I’ve been deep in recipe development this week and getting excited for my upcoming milestone! Taking over the kitchen at a local cafe. It’s located in a small airport, which sounds odd. But the space is small and manageable for me. One of the things I’m excited to offer on my menu (which will be baked goods, pastries, lunch, pizzas, desserts, and gourmet specialties) is brown butter cinnamon rolls. Is there anything better than the perfect cinnamon roll?

Brown Butter Cinnamon Rolls

I’m in the process of transferring my tools and equipment to the restaurant space. We’ve decided to call it Nomad. An ode to traveling and being inspired by the flavors of local specialities in Italy, Portugal, Asia, and more. I’ve been working on the menu for a few weeks now and quietly developing recipes, like my sourdough focaccia, along with cookies, muffins, pastries, and lunch dishes. The menu will also include several of my favorite recipes from this very blog: pasteis de nata, chicken caesar schnitzel, tiramisu, chocolate orange cookies. 

I’m so excited! Albeit a tad nervous. Change is always intimidating. I’m trying not to enter with high expectations. The reason I’ve decided to take on this project is because I want community and a way to take care of people. A vehicle for my creativity and art, too. The idea of being able to cook for people every day and get to know them, in an area in Maine that I’ve always loved, is a dream come true. There will be challenges and hardships, which comes with running any small business, but it’ll be worth it. 

Opening My Own Bakery / Cafe!

There’s a lot of self-doubt that goes into transitioning from a home cook to a chef, too. I’ve been cooking for people my whole life. I’ve developed hundreds of recipes that I’m so proud of, that I know would knock anyone’s socks off. But for some reason there’s this barrier in my mind between the talents I possess as a cook and those demanded by professional chefs. I suppose it’s just practice. I haven’t worked in Michelin star restaurants, but I have been getting ready for this my whole life. There’s nothing I love more than sharing food with people.

So, this week I’m baking another loaf of sourdough focaccia with my finicky starter. I think it’ll be perfect this time. And I decided to work on perfecting my brown butter cinnamon rolls. I wanted to make them 1) fluffy, 2) packed with cinnamon flavor, 3) topped with delicious brown butter frosting, and 4) not too sweet. I’ve eaten a lot of cinnamon rolls in my life. They can range from hard and croissant-like with a thin glaze to a mushy soft dough with too much icing. I hate cream cheese frosting. So I wanted to develop brown butter cinnamon rolls with a rich, deep brown butter frosting. 

Recipe Development

I started by researching recipes. I have a quick version that requires about 2 hours of proofing, so they can be made in an afternoon. But for ease of making these in a restaurant and for maximum depth of flavor, I decided to create a new recipe that utilizes an overnight proof to develop flavor and better texture. I’ve also been fascinated by milk bread lately so I watched Claire Saffitz’ recipe on Youtube which utilizes a tangzhong. It’s simply a paste of cooked milk and flour that keeps the dough soft. 

I also studied Erin McDowell’s recipe which has an innovative filling. One problem I always have when baking cinnamon rolls is that the more butter, therefore flavor, you pack into the filling, the more it leaks during proofing. You need the buns to rise in warm air before they bake, but it can melt the butter into a mess. Then, when they bake, the bottoms caramelize with the sugars and create a hard crust that’s not pleasant to eat. Her recipe uses only a little melted butter, mixed with sugar and cinnamon, with flour to hold it all together. I wanted to try it.

Brown Butter Frosting

And then there’s always my favorite brioche-based sticky buns from Joanne Chang’s Flour. The recipe uses more butter and eggs for a richer, tender dough. But I’ve tried to bake them before in the off-season without the pecan goo on top and they got a little too crispy. I should cover them for half the bake, but lesson learned. So, I wanted my recipe to become a hybrid of all three. Brown butter cinnamon rolls with an enriched, buttery dough, with tangzhong for tenderness and a little flour and melted butter in the sugary filling. 

The topping is my own creation. I melt brown butter until it’s nice and caramelized and then let it sit at room temperature to firm up again. I add a little heavy cream to bring back some of the moisture that cooks out, and I infuse cinnamon for more flavor. Vanilla, too. And I added maple syrup to cut down on the sickening sharpness that powdered sugar frostings sometimes have. I considered adding a whipped egg white or two for more of a meringue-like frosting. But I decided to keep it simple. 

Milk Bread Cinnamon Bun Dough

I started the day before with the dough, using Claire’s recipe as a blueprint. I brought my beloved professional stand mixer into the kitchen and hoisted it up onto the counter. It doesn’t get used often – it’s for special occasions. I got it when I was 13 or 14 when I really fell in love with baking. I’m bringing it to the cafe and can’t wait to make so many breads and pastries in it. One of the nice things is that it has a handle to raise and lower the bowl, which makes adding things easy. I started with my tangzhong, by simply whisking milk and flour together in a hot pan. Then I added more milk, ice water, eggs, yeast, sugar, and salt. 

It churned away for a few minutes, creating a soft focaccia-like dough. Pulling on the hook of the mixer. I let it mix for a few minutes to develop gluten. Then, just like my favorite brioche recipe, I added softened butter a little at a time for about 10 minutes until it was all incorporated. This is a really good opportunity to add brown butter flavor. If you want, you can take the time to caramelize your butter into brown butter, let it sit, mix it up until it has the texture of regular butter, and use that. I added cinnamon to my dough, too. 

Rolling + Cutting Cinnamon Rolls

I added some extra butter for good measure to make sure the dough was even more enriched. Then, after another few minutes, the dough became a familiar elastic, yellow strong ball. I shaped it on the counter for a moment and then covered it in a buttered bowl to rise while I cleaned. Next I made the filling inspired by Erin’s recipe. I mixed my own brown sugar. I also added extra cinnamon, a little clove to give it more spice, along with nutmeg and ground ginger. Salt, too, to bring out the flavors. And I mixed it by hand with a little melted butter and a tablespoon or so of flour. It came together like a sandy streusel and smelled heavenly. 

The next day I woke up early to try and make the brown butter cinnamon rolls before breakfast. The dough rested in the fridge overnight, but it was still easy to roll out on the counter after a few minutes. I rolled it into a long rectangle, which is one of my favorite things to do, and covered it in my brown sugar and spice mixture. I upped the amount to make sure the recipe is generous and packed with flavor. Then, instead of rolling it on the long side to make small little buns, I like to roll on the short side which makes the brown butter cinnamon rolls fatter and more generous. I have a core memory of when I was little of a local restaurant that served cinnamon rolls the size of my head. They were to die for. 

Whipped Brown Butter + Maple

I’m hoping to give someone else that experience in my cafe. The joy of eating something delicious that’s just so large and sweet that it makes your entire day. Generosity, in my opinion, is as important as flavor, presentation, and texture. So, to continue, I let my thick cinnamon rolls proof in a square pan. Which I forgot to grease or line with parchment paper. It happens. The rolls in the middle were smaller, for some reason, which I didn’t notice. So they got a bit smushed by the big kids on the sides as they grew. Meanwhile I made the brown butter icing. 

Again, I hate cream cheese icing for some reason, so I stayed far away from cream cheese. This recipe is purely butter, sugar, and a little maple syrup. But the flavor comes from browning the butter and adding a little vanilla and cinnamon. First I melted down nearly 2 sticks of butter in a pan, watching it caramelize into a golden brown. Then, I poured my brown butter into a metal bowl and planned to place it in the fridge for an hour, stirring occasionally, to make sure it was firm enough to mix. Like the texture of frosting. Instead, I remembered the porch was covered in a thick layer of snow. So I went outside for a moment and set my bowl down in it.

Baking + Icing

I brought it inside after about 15 minutes and stirred it up into a whipped cream texture. It set it in the fridge until I was happy with the texture, then I got out a whisk and beat in a little maple syrup. I forgot to mention – I infused the brown butter with cinnamon and vanilla when it was hot. Next I added my powdered sugar, a little at a time until I had a fluffy frosting. Just enough for it to be sweet and thick. I was happy with it, but when I added a pinch of salt, it came alive. The brown butter flavor is so delicious and cuts down on the extreme sweetness many cinnamon rolls often have. 

I baked the brown butter cinnamon rolls, covering them for the first 15 minutes. It helped them steam and puff up without browning. Then, I removed the tinfoil and popped them back in to finish for another 15 minutes. Finally, they were golden brown and caramelized with the centers spiraled out of the tops like crowns. I could see all the cinnamon and sugar swirls and delicate soft bread. I let them rest for a bit to make sure the frosting didn’t melt. Then, I took them out of the pan, realizing quickly that I forgot to use parchment paper. I had to use some might to scrape the caramelized sugar off the sides and bottom, but I was able to rescue them. 

Eating Cinnamon Rolls for Lunch

The sides of the buns are nice and tender, which bake together and keep them from getting too hard. The tops are spiraled and spiced and buttery. Finally, I took my favorite offset spatula and spread my brown butter frosting generously over the tops. Which didn’t melt, thankfully. I sat down for “breakfast” at noon, finally ready to eat my creation. I spooned some extra frosting on it, too, and started with the inside. The best part. The dough was tender and soft. The filling is deep and rich with spices, but not too sweet. And the frosting! The frosting is so unique and delicious. I want to put it on everything. 

It’s like whipped maple brown butter with powdered sugar and salt for contrast. Each bite with the frosting turns into a knockout. It melds and mixes with the cinnamon sugar filling beautifully. The soft buns are a perfect vehicle, and hard to put down. You can’t taste the flour in the filling but it helped prevent too much leaking. The buns are super soft from the tangzhong. And the extra butter in the dough keeps them rich and delicious. The frosting is my favorite part. Which says a lot, because I’m usually not a frosting person. 

Nomad – Coming Soon!

I will be making these a lot. And can’t wait to see how they get even better as I make them more and more for my cafe. If you’re in Maine, mark your calendars for February 6th! We’ll be hosting our first brunch service to introduce some of my favorite dishes. Including blueberry brown butter pancakes, katsu potato hash browns, and latke eggs Benedict. Feel free to reach out if you’d like to come – Nomad at the Knox County airport is close to Rockland, Maine, about a 5 minute drive. I can’t wait to share my food with people in person!

Thank you for reading. If you enjoy my art and recipes, be sure to check out my Etsy for 100’s of prints and recipe cards. Use code THEFORKEDRING for 25% off. 

Print Pin

Brown Butter Cinnamon Rolls

Rich, tender cinnamon rolls with a whipped brown butter frosting

Course Breakfast

Cuisine American

Keyword brown butter, cinnamon rolls

Prep Time 12 hours hours

Cook Time 30 minutes minutes

Servings 9

Author theforkedring

Ingredients

• 1 cup whole milk
• 4 1/4 cups AP flour + 1 tsp
• 1/4 cup cold water
• 3 large eggs cold
• 1 tsp active dry yeast
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 3 tsp kosher salt
• 4 sticks unsalted butter
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 2 tbsp ground cinnamon + 1/2 tsp
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1/4 tsp ground cloves
• 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
• 2 1/2 tbsp real maple syrup
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Instructions

• Heat whole milk in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir until it begins to bubble and steam.
• Pour 1/2 cup of the milk into the bowl of a stand mixer. Add 1/4 cup flour to the milk remaining in the pot and stir to combine into a thick paste.
• Once the paste has thickened and is steaming, remove from heat and scrape into the stand mixer bowl. Then, add your cold water and eggs and stir to combine.
• Add 4 cups flour, 1 tsp yeast, 1/4 cup white sugar, and 1 1/2 tsp kosher salt. Mix on low speed until the dough comes together. Then, turn the speed up to medium-low and mix for another 5 minutes.
• Once the dough is smooth, turn the mixer down to low and add 14 tbsp softened butter (or brown butter) one tbsp at a time until fully incorporated. Then, mix your dough on medium speed for a few minutes until it slaps the sides of the bowl.
• Remove dough from mixer and roll into a tight ball. Transfer to a greased bowl and cover tightly, proofing in a warm spot for an hour.
• Rest cinnamon roll dough in the fridge overnight, for up to 16 hours. Then, remove 15 minutes before using.
• Mix the filling by combining 1 cup brown sugar, 1/2 cup white sugar, 2 tbsp ground cinnamon, ground ginger, cloves, and nutmeg, and 1 tsp kosher salt.
• Melt 4 tbsp unsalted butter until browned. Remove from heat and pour into your sugar and spice mixture, using a chopstick or fork to mix evenly.
• Add 1 tsp AP flour to the sugar mixture and mix until combined.
• Roll cinnamon roll dough on a clean work surface into a large, 24” long rectangle. Sprinkle the top generously with cinnamon sugar mixture and press lightly to adhere.
• Roll the buns from the short side until you have a thick log. Then, cut the buns into 9 equal pieces.
• Grease and line a 10×10” square baking pan with parchment paper. Place your buns in a grid inside, spacing about 1/2” between each bun.
• Cover with plastic wrap and proof in a warm spot for 45-60 minutes until puffy and the buns are touching.
• While the buns are proofing, melt 1 3/4 sticks of unsalted butter in a saucepan until browned. Then pour into a heat-proof bowl and add 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon, 2 1/2 tbsp maple syrup, and 1 tsp vanilla extract.
• Let cool in the fridge for 40-60 minutes, mixing occasionally, until it’s a thick, spreadable frosting texture.
• Preheat oven to 350°F. Remove plastic wrap and cover buns with tin foil. Bake for 15 minutes, then uncover and cook another 15-20 minutes until golden brown.
• Remove from oven and let rest for 15-20 minutes. Remove buns from pan and finish your frosting by beating the spreadable brown butter with powdered sugar. Add 1/2 tsp kosher salt.
• Spread your brown butter frosting generously over the cinnamon rolls and serve.

Notes

• This recipe is inspired by and adapted from Claire Saffitz’ milk bread cinnamon rolls, Erin Jeanne McDowell’s cinnamon rolls, and Joanne Chang’s sticky buns from Flour. 
• If you want some fresh acidity to cut down on the richness in these, add some fresh orange zest to the frosting or directly on top of the buns.