Maple Cinnamon Rolls

Good morning from these oh so delicious maple cinnamon rolls topped with a maple cream cheese frosting! The ultimate sweet addition to your brunch — option to prepare them the night before and bake in the morning.

Good Morning!

It’s time to make these amazing maple cinnamon rolls. You’re going to absolutely love these chewy and fluffy and (of course) oh so maple-y cinnamon rolls. Plus, we’ll show you how to prepare the rolls the night before so all you need to do is bake them in the morning.

Oh, and don’t you even dare think about skipping our perfectly sweet maple cream cheese frosting. Seriously.

Maple Cinnamon Rolls – What You Need

The ingredients for these maple cinnamon rolls can be broken down to 3 elements: the dough, the filling and the maple cream cheese frosting. Here’s what you’ll need:

For the Dough

• Milk (we prefer 2%!)
• Maple sugar
• Quick rise yeast
• All purpose flour
• Butter
• Egg
• Vanilla extract
• Salt

For the Filling

• Maple sugar
• Brown sugar
• Maple syrup
• Butter
• Cinnamon
• Nutmeg

For the Maple Cream Cheese Frosting

• Cream cheese
• Butter
• Powdered sugar
• Maple syrup
• Vanilla extract
• Salt

Helpful Cooking Tools

Make sure to set yourself up for success and get out any necessary baking tools for these maple cinnamon rolls.

Crate and Barrel

Measuring Cups

Le Creuset

Measuring Spoons

Duralex

Glass Nesting Bowls

Good Cook

Cooling Rack

Let’s Talk Maple Sugar

Because much of the maple flavor bakes off when using maple sugar, we’ve incorporated maple sugar into these cinnamon rolls.

How to Make Maple Cinnamon Rolls

For the full recipe, scroll down to the recipe card for a list of ingredients and instructions.

Prepare the yeast by adding the warm milk, maple sugar and quick rise yeast packet to a bowl for at least 5 minutes or until the yeast has bloomed.

then, whisk together the rest of the wet ingredients and combine with the bloomed yeast mixture.

Then, with your stand mixer on low-medium speed with a dough hook, and slowly add the flour and salt to the wet ingredients until it forms a shaggy dough. And then continue until the dough is smooth and elastic (it should bounce back when you poke it).

Don’t have a stand mixer? You can use a wooden spoon until the dough is formed enough to knead by hand. Then hand knead the dough until it’s smooth and elastic.

Transfer you ball of dough to a lightly oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap and then a tea towel. Place in a warm place (we like to set ours IN the oven with the oven OFF) until the dough has doubled in size. This will take approximately 1-1.5 hours.

While your dough rises, it’s time to make the filling. Simply measure the following in a small bowl and stir together until fully combined:

• Softened butter (softened / room temperature butter is CRITICAL to ensure you don’t have clumps of butter in your filling)
• Maple sugar
• Brown sugar
• Maple syrup
• Cinnamon
• Nutmeg

Now that your dough has risen, it’s time to turn it out. Using a rolling pin, roll your dough into a rectangle that’s approximately 18” long, 12” wide, and 1/4” thick.

Then, spread the filling over the dough, and roll it into a tight log.

You’ll see that we rolled our dough starting on the LONG SIDE, but if you prefer larger more over-sized maple cinnamon rolls (and thus, less total rolls), simply roll your dough starting on the SHORT SIDE.

Next, slice the log into 1” rolls. To do this, start in middle of the roll, and mark the dough with a knife, then mark every inch on each side of the middle mark. This will ensure you have equal sized rolls ?

Add the maple cinnamon rolls to your prepared dish, cover with plastic wrap and a tea towel again, and place in a warm location to rise for a 2nd time, this time for around 30 minutes.

Combine the butter and softened cream cheese in your stand mixer with a paddle attachment. Once combined, slowly add the powdered sugar and salt. Then, finish with adding the maple syrup and vanilla extract. Beat the frosting on medium speed until it’s light and fluffy.

Once your rolls have risen for a 2nd time, it’s time to bake at 375°F for 20-25 minutes. Your house is about to smell AMAZING.

Wait at least 10 minutes after your rolls have come out of the oven before spreading on the maple cream cheese frosting. Then, SERVE AND ENJOY!

Pro Tips for Maple Cinnamon Rolls

We have a few pro tips to share when it comes to making these maple cinnamon rolls. Follow these tips to cinnamon roll perfection:

Because the yeast is getting started in the warm milk, you don’t want it to be TOO WARM. Yeast will bloom perfectly when the milk is around 110°F. If the milk is too warm, it can kill the yeast. Conversely, if the milk is too cold, the yeast will have a tough time blooming, which can result in dense rolls — no one wants that!

We love using quick rise yeast for these rolls! Technically, quick rise yeast doesn’t require you to let it bloom before mixing into the dough, but we like to get it started in warm milk to allow for perfect rising.

Expect a small amount of maple filling to ooze out from your dough when rolling and cutting your cinnamon rolls. Simply take this filling and either spread it on top of the cinnamon rolls once they’re cut, or lick that deliciousness off your finger and enjoy ?

For equal-sized cinnamon rolls, you’ll need to evenly divide the roll of dough into 1 inch cinnamon rolls. Start in middle of the roll, and mark the dough with a knife, then mark every inch on each side of the middle mark.

Use a SHARP serrated knife and gently slice your maple cinnamon rolls using a gentle back and forth motion, making sure to not squish the rolls. This will help keep the form, but don’t you worry if the rolls squish a bit — you can reform the rolls easily with your hands.

Overnight Maple Cinnamon Rolls Instructions

To prepare these cinnamon rolls the night before so all you need to do the morning you serve them is bake, follow these simple instructions:

1. Make the rolls as instructed up to step 11.
2. Then, in the morning, take the rolls out of the fridge and allow them to come to room temperature (approximately 30 minutes).
3. Bake as instructed.
4. Frost & enjoy!

Store these maple cinnamon rolls in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.

More of our Favorite…

Sweet Breakfast Recipes

• Cinnamon French Toast Bake
• Peanut Butter Banana French Toast Bake
• Instant Pot French Toast Casserole

Print Rate

Dough

• 1 cup 2% milk (warmed to 100-110°F)
• 2 tablespoons maple sugar
• 1 packet quick rise yeast
• ¼ cup maple syrup
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 1 large egg, room temperature
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt

Filling

• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
• ½ cup maple sugar
• ¼ cup light brown sugar
• 3 tablespoons maple syrup
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg

Maple Cream Cheese Frosting

• 2 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened
• 1 ¼ cups powdered sugar
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup
• ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• ½ teaspoon salt

1. Add the warm milk, maple sugar, and yeast to a large bowl. Set aside until the yeast has bloomed– about 5 minutes.
2. Next add the maple syrup, melted butter, egg, and vanilla. Whisk to combine.
3. Using a stand mixer on low – medium speed with the dough hook attachment, slowly stir the flour and salt into the wet ingredients. Once all of the flour has been added and a shaggy dough has formed, knead for 2-3 minutes or until the dough is smooth and elastic (it should bounce back when you poke it).
4. Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl and cover it with plastic wrap and then a tea towel. Place it in a warm place to rise until doubled in size — about 1-1.5 hours.
5. While the dough rises, make the filling. In a small bowl, combine the softened butter, maple sugar, brown sugar, maple syrup, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Set aside until ready to use.
6. Once the dough has risen, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface.
7. Roll it into a rectangle that is approximately 18” long, 12” wide, and 1/4” thick.
8. Spread the filling over the dough and then roll it into a tight log, starting at one of the long sides. For larger rolls, roll the tight log starting at one of the short sides.
9. Slice the log into 1” rolls. This will yield 9-12 rolls, depending on how tightly you roll your log and whether you start rolling at a long or short side of the dough.
10. Butter a 9×13 baking dish or line it with parchment paper. Add the rolls to the dish, making sure they just barely touch. Depending on how tightly you rolled dough into the log, you can either place rolls 3×4 OR 2×4 with extra rolls in another baking dish.
11. If you’re making the rolls in advance, wrap them in plastic and place them in the fridge for up to 12 hours. Bring the rolls to room temperature (about 30 minutes) when you’re ready to bake and then skip to step 13.
12. If you aren’t making the rolls in advance, cover with plastic wrap and then a tea towel, and place them in a warm spot to rise until the rolls begin to touch — about 30 minutes. While the rolls rise, preheat your oven to 350°F.
13. Bake the cinnamon rolls for 20-25 minutes or until the centers are set and the top is golden brown.
14. While the cinnamon rolls are baking, make the maple frosting. Combine the cream cheese and butter in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.
15. When the cream cheese and butter are smooth, turn the mixer to low speed and slowly add the powdered sugar and salt.
16. Once all of the powdered sugar has been incorporated, add the maple syrup and vanilla.
17. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and turn the mixer to medium speed. Beat for 30-45 seconds or until the frosting is light and fluffy.
18. Allow the cinnamon rolls to cool for at least 10 minutes before frosting.

• Storage: Store these maple cinnamon rolls in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.

Serving Size: 1/12 Calories: 432 Sugar: 30 Sodium: 375 Fat: 14 Carbohydrates: 66 Fiber: 2 Protein: 10 Cholesterol: 167 Author: Lee FunkeCategory: BreakfastMethod: OvenCuisine: American

Keywords: maple cinnamon rolls

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