Description
Baking cinnamon rolls in a slow cooker cuts down on preparation time. The dough does not have to rise twice. In fact, it doesn’t even need to rise at all! All of the rising and baking is done in the slow cooker. And the rolls are unbelievably moist and soft.
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup (180ml) whole milk
- 1 packet Red Star Platinum Yeast or any instant yeast (1 packet = 2 and 1/4 teaspoons)
- 1/4 cup + 1 teaspoon (55g) granulated sugar, divided
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup (4 Tbsp; 56g) unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
- 1 large egg
- 2 and 3/4 cups (344g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
Filling
- 5 Tablespoons (71g) unsalted butter, very soft
- 1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 1/3 cup (67g) granulated sugar
Icing
- 1 and 1/4 cups (150g) confectioners’ sugar
- 2 Tablespoons (30ml) pure maple syrup (or use 1 teaspoon vanilla extract)
- 2 Tablespoons (30ml) milk
Instructions
- Make the dough: Warm the milk over on the stove over low heat or microwave it until lukewarm. No need to use a thermometer, but to be precise: about 95°F (35°C). Pour the warm milk into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook or paddle attachment (OR you can use a handheld mixer). Whisk in the yeast and 1 teaspoon granulated sugar. Cover with a clean towel and let sit until the yeast is foamy, about 5-10 minutes. This is called proofing the yeast. If the yeast does not dissolve and foam, start over with fresh active yeast. On low speed, beat in the remaining 1/4 cup sugar, salt, butter, egg, and 2 cups of flour until combined. The dough will be wet. While continuing to beat on low speed, add the remaining flour 1/4 cup at a time until a soft dough forms. Dough will be ready when it gently pulls away from the sides of the bowl. I usually use 2 and 3/4 cups flour total. **If you do not have a mixer, you can stir the dough by hand with a wooden spoon in this step.
- Knead the dough: Keep the dough in the mixer and beat for an additional 5 full minutes, or knead by hand on a lightly floured surface for 5 full minutes. (If you’re new to bread-baking, my How to Knead Dough video tutorial can help here.) If the dough becomes too sticky during the kneading process, sprinkle 1 teaspoon of flour at a time on the dough or on the work surface/in the bowl to make a soft, slightly tacky dough. Do not add more flour than you need because you do not want a dry dough. After kneading, the dough should still feel a little soft. Poke it with your finger—if it slowly bounces back, your dough is ready to rise. You can also do a “windowpane test” to see if your dough has been kneaded long enough: tear off a small (roughly golfball-size) piece of dough and gently stretch it out until it’s thin enough for light to pass through it. Hold it up to a window or light. Does light pass through the stretched dough without the dough tearing first? If so, your dough has been kneaded long enough and is ready to rise. If not, keep kneading until it passes the windowpane test.
- Let the dough rest for about 10 minutes. During this 10 minutes, line a 4 or 5 quart slow cooker with greased parchment paper. (I spray it with non-stick spray, but brushing oil or softened butter all over it works too.) If you have a larger slow cooker, that’s ok—just space the rolls out more.
- Make the filling: After 10 minutes, roll the dough out in a 14×8-inch rectangle. Spread the softened butter on top. Mix the cinnamon and sugar together, then sprinkle on top of the butter. Roll the dough up tightly, then cut into 10-12 even pieces and place them inside the lined slow cooker. Place a paper towel right under the lid of the slow cooker—this will help keep condensation off of the cooking rolls. Do not leave that step out and do not use a cloth towel.
- Turn your slow cooker on high speed and cook for 2 hours, or until the rolls are fully cooked through. It’s usually 2 hours, sometimes 2 hours and 15 minutes. Once they’re done, remove the rolls from the cooker right away by lifting out the parchment paper.
- Make the icing: Right before serving, top your cinnamon rolls with glaze. Whisk the confectioners’ sugar, maple syrup, and milk together until smooth. Add a little more milk if too thick. Drizzle over the warm rolls.
- Rolls are best enjoyed the same day, but stay fresh covered tightly in the refrigerator for 5 days. Rolls (with or without icing) freeze well up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and heat up however you prefer.
Notes
- Overnight Instructions: This dough can be made the night before through step 3 and placed into a greased pie dish or cake pan. Cover with plastic wrap and keep in the refrigerator overnight. The next morning, remove from the refrigerator and place each roll into the lined slow cooker. Then continue with the recipe. The rolls may take less time, around 1 and 1/2 hours.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) or Glass Mixing Bowl and Wooden Spoon | Whisk | 4- to 5-quart Slow Cooker | Parchment Paper | Rolling Pin
- Quick Dough: This is a dough formulated to be “quick.” Make sure you are using an instant yeast. If using active dry yeast, the cook time will be longer.
- Golden Brown Tops: Looking for a golden brown and toasty top? Remove the cooked rolls from the slow cooker using the parchment paper to lift them out. Then, place the entire thing (the parchment paper and rolls) into an appropriate size pan. (If your slow cooker is round, a pie dish would be great.) Bake at 300°F (149°C) for 5-10 minutes.
- Slow Cooker: You’ll need a 4- or 5-quart slow cooker.
- Reference my Baking with Yeast Guide for answers to common yeast FAQs.