Wake up to warm, fresh, cinnamon goodness with these maple cinnamon rolls.
This recipe is brought to you in partnership with Red Star Yeast.
What sets these homemade cinnamon rolls apart from the rest is that they are maple flavored, which makes them an instant favorite if you have tastebuds. Pure maple syrup is worked both into the cinnamon swirl AND the sweet glaze on top.
Double the maple, double the goodness.
For my melt-in-your-mouth maple cinnamon rolls, we’re using my trusty dough recipe. This is the same dough I use for my overnight cinnamon rolls and raspberry sweet rolls. Which means (1) it’s dependable—I’ve used this dough at least 30x in the past couple years and am extremely confident with it—(2) it’s a make-ahead recipe, but doesn’t necessarily have to be.
Making The Dough
It’s not too complicated, I promise. First, you’ll need some yeast. Don’t let yeast send you running for the hills! It’s just an ingredient. My go-to brand is Red Star Yeast; I’ve been working with them for a few years and am always, always pleased with the results. Their Platinum line is fantastic and makes working with yeast… easy! I use a little more yeast in this recipe compared to my easy cinnamon rolls (a great beginner recipe, new bakers!) because today’s rolls are about twice the size. The butter and eggs both make the dough fabulously rich and tender. It will melt in your mouth. I actually use this same base dough in my cinnamon roll wreath and strawberry sweet rolls, too!
Melt. In. Your. Mouth.
This recipe is prepared in a stand mixer, but you can mix by hand if needed. Feel free to reference my How to Knead Dough video tutorial if you need extra help with this step. Once the dough is prepared, allow it to rise until doubled in size. This will be the first rise.
Once risen, roll the dough out and fill with a combination of softened butter, pure maple syrup, granulated sugar, and cinnamon. How can you not love something with THOSE FOUR ingredients? And when those four ingredients are melted together inside a warm, buttery roll, it’s pure bliss. You should try this filling in the no yeast cinnamon rolls, too!
Then the rolls rise a second time or sit in the refrigerator and rise again in the morning.
Bake until golden brown. Then, cover them in maple glaze.
Unwind each doughy roll and dip into the pools of maple glaze/cinnamon goo on your plate. Then, 5 seconds later, melt into a pool of maple love. I believe this is the only acceptable way to eat maple cinnamon rolls, by the way.
Rich, buttery, soft, maple bread. Now THIS is a cinnamon roll done right!!
As always, I encourage you to read the recipe before beginning. This is so important to do when it comes to yeast/dough recipes. There are a few moving parts—and I’m very thorough in my instructions. Have fun and let the good times “roll.” 😉
More Cinnamon Roll Varieties:
- Cinnamon Rolls
- Apple Cinnamon Rolls
- Blueberry Sweet Rolls with Lemon Glaze
- Raspberry Sweet Rolls (my favorite!!)
- Overnight Cinnamon Rolls
- Maple Pecan Sticky Buns
- Lemon Sweet Rolls
- Orange Sweet Rolls
- Birthday Cake Cinnamon Rolls
Maple Cinnamon Rolls
- Prep Time: 4 hours (includes rises)
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 4 hours, 40 minutes (or overnight)
- Yield: 12 rolls
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Wake up to warm, fresh, cinnamon goodness with these maple cinnamon rolls.
Ingredients
Dough
- 1 cup (240ml) whole milk*, warmed to about 100°F (38°C)
- 2/3 cup (135g) granulated sugar, divided
- 1 and 1/2 tablespoons (14g) Platinum Yeast from Red Star (2 standard size packets)*
- 1/2 cup (8 Tbsp; 113g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature and cut into 4 pieces
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 4 and 1/2 cups (563g) all-purpose flour or bread flour (spooned & leveled), plus more for dusting/rolling
Filling
- 1/2 cup (8 Tbsp; 113g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1/4 cup (60ml) pure maple syrup
- 1/4 cup (50g) granulated sugar
- 1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon
Maple Icing
- 1 and 1/2 cups (180g) confectioners’ sugar
- 2 Tablespoons (30ml) pure maple syrup
- 2 Tablespoons (30ml) whole milk
Instructions
- Prepare the dough: Whisk the warm milk, 2 Tablespoons sugar, and the yeast together in the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with a dough hook or paddle attachment. Cover and allow mixture to sit for about 5 minutes or until foamy on top. *If you do not own a mixer, you can do this in a large mixing bowl and in the next step, mix the dough together with a large wooden spoon/silicone spatula. It will take a bit of arm muscle. A hand mixer works, but the sticky dough repeatedly gets stuck in the beaters. Mixing by hand with a wooden spoon or silicone spatula is a better choice.*
- On medium speed, beat in the remaining sugar (which should be 1/2 cup/100g) and the softened butter until it is slightly broken up. Add the eggs and salt and beat on medium speed until combined. The butter won’t really be mixing into the mixture, so don’t be alarmed if it stays in pieces. Switch the mixer down to low speed and with it running, add 1 cup of flour at a time, making sure it’s fully incorporated before adding the next. After 4 cups have been added, add the last 1/2 cup and beat until the dough comes together and pulls away from the sides of the bowl, about 3 minutes. Dough will be soft.
- 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.
- 1st Rise: Lightly grease a large bowl with oil or use nonstick spray. Place the dough in the bowl, turning it to coat all sides in the oil. Cover the bowl with aluminum foil, plastic wrap, or a clean kitchen towel. Allow the dough to rise in a relatively warm environment for 2 hours or until double in size. (I always let it rise on the counter and it takes about 2 hours. For a tiny reduction in rise time, see my answer to Where Should Dough Rise? in my Baking with Yeast Guide.)
- Grease the bottom and sides of a 9×13 baking dish or line with parchment paper.
- Roll out the dough: Punch down the dough to release the air. Place dough on a lightly floured work surface and using a lightly floured rolling pin, roll dough into a 12×18-inch rectangle. Make sure the dough is smooth and evenly thick. If the dough keeps shrinking as you roll it out, stop what you’re doing, cover it lightly, and let it rest for 10 minutes to relax the gluten. When you return to the dough, it should stretch out much easier.
- For the filling: Using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle or whisk attachment, beat the butter and maple syrup together on medium-high speed until combined and creamy. Add the sugar and cinnamon, beating until combined. Spread the maple mixture all over the dough. Tightly roll up the dough to form an 18-inch-long log. Cut into 12 even rolls, about 1.5 inches each. Arrange in the prepared baking pan.
- 2nd Rise: Cover the rolls tightly and allow to rise until puffy, about 90 minutes. (Or use the overnight option in the Notes below.)
- Preheat the oven to 375°F (191°C).
- Bake for about 25 minutes, until they are lightly browned on top. About halfway through the bake time, tent a piece of aluminum foil over the pan to prevent the tops from browning too quickly. Remove pan from the oven and place pan on a wire rack for about 10 minutes as you make the icing.
- Make the icing: Whisk all of the icing ingredients together. If it’s too thin, add a little more confectioners’ sugar. Drizzle icing over warm rolls.
- Cover leftover frosted or unfrosted rolls tightly and store at room temperature for up to 2 days or in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Notes
- Make Ahead Instructions – Overnight: To prepare the night before serving, prepare the rolls through step 7. Cover the rolls tightly and refrigerate for 8–12 hours. The next morning, remove from the refrigerator and allow to rise on the counter for 1–2 hours before continuing with step 9.
- Make Ahead Instructions – Freezing: Baked rolls can be frozen up to 2–3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and warm up before enjoying. You can also freeze the unbaked rolls and here’s how: Bake the rolls in step 9 for only about 10 minutes at 375°F (191°C). Cool completely, then cover tightly and freeze. To serve, take the rolls out of the freezer and put into the refrigerator a few hours before serving. Then, finish baking them for 15–20 minutes right before serving.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Stand Mixer | Rolling Pin | 9×13-Inch Glass Baking Pan or Metal Baking Pan | Glass Mixing Bowls
- Milk: I recommend using whole milk for the best, richest-tasting dough. You could also use buttermilk. Reduced-fat, low-fat, or nondairy milk works in a pinch. Do not use nonfat milk.
- Yeast: I always use Platinum Yeast from Red Star, an instant yeast. You can use an active dry yeast instead, if needed. The rise times could be slightly longer. Reference my Baking with Yeast Guide for answers to common yeast FAQs.