Oh my sweet and beautiful cinnamon bun! Cinnamon buns are perfect for serving on Christmas morning, a slow Sunday morning or any morning where you want to feel a little extra warmth. I’ve said before that eating a big bowl of soup is like giving yourself a hug from the inside, and I feel like cinnamon buns do the exact same thing.
My boyfriend goes on an annual snowboard trip with his best friends every year and for the past three years, I’ve woken up early and made the boys a fresh batch of cinnamon buns the morning that they leave. It’s a way for me to support his trip and show my love to him while he’s gone (and I of course keep one for myself), so just that makes it totally worth the effort! 100% of my love language is food..
This recipe is basically a Cinna-Bon copy-cat. We all know Cinna-Bon.. That one place in the mall that sweet and delicious smell infiltrates our nose without permission and immediately makes us crave a warm cinnamon bun. I don’t care how much self control you have.. I have no doubt that anyone who smells a fresh outta the oven cinnamon bun, it’s all they can think about for at least a second. In my humble opinion, Cinna-Bon ain’t got shit on this recipe! Especially the icing.. The icing is my most favourite and it’s not like all of the other icings.. It’s a better icing. Commonly, cream cheese will be whipped with butter and icing sugar but what makes this recipe so much different and BETTER, is the use of sour cream instead of butter. Sour cream makes the icing just a little bit more tangy and in my opinion more balanced. The flavour the it gives is just and I encourage you to give it a try!
If I’ve been making this recipe for years, then why am I only now putting it on my website? A few years ago, I wouldn’t be caught dead with a recipe that had refined sugar or processed wheat flour on my blog. But times change. The reason I’m publishing the recipe now is because I freaking love eating cinnamon buns, and I don’t want this website to be exclusively for 100% healthy recipes because not everyone eats super healthy and clean 100% of the time! Life is about balance, and eating/baking cinnamon buns brings joy to my life. So me sharing this recipe is a way for me to be an advocate for a healthy and balanced life.
I understand that cinnamon buns might be a little intimidating if you have never made them before, but they really aren’t that hard! I’ve made the steps super simple to follow and if you follow the directions, you will be eating a fluffy and delicious cinnamon bun in a few hours. Yes, they take some time as they require the dough to rise two times, however I promise you that they are totally worth the effort. Enjoy friends!
recipe notes:
- If you do not like sour cream, substitute butter instead in the icing.
- To make this recipe dairy free (excluding the icing), use vegan butter instead of butter from cow.
- I prefer using a stand up mixer to make the dough as it is much easier compared to mixing and kneading with your hands. However if you don’t have one, just mix ingredients together with a wooden spoon and knead on a clean and well floured counter top.
Best Ever Cinnamon buns with Tangy Cream Cheese Icing
- April 22, 2020
- 9-10
- 3 hr
- Print this
Ingredients
- dough:
- ¾ C plant based milk
- 2 ¼ tsp instant yeast
- ¼ C white sugar
- 1 egg + 1 egg yolk, room temperature
- ¼ C butter, melted, but not hot
- 3 C unbleached all purpose flour
- ¾ tsp mineral salt
- filling:
- 2/3 C brown sugar
- 2 tbsp cinnamon
- ¼ C butter, softened
- icing:
- ¾ C cream cheese, room temperature
- 1/3 C sour cream
- 1 C icing sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Directions
- Step 1
- In a small sauce pan, heat milk until just warm (110°F). It should be the temperature of a warm bath or milk you would give to a baby. Transfer warm milk to the bowl of your standup mixer and add sugar, then sprinkle yeast on top. Stir and then let the yeast bloom for 5 minutes, or until foamy. Add in egg and egg yolk and melted butter. Mix until well combined using the mixing attachment.
- Step 2
- Add in salt, then flour one cup at a time. Once the flour is mixed, switch to your dough hook and knead on low/medium speed for 8 minutes. The dough should be slightly sticky, but if the dough is stickier than you think it should be (sticking to your hands or the bowl of the mixer), sprinkle in a small amount of flour at a time until it is no longer sticky.
- Step 3
- Form your kneaded dough in a ball and transfer to a medium sized bowl that is well oiled. Cover with a towel and allow dough to rise until it has doubled in size (this will take around 60-90 minutes.) Tip: I like to rise my dough in the oven with the light on, or instead use my proofing setting on the oven.
- Step 4
- While you’re waiting for the dough to rise, grease an 8×12 inch baking dish with butter (you can also use a 9×9 inch square or round pan, but I prefer to use a larger pan than a smaller one). Once the dough has risen, transfer to a well-floured surface. Using a rolling pin, roll dough into a 10×15 inch rectangle. Spread the softened butter onto the dough leaving ½ inch margin on the far side of the dough. In a small bowl, mix together the cinnamon and sugar. Spread the sugar mixture over the butter, then rub into the butter.
- Step 5
- Begin to tightly roll the dough, starting from the short edge of the dough. Roll up dough tightly and finish with the seam side of the dough down to seal the edge as best you can. Give the roll a gentle squeeze together on the sides the make sure it is still about 10 inches long. Trim the edges slightly. Cut into 9-10 pieces (about 1 ¼ inches each) and place in greased baking dish. Cover with towel and let rise again for 30-45 minutes.
- Step 6
- Preheat oven to 350°, Remove towel and bake cinnamon buns for 20-22 minutes or until slightly golden brown.
- Step 7
- While the buns are baking, make the cream cheese icing. In the bowl of your electric mixer or using a hand mixer, mix the cream cheese, sour cream, icing sugar and vanilla extract. Mix on high until very smooth.
- Step 8
- Allow the cinnamon buns to cool for 5 minutes, then spread icing over top and serve!
Literally the best cinnamon buns I’ve ever eaten, and trust me I’ve eaten A LOT of cinnamon buns. Thanks for another amazing recipe, I give 11/10 🤤
Amazing!!! Honoured to be rated 11/10!