These Brioche Cinnamon Rolls are the best pairing of bread and cinnamon that you could think of! The softest and richest bread dough, with swirls of extra cinnamony sugar – cinnamon rolls don’t get any better than this!
These truly are the best brioche cinnamon rolls ever!
We don’t often have sweet breakfasts 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 (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 will 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 here 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. Korintje cinnamon has a spicier flavor. 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 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
Day one
- 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.
Day two
- 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
Day one
- 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).
Day two
- 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).
Step by step making the brioche cinnamon rolls
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.
Brioche dough that looks like cake batter. Keep kneading… Brioche dough after kneading. Looks smooth and shiny. But still very soft.
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.
- Wrap and chill the rolled up dough (in the freezer) for about 10 – 20 minutes to harden the dough from the outside.
- Instead of a knife, use unflavored dental floss to cut the portions.
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.
- Brush the cinnamon rolls with melted butter with a little salt (or melted, salted butter). This is my personal preference.
- Brush the cinnamon rolls with a cinnamon infused simple syrup.
- While the rolls are still warm, spread the frosting, so that it melts into the cinnamon rolls.
- Brush the cinnamon rolls with butter while hot, but then let them cool down and spread the frosting. This is what is pictured in the images in this post. This keeps the frosting intact and you can spread it as thick or as thin as you like. You also have the option of DRIZZLING the frosting on top instead of spreading.
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!
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Brioche Cinnamon Rolls
Ingredients:
Brioche dough
- ½ cup warm milk at about 100°F
- 2 ½ tsp active dry yeast about 9 g
- 2 tsp honey
- 4 large eggs
- 2 yolks from 2 large eggs
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 2.1 oz granulated white sugar 5 tbsp
- 17.6 oz AP flour 4 cups + 2 tbsp, measured by spoon and level method
- 1 ½ tsp sea salt fine grind
- 8.8 oz unsalted butter very soft, and roughly divided into four portions (1 cup + 2 tbsp)
Cinnamon filling
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 tbsp ceylon cinnamon
- 2 tbsp korintje cinnamon or supermarket cinnamon
- ¼ tsp sea salt I prefer to use ½ tsp for a salty, sweet filling
- 2 tsp vanilla
- ¼ cup unsalted butter
Cream cheese frosting
- 12 tbsp cream cheese softened (170 g)
- 12 tbsp butter softened (170 g)
- 1 ¾ cups confectioner's sugar sifted (200 g)
- Pinch of salt
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions:
Brioche dough
- Measure all the ingredients and set aside. Please refer to the post here for more details on making brioche dough.
- Add the milk, yeast, and honey into the mixing bowl, and whisk gently to combine. Set aside for 10 minutes to allow the yeast to activate.
- Add the eggs and yolks, and whisk gently to break the egg yolks.
- Add the vanilla, sugar, flour, and sea salt (in that order), and mix to form a scraggly dough.
- With the dough hook attachment, knead the dough on speed 2 or 3 for about 5 minutes.
- Add the first portion of butter, in 3 - 4 additions, after the first 5 minutes of kneading. Allow the butter to be mixed well into the dough. Incorporating one portion of butter should take about 2 minutes at least (on medium speed).
- Repeat with the other 3 portions of butter, kneading the dough for about 2 minutes after each addition. Make sure to stop the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl (and the bottom, if needed) between kneading. You will have incorporated all the butter in about 10 - 12 minutes of kneading time.
- Once all the butter is incorporated, scrape down the sides of the bowl (and bottom, if needed), and knead the dough for a further 5 - 15 minutes on speed 5 or 6.
- The dough will initially feel and look like cake batter, but keep kneading until it becomes smooth and shiny.
- The dough will have been kneaded properly when it can be lifted fairly cleanly off the bottom of the bowl when picked up with the dough hook. It will be very soft and tacky to the touch, but shouldn’t stick to your fingertips. Rather than going by time, knead the dough until you have reached this consistency. It should still be very soft, but hold together.
- Flour your work surface, and turn the dough out onto the floured surface. Lightly flour your hands and the surface of the dough to prevent the dough from sticking to your palms.
- Fold in the edges of the dough towards the middle, and gently press them into the dough. Carefully flip the dough over, and then with the heel of your palms, shape the dough to form a tight ball. The dough will still be soft, and feel like a heavy water balloon.
- Carefully pick up the dough ball and place it back in the mixer bowl (or another large bowl).
- Let it rise until it has doubled in size, in a warm place (72°F), for about 1 hour.
- Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and gently press down with your hands to deflate. Fold in the edges again as before, towards the middle, and press them in.
- Carefully flip the dough over (seam side down now). Tighten the dough into a ball with a smooth, taut surface (using the edges of your palms). Transfer the dough into the mixer bowl again.
- Cover and let it chill in the fridge for 8 - 12 hours, or up to 24 hours.
The following day
Cinnamon butter filling
- Place the cinnamon, salt, sugar, and vanilla in a large bowl.
- Add the softened butter, and mix it in until you form a paste.
- Set aside until needed.
Preparing the brioche dough
- Remove the chilled brioche dough from the fridge and place it on a lightly floured surface.
- Flatten the dough with your hands to deflate it. Shape the dough into a rectangle.
- Lightly flour your work surface and the dough to prevent the dough from sticking. Roll the dough out into a 18 x 14 inch rectangle. Make sure the dough is not sticking to the surface. Work quickly as the dough is much easier to work with when chilled.
- Spread the cinnamon butter over the rolled out brioche dough, leaving a ¾ inch border along one long edge.
- Roll up the brioche dough, starting from the long edge with filling, towards the opposite long edge without filling. Make sure the dough is rolled up firmly, but don't squeeze or roll it up too tightly.
- Pinch the seam to seal.
- If the dough becomes too soft, place the rolled up brioche dough on a tray, cover it with plastic wrap and keep it in the freezer for a few minutes to let it harden up.
- Use unflavored dental floss or a very sharp knife to trim the edges of the rolled up dough.
- This dough log should be about 18 inches in length. Mark 12 equal portions on the dough.
- Use a sharp knife or dental floss to cut the portions (please see post for more details and pictures on how to use dental floss to cut through the dough log).
- Line a half sheet pan with parchment paper. Place the 12 pieces on the baking sheet, equally spaced apart.
- Cover with plastic wrap and let the rolls proof at room temperature until they have grown to 1.5 - 2 times the original size. The rolls should be just touching each other on the tray at this point. This can take anywhere from 1 - 2 hours depending on the ambient temperature. I recommend keeping them in the warmest part of your kitchen.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F/ 180°C.
- Bake the cinnamon rolls in the preheated oven for about 20 - 30 minutes until the rolls are lightly golden brown on top (internal temperature about 180 - 190°F).
Cream cheese frosting
- While the cinnamon rolls are baking, make the cream cheese frosting.
- Place the butter, cream cheese, salt, and vanilla in a large bowl. Using a hand mixer or a whisk, mix the ingredients until you have a smooth, creamy paste.
- Add the confectioner’s sugar and mix it in until you have a smooth, creamy frosting. If you want a thicker frosting, add more confectioner’s sugar.
Preparing the cinnamon rolls to serve
- As soon as the cinnamon rolls come out of the oven, brush them with some butter OR spread the frosting on top (this is if you'd like the frosting to be melted into the cinnamon rolls).
- OR spread the frosting after the cinnamon rolls have cooled down.
Nutrition Information:
“This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.”
Kirsten Quealey says
These cinnamon buns are absolutely amazing. I have made them a couple of times as I love to bake.
I’m now getting requests!!
Not only are they delicious they are a wonderful process to make.
Thank you for sharing this recipe.
Charles B says
Can you help explain the risk of overproofing this recipe? I’ve place my dough in the refrigerator to retard. Can it stay as long as 36 hours or will that cause the dough to overproof and fail?
Dini says
Hi Charles,
I have left my brioche dough in the fridge for 48 hours without an issue. I make sure it is in the coldest past of my fridge so that it ferments slowly.
This won’t cause the dough to over proofing, as the dough would not proof to more than double the size in the fridge.
I hope that helps!
Charles B says
Thank you. Everything worked beautifully
Dini says
I’m so glad, thank you for letting me know! 🙂
Mari says
I have made this recipe twice and it is the bomb! I usually halve the recipe and make 12 regular size cinnamon rolls and then use the other half to make brioche with mixed in pearled sugar, so good!! Thank you for sharing it.
Theresa Holston says
This is THE best cinnamon roll EVER! Better than store bought! WOW!
Fatima says
hello Dini! Hooe you are doing great. What if I don’t get my hands on ceylon cinnamon? We only have the supermarket cinnamon.
Dini says
Hi Fatima!
You can use supermarket cinnamon! The total cinnamon can be between 2 – 3 tbsp. This will depend on how strong the cinnamon is, and how much you like cinnamon too! I really love cinnamon, so I do like to have alot of cinnamon in my recipe.
Fatima says
thank you so much!will try this recipe!
Jully says
When my dough already looks shiny, I turn it out of the mixing bowl. However the dough would go everywhere on the floured working surface.
Does the need further kneading time, as I already did for about 17minutes.
Dini says
Hi Jully
As mentioned in the recipe, the dough will be extremely soft and sort of like a water balloon when kneaded. So it’ll flatten out when taken out of the bowl because it’s so soft, but still be shiny and round. You should be able to pick up the whole dough from the surface as well. I hope that helps!
Jully says
Thank you! Mrs. Dini! IT IS a wonderful recipe. The end product doesn’t yet look very professional. But the texture of the dough, even after a night, still tastes great without toasting.
Practices make masters. Thank you again and will see that my dough holds together better.
D H says
Is there anything lost by simply rolling it up and baking in a loaf pan, then cutting off slices?
How much cocoa would you add to turn the dough into a chocolate brioche? Can you just sub 1:1 with flour (reduce flour by ~3T + 3 T cocoa)
Dini says
Hi D H
I haven’t tried to substitute cocoa powder for flour in this recipe, so I can’t be sure if it would work.
You can roll it up into a loaf if you like, but that would simply produce a cinnamon loaf, not cinnamon rolls. You will also need to adjust the dough amount, as the dough makes enough for 2 loaves, but with the cinnamon filling it may not bake properly in a standard loaf pan.
Denay DeGuzman says
During the holiday season, I’m in charge of making cinnamon rolls for family and friends! I’m loving that this is a brioche recipe. So tasty! I’ll be making a batch this weekend.
Sam says
These cinnamon rolls were delicious! So soft and fluffy!