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Brown Butter Cinnamon Rolls

These Brown Butter Cinnamon rolls are a flavorful spin on the classic: With a soft, fluffy brioche dough and brown butter in the dough, filling, and icing, they're bound to be your new favorite cinnamon roll recipe!

Brown Butter Cinnamon Rolls

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Yield

12 rolls

Difficulty

Moderate

Prep Time

30 minutes

Bake

25 minutes

Proof Time

15 minutes

Rise Time

1 hour

Total Time

2 hours 10 minutes

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Ingredients

  • For the Brown Butter:
  • 1-½ cups unsalted butter* (see notes),

  • For the Brioche Dough:
  • 4-4¼ cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 packet (2-¼ tsp) Fleischmann’s® RapidRise® Instant Yeast
  • ½ cup granulated sugar
  • 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
  • 1 cup milk warm
  • 6 teaspoons brown butter softened
  • 2 large eggs
  • Seeds scraped from 1 vanilla bean, or 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste,

  • For the Brown Butter Cinnamon Sugar Filling:
  • ½ cup brown butter, softened
  • 1 cup dark brown sugar
  • 2 tablespoons cinnamon,

  • For the Brown Butter Cream Cheese Icing:
  • 2 oz cream cheese softened
  • 3 tablespoons brown butter softened
  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • ½ teaspoons vanilla bean paste
  • 2 tablespoons milk

Directions

  1. For the Brown Butter:
  2. Cube 1-½ cups unsalted butter* and place in a light-colored skillet, such as stainless steel. (This will allow you to determine when the butter begins browning.) Melt the butter over medium heat, stirring constantly.
  3. Once melted, the butter will begin to foam. Keep stirring. After 5-8 minutes, the butter will begin browning; you’ll notice lightly browned specks begin to form at the bottom of the pan, and you'll begin to smell a nutty aroma. Once browned, immediately remove from heat, pour into a heat-proof bowl, and freeze until solidified, about 20 minutes.
  4. For the Brioche Dough:
  5. In the bowl of a stand mixer or in a large mixing bowl, combine 4 cups of the flour, Fleischmann’s® RapidRise® Instant Yeast, sugar, and salt. Add the milk, brown butter, eggs, and vanilla bean paste and mix until the ingredients are just barely combined and a shaggy dough forms.
  6. Add the remaining ¼ cup of flour and, using the hook attachment, beat on low speed until a soft dough forms. Increase the speed to medium and beat until the dough is soft and smoother, about 6 minutes total. (If you do not have a stand mixer with a hook attachment, knead the dough by hand in this step for 8-10 minutes.)
  7. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and knead it with your hands for 1 minute. Form the dough into a ball and transfer it to a lightly greased bowl. Cover the dough loosely with plastic wrap and let rest for 15 minutes. Prepare the filling while the dough rests.
  8. For the Brown Butter Cinnamon Sugar Filling and Assembly:
  9. Add the brown butter, dark brown sugar, and cinnamon to a medium bowl and combine using a fork until a thick paste forms. Set aside.
  10. Grease the bottom and sides of a 13x9-inch baking dish and set aside. Turn the risen dough out onto a lightly floured work surface, punch it down and, using a rolling pin, roll into a 14x20-inch rectangle. Make sure the dough is smooth and evenly thick.
  11. Spread the brown butter cinnamon sugar filling over the dough. Tightly roll up the dough to form a 20-inch-long log and cut into 12 even rolls. Arrange them in the prepared baking pan.
  12. Cover the pan and allow the rolls to rise for 50-60 minutes or until nearly doubled in size. While the rolls are rising, preheat the oven to 350°F.
  13. Bake the rolls for 20-25 minutes, until the rolls are golden brown. While the rolls are baking, prepare the icing.
  14. For the Brown Butter Cream Cheese Icing:
  15. In a medium bowl, whisk together the cream cheese and brown butter until combined. Add the powdered sugar, vanilla bean paste, and milk and whisk until smooth and combined. If the icing is too thin, add a little more powdered sugar; if it's too thick, add more milk.
  16. Drizzle the icing over the warm cinnamon rolls once you remove them from the oven. Cover leftover frosted or unfrosted rolls tightly and store at room temperature for up to 3 days.
  17. Note:
  18. *The amount of butter called for to make the brown butter is more than the amount of brown butter needed for the recipe. This is because the process of browning butter cooks off moisture from the butter, so it reduces in quantity. This recipe accounts for that difference, so you will see 1-½ cups of butter called for to make the brown butter, but only 1-¼ cups of total brown butter used in the dough, filling, and icing. This is not an error—it accounts for the moisture loss when calculating the initial quantity!

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