These really are the Best Cinnamon Crunch Rolls Recipe. Why? Because I've added a Cinnamon Crunch topping (think Cinnamon Crunch Bagels) which takes this way over the top! Combining these two makes a completely new and different roll that's easy to make. These are perfect for an Easter Brunch.
This amazing dough is a marvel. It is more of a batter and, as such, has to be refrigerated to roll it. Here is the really good news. If you've ever worked with yeast doughs that spring back constantly when rolling them out, you know what a pain it is to wait 10 minutes while the relax. Well there is no waiting and no springing back with this recipe. It stays where you roll it.
While any yeasted product is best the day it is made, these last with great results for several days. More good news! I have included a traditional vanilla glaze as well as the cinnamon crunch topping. Both freeze beautifully. The rolls with the cinnamon crunch topping thaw with the topping still crunchy. The rolls with the vanilla glaze should be frozen without the glaze for the best results.
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Everyone loves a sweet roll - here are a few other to try: Orange Macadamia Rolls, Cinnamon Filled Buttermilk Scones, and German Chocolate Sweet Rolls.
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What Makes This Recipe Doable
- It has a couple of steps but they are all very easy.
- The dough goes together effortlessly as well as quickly.
- The dough is a dream to roll out. With no spring back filling goes on quickly.
- Baking these in jumbo paper liners ensures the cinnamon crunch topping doesn't get stuck to the pan.
- It is super easy to remove the rolls from the paper with the topping intact.
Recipe Ingredients
Cinnamon Crunch Rolls Dough
FRONT ROW: Salt, yeast, vanilla
MIDDLE ROW: Unsalted butter, eggs, granulated sugar
BACK ROW: Sour cream, all-purpose flour, water
Cinnamon Crunch Topping
FRONT ROW: Vanilla, unsalted butter and cinnamon
BACK ROW: Brown sugar, granulated sugar
Vanilla Glaze
FRONT ROW: Milk, unsalted butter, vanilla
BACK ROW: Powdered sugar
Important Ingredients
- All-purpose flour is the flour of choice for this particular recipe.
- While the recipe uses instant yeast, it is still added to the liquid ingredients.
- Korinje cinnamon is my choice for its bold, intense flavor.
- The Sour Cream adds softness to the final, baked dough and enhances its shelf life.
- Dark Brown Sugar is preferred over light for its more intense flavor.
Be sure to see the recipe card below for the full ingredients & instructions.
Step by Step Instructions
Cinnamon Crunch Rolls
Step 1. Line jumbo muffin tins with one of the paper liners. This will make removing the rolls easier and keep the crunch in tact. Spray them with a non-stick baking release and set aside. Step 2. Melt the butter, sugar and salt in a small sauce pan. Heat it until the butter melts. Alternatively, it can be done in a microwave. Cool to lukewarm. When it comes to temperature, whisk in the sour cream and vanilla. Step 3. Whisk in the eggs, yeast and water. Step 4. Place the flour in the bowl of a mixer.
Step 5. Add the liquid to the flour in the mixing bowl. Step 6. Fit the mixer with a dough hook if possible. Beat until it comes together then knead in the mixer for 3 minutes, turning in the bowl after about 1 ½ minutes as the dough will adhere to the top of the dough hook and not get kneaded. The dough will be very soft and more of a batter. Step 7. Spray a container at lest 3 times as big as the dough with a non-sick baking release. Place the dough in it and cover with film. Step 8. Place the cover on the container (or cover with a tea towel) and mark the time on it. It should take about 2 to 2 ½ hours to nearly triple. Deflate the dough and refrigerate overnight or up to 3 days. It may or may not rise again in the fridge. It doesn't matter either way,
Assembling the rolls
Step 9. Prior to rolling out the dough combine the ingredients for the cinnamon filling, cover with plastic wrap and set aside. Remove the dough from the fridge and shape into a thick rectangle. Step 10. Roll the dough into an 22" x 13" rectangle, keeping the long side horizontal on the table. Brush with the melted butter. Step 11. Spread the filling evenly over the dough to within ½ inch of the far edge. Step 12. Wet the far end of the dough lightly with water.
Step 13. Roll the dough up completely making sure the seam is on top. Step 14 . Using your finger, seal the seam by smearing the dough down. Step 15. Mark the dough into 1 12" pieces. The cleanest cuts can be made by putting a long piece of thread under the marked piece of dough. Step 16. Bring the thread up to the top, cross it over and pull to make a clean cut. The filling will be loose so pick the roll up carefully keeping the filling intact and place it in a paper round. Repeat with the rest of the rolls.
Cinnamon Crunch Topping
Step 17. Place the dry ingredients in a bowl. Step 18. Mix them thoroughly. Step 19. Combine the melted butter and the vanilla. Step 20. Add the liquid to the dry ingredients and mix with a fork. They will not form crumbs and be slightly wet.
Step 21. Brush the risen rolls with beaten egg white to hold the crunch in place. Step 22. Cover the top of the rolls with about a slightly heaping tablespoon of topping each. Press lightly into the egg white. Step 23. A few minutes after pulling them from the oven, carefully lift the papers, with the rolls, out of the pans. Step 24. Carefully, pull the paper down to release the rolls and topping. Place on a cooling rack to cool completely.
Recipe FAQS
By using thread or thin dental floss placed under the roll and brought to the top then crossed and pulled quickly the rolls will be perfectly cut without altering the roundness of the roll.
Because the dough is soft, a knife will squash the rolls and get them out of shape.
Milk, sour cream or buttermilk will all help soften the dough as well as add flavor. Having a batter, which is looser, instead of a more firm dough also contributes to a softer roll with a longer shelf life.
Storage and Freezing
The rolls, fully baked, can be well wrapped and frozen. The rolls with the cinnamon crunch can be baked as is. If the rolls are to be finished with the Vanilla Glaze, they should be frozen without the glaze. Thaw at room temperature. To freshen preheat the oven to 350°F, place them in a sheet pan and cover with foil. Heat for about 15 minutes.
Make the vanilla glaze and glaze the rolls after they have cooled. They can also be served without the cinnamon crunch or glaze.
Expert Tips
- The dough can refrigerated up to 3 days.
- I often bake individual rolls in Jumbo muffin pans lined with large muffin papers. Doing it this way avoids the rolls sticking as they sometimes can and they bake up with softer sides.
- Be sure to spray the paper lines for easier releasing.
- Do not be tempted to add additional flour. The dough should remain a batter. Chilling it overnight will firm it up and make it easy to handle.
- Be sure to make the filling ahead of rolling out the dough so it won't warm up and become soft.
Here are some other amazing sweet breads
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Best Cinnamon Crunch Rolls Recipe
Equipment
- Jumbo Muffin Pans
Ingredients
Cinnamon Roll Dough
- ½ cup unsalted butter (114 grams or 1 stick)
- ½ cup granulated sugar (100 grams)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup sour cream (225 grams)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 ¼ teaspoons instant yeast (1 packet)
- ½ cup water, lukewarm
- 2 large eggs
- 4 cups all-purpose flour (560 grams)
Cinnamon Filling
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted (45 grams)
- 1 cup dark brown sugar (200 grams)
- 2 +1 tablespoon + teaspoon cinnamon
Cinnamon Crunch Topping - If making all 14 of the rolls with the crunch topping DOUBLE THIS RECIPE
- ½ cup dark brown sugar (100 grams)
- ¼ cup granulated sugar (50 grams)
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter (58 grams)
- 1 egg white to brush on rolls
Vanilla Glaze - If making all 14 rolls with the vanilla glaze - DOUBLE THIS RECIOPE
- 1 ½ cups powdered sugar (200 grams)
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter (45 grams)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 to 3 tablespoons milk
Instructions
Cinnamon Roll Dough
- Cut the butter into pieces and place in a small saucepan along with the sugar and salt. Heat until the butter is melted. Remove from the heat and let it sit until it is lukewarm.
- Whisk in the sour cream and vanilla followed by the eggs, yeast, and water.
- Add the flour to the bowl of a mixer. Fit the mixer with a dough hook if available.
- Pour the liquid over the flour and beat on low to bring together. Knead in the machine for 3 minutes, turning after about 1 ½ minutes as the dough will adhere to the top of the dough hook and not get beaten. The dough will be very soft and more of a batter.
- Spray a container at least 3 times the size of the dough with a non-stick baking release. Add the dough and cover with plastic wrap. Mark the time on it. Allow it to rise until doubled, about 2 to 2 ½ hours.
- After it has risen, deflate it, re-cover it and refrigerate overnight so the butter can firm up. It may or may not rise again in the fridge. That's fine. It can be refrigerated up to 3 days.
Cinnamon Filling
- Melt the butter. Reserve. Combine the brown sugar and cinnamon, mixing completely. Cover with plastic wrap to prevent the brown sugar from drying out.
Assembly
- Line 14 jumbo muffin cups with jumbo paper liners. Spray with a non-stick baking release. Set aside.
- Remove from the refrigerator. Roll the dough into a 13" x 22" rectangle, keeping the 22" side horizontal on the table.
- Brush it with the melted butter from the Cinnamon Filling to within ½" of the far edge. Spread the filling over the butter keeping the far edge without anything on it.
- Starting from the long side (22") roll the dough up tightly to within the ½'. Brush the edge with water. Bring it up to cover the dough and seal the edge by, pressing it down and smearing the edge.
- Mark the roll 1 ½". Place a long piece of thread or fine floss under the dough on the marking extending to the front and back. Bring the thread up to the top, cross it and pull sharply on both ends. It will cut the rolls cleanly. Repeat with the remaining rolls.
- The filling will be loose, so pick it up quickly and carefully place it into the sprayed paper cups, filling side down. Press the rolls flat in the cups.
- When all of the rolls are in the cups, cover with tea towels and allow them to rise until doubled but reaching only to about ½" of the top, about 1 ½ hours.
Cinnamon Crunch Topping
- While the rolls are rising, combine the brown and granulated sugar with the cinnamon, mixing well. Cover with plastic wrap to keep the brown sugar from drying out.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Add the melted butter (rewarm if it has solidified) to the cinnamon-sugar mixture and blend together. This will not be crumbs. It is more of a thick paste.
- When the rolls are ready, beat the egg white till foamy. Brush the tops of the rolls using the Cinnamon Crunch with the egg white.
- Gently, so as not to deflate the rolls, spread about 1 slightly rounded tablespoon on each roll covering it well.
- If using the vanilla glaze, do nothing to the top of the rolls.
- Bake for 20 to 23 minutes until browned and baked through. Do not overbake.
- Let the baked rolls cool for about 5 minutes then carefully lift them by the paper liners out of the pans. Gently, pull down the papers, remove the rolls, and set the on cooling rack to cool completely.
- If using the vanilla glaze, combine all of the ingredients for the glaze, adjusting the powder sugar if too thin or adding more milk if too thick, Spoon over the rolls, letting it drip down the sides. Leave them out to dry.
- While all yeast dough is best the day it is baked, these have an amazing shelf life if covered for several days.
- Either of these can be frozen. The Cinnamon Crunch Rolls can be frozen as is, then well wrapped individually and frozen for a couple of months. The vanilla glazed rolls can be frozen WITHOUT the glaze wrapped as above.
- Thaw either at room temperature. To freshen, preheat the oven to 350°F. Place the rolls on a sheet pan and cover the pan tightly with foil. Heat for 10 to 15 minutes. Cool.
- Apply the vanilla glaze after the rolls have cooled.
Notes
Nutrition
teresa cole says
I am new here, but really enjoying so far! I plan to make your lovely cinnamon crunch rolls but having trouble locating the korinje cinnamon recommend.
Helen S Fletcher says
Hi Teresa - use what is available. It will be fine. That is my favorite and I get it online usually from Amazon,
Christine Unger says
Hi Helen,
Thank you for this recipe. Would you please privide me with the butter in grams. Where I am we don't have 'sticks' of butter, but buy butter in 250g or 500g weight.
Thanks in advance,
Christine
Helen S Fletcher says
Hi Christine - Not sure why I didn't put half of them in. The recipe is fixed and all the butter measurements are correct.
Marge says
What is the 12 day chilling time?
Helen S Fletcher says
Hi Marge - if you could be more specific as to where you saw that I might be able to help. There is no 12 day chilling time.
Sarah says
Hi Helen,
I am a little confused as well. It in the section where you have times listed (before the recipe) you have prep time 2hrs and chilling time 12 d. Or should the ‘d’ be hours also?
Thank you very much!
Helen S Fletcher says
Hi Sarah - it should have been 1 day.
Ron.M says
Hi Hellen, can I use a Bundt pan instead of a muffin tin, just love your recipes . Thanks Again
Helen S Fletcher says
Hi Ron, I made them into muffins so the crunch topping would not shatter when cut.
SallyBR says
HI, Helen! amazing recipe as usual - I am wondering... if I was to bake them same day to donate them, do you think I could keep the wrapper on for a couple of hours until I take them? Or is it important for texture to open the sides? if that's the case I guess I should just take them on a tray without any wrap?
Helen S Fletcher says
Hi Sally, it is important to unwrap them while hot to ensure the cinnamon crunch doesn't set up completely or it can shatter when cold. The topping will come over the top of the flat papers. The tulip papers are the best. They are fine unwrapped.
SallyBR says
awesome, thank you!