)
I think this will soon be my new favorite cinnamon roll recipe. Pretty hard to top 90 mins., browned butter and a nice fluffy dough. Thanks!
ahhh these have been on my must make lost foreverrr!
I can’t believe I met you! Your blog is famous! I’ve definitely used one of your recipes for a fall dessert. So crazy! Anyway, Alice’s tea cup has nothin on your baked goods! Much love to you!
Aw thank you Kara. You are so sweet! xoxo
These have been my go-to cinnamon roll recipe since your first posting of it. They are so good, and so easy!
Delicious! I made it for the New Year/my boyfriends bday. We both loved it! Thanks à lot!!!!!
I made these Christmas morning! Yum!! I love anything with brown butter and these were great! Although I accidentally overbaked it just slightly, so they weren’t as chewy as I had hoped. And I don’t know if anyone else had this problem- but I seemed to have wayy more butter and cinnamon filling than I could actually put on the dough before rolling it…But otherwise, it was delicious!!
I wonder if you didn’t roll the dough out large enough? The butter sometimes seems like a lot (you have to just pour it all on anyway,) but the cinnamon is the perfect amount I have found. :)
Turned out perfect :)
Hi. I just made these for mother’s day and they turned out disappointingly sickly sugary sweet. I couldn’t even taste the cinnamon through all that sugar. I thought that maybe there was a typo with the amount of sugar (I’m still hoping that it really is?) in the filling but it’s one whole cup according to other recipes too. I would also add a pinch of salt to the filling to balance it out a bit. The icing was nice though. The dough came out perfect too although I did end up following other instruction when making it.
Hey there thought I’d reply bc I make these al the time and love this recipe! How big was your rectangle? I’m thinking that perhaps the dough was not rolled out white big enough making less surface area, so that the sugar cinnamon amount was perhaps thicker? I’m pretty certain it’s not a typo so I’m thinking maybe that’s what happened? I always am able too cut more than a dozen rolls once I roll it all up….how many did you cut? Give it another go and if that doesn’t solve it I guess add less sugar.
Thanks for your reply! I actually rolled the dough out pretty large and thin and also got more than a dozen rolls. I browsed through some recipes in Estonian and the amount of sugar for the filling was less than half used in these ones. I’m definitely going to use way less sugar the next time :)
I have a cheat day coming up from my diet and I think these are going to have to be made for breakfast! Thanks for sharing the recipe!
wow!! awesome recipe, they turned out great!! thanks :)))
I’ve made these twice now, and they are amazing. My husband is very critical of cinnamon buns, but these were the “perfect amount of fluffy/chewy”. The only thing I changed was browning the butter on the stovetop. I tried it in the microwave in a covered dish, but it still managed to explode and burn! I also added 1/2 tsp of cinnamon to the icing, just for an added kick of cinnamon!
My 2 year old likes to bake with me, so I cut off a chunk of dough for him to play with. Rather than waste it, I did a mini roll and placed the cut pieces in a mini-muffin tin and baked for 13 min. They came out so great and I brought them to a play group!
Thanks for the recipe!
Theses Cinnamon Rolls are amazing! I had never made cinnamon rolls before and so these were my first attempt and they were fantastic. They are so easy to make and they are perfectly soft and sweet. Thank you for the recipe!
Oh I love Cinnamon Rolls and will make a batch this weekend. I just used half of my dough to make Sticky Buns. I will be giving half of them away.
Wow the amount of icing on these cinnamon rolls is exactly what I like to see!! So yummy, I want one right now!
OMG I’ve made this recipe once and I can already see this becoming my go-to recipe :O Absolutely love how easy the dough is to make!
Although you said that it’s possible to make them the night before, and then proof them the next day, I was wondering if it was alright to make them SEVERAL nights before. I need to make two batches for a class event, and I’m not sure if I’ll have time the night before, per say. Thanks so much!
Hi Ada! You can make them and roll them out, and then cover with airtight plastic wrap and chill until the day of. Then let them proof on your counter (for extra time since they were cold,) and then bake! If it’s more than 2 days early I’d consider freezing them!
Audra, I’m making these for a breakfast themed dinner party tomorrow. I’ll make them tonight and wrap them airtight and let them spend the night in the fridge after which time I’d like to let them proof tomorrow but I’m wondering if I can let them proof on my counter all day (since MN is cooold right now) or if I’ll come home to gargantuan rolls…
JUST WOW. I just made these and I’m so thrilled with the ease and results. The texture is beautiful and these are literally the cinnamon rolls of my dreams. Now- I’ve been making cinnamon rolls for years – thought my recipe was fine- but THAT recipe is now in the trash!! New favorite here. :-)
Next time I plan to decrease the brown sugar in the filling to 3/4 cup since there was at least 1/4 cup leftover after I generously spread it on the rolls. Also, I do not prefer a cream cheese frosting so I mixed together a few tablespoons of melted butter, splash of vanilla, powdered sugar and milk to glazing consistency and poured it on warm for it to soak in. YUM!
I had a couple questions:
Do you know of any reason I couldn’t make a double batch of these? I would like more rolls out of my effort if I’m going to mess up my kitchen! (I cook them a little shorter time and freeze them without the frosting for later. Then I warm them up and glaze them). Have you tried doubling the recipe?
Thank you so much for this recipe!
Do you think it would work with regular yeast if I gave it a longer rise time? I always buy the big container of yeast at Costco – it’s so inexpensive and handy. Instant yeast isn’t something I normally keep in my pantry- and when you get a cinnamon roll craving you need to do something about it!!
These look amazing. I love brown butter. Quick question… The recipe says it makes 12, bit your pan only has 9. If I make 12 will they be really small?
It makes 12! I just photographed 9 and made the others in ramekins :)
Thank you very much for sharing this recipe. I was hesitant to try this because of the yeast which means kneading for me. But I was just so glad coz I tried it. It came out fine and yummy. There are some flaws like they were huge and sides were a bit hard. Why is it so?
I will definitely try it again. Hubby said it was yummy.
If you think they were too big maybe form smaller rolls next time? If the sides were hard I’d guess you over-baked them a bit.
Made these this morning. They really are easy and the browned butter makes all of the difference in the world. Mine are no where near as visually attractive as yours, but they were delicious. Thanks for sharing!
Omg I really impressed myself making your cinnamon rolls recipe. It was so easy to follow. I’m not a baker and I have made plenty of mistakes when it comes to baking, however this recipe turned out really well. And it is definitely better than Cinnabon. Thank you for sharing this recipe and for my family to enjoy. And I look forward to trying out your other baking recipes as well.
Yay! I’m so glad you liked it :)
Can i make these three days ahead and freeze them?
You can make the dough and roll out and then freeze before proofing. Then let them thaw at roomp temp and them proof for a full 45 mins after thawing.
These cinnamon rolls are delicious! Turned out amazing and followed the directions exactly! Yummy! My husband and little one approved!
Theae are amazing ive madeabatch two daysago and double batch today yummy except today i didnt have vaailla i ised ru. Extract addedwow factor
Thank you
Christina
Ours came out dry. How do you make them gooey? Just undercook them?
Did you try ever before cinnamons rolls with deep frying in oil?
Just made these as my first attempt ever at cinnamon rolls. So impressed! They turned out so yummy, and will definitely be using this recipe again!! I only used half the amount of frosting though, as I prefer them better that way.
I made the cinnamon rolls two days ago, they are just as good today. Heated in microwave 20 seconds and what a treat. I’ll always use this recipe.
Recipe looks great! Typo g̶a̶g̶i̶n̶g̶ gauging (my autocorrect just tried to insert gaging too!)
Make your recipe this morning. The dough was so easy to work with. The rolls were so tender and everyone loved them. Thank you for a wonderful recipe. Once again!
Oh my gosh!!! Best cinnamon rolls ever!! Highly recommend this recipe, it was super fast and all I needed to buy was cream cheese!
Beautiful recipe! I’ve made it four times and happy to say that I am no longer intimidated by using yeast for a recipe. Thank you, Audra. This recipe is a keeper! Best wishes for a happy and healthy new year. <B
These are such delicious cinnamon rolls!! I think I’ve made this recipe 2 or 3 times since discovering it, and they are incredibly good. I always end up using almond milk in place of milk because that’s what I typically have on hand, and it works just fine. One warning I would say is make sure you don’t use expired powdered sugar–the one time this happened to me it destroyed these perfect cinnamon rolls
I am planning to make these for a bridal shower and some people are gluten-free. What adjustments should I make if I use gluten-free flour? Thanks!
I know you posted this recipe a long time ago, but I still make these often in my household. I have added different spices over the years and made them festive around the holidays. Everyone raves about these cinnamon rolls! Thank you for sharing with the world!
Thank you so much! They are a favorite here too!
Just moved from NC to TX with the navy and was looking for a recipe that would taste a little like home – these were amazing! Saving for the future, thanks for posting!
Thanks for letting me know!
I’ve been making these every other weekend now for about 6 months and everyone loves them – it’s kind of a tradition now to make cinnamon rolls on Friday or Saturday. They are so easy to whip up and so so good!!
Thanks so much for letting me know!
Love this recipe! It has become a Christmas tradition to make these! Delicious and not too difficult.