Coffee Cinnamon Rolls
These Coffee Cinnamon Rolls are made with a soft, fluffy and pillowy brioche dough, filled with a brown sugar, espresso and cinnamon filling, then topped with an espresso cream cheese glaze.
Equipment
- Stand mixer
Ingredients
Brioche Dough
- 1 cup warm milk 110°
- 1 package active dry yeast
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon espresso powder or instant espresso powder
- 3 cups (360g) bread flour
- ¼ cup (50g) granulated sugar
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 2 egg yolks
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 6 tablespoon (85g) unsalted butter softened
Filling
- ⅔ cup (135 g) light brown sugar, packed
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon espresso powder or instant espresso powder
- 6 tablespoon unsalted butter melted
Espresso cream cheese glaze
- 2 oz. cream cheese softened
- ¼ cup milk
- 1 tablespoon instant espresso powder or espresso powder
- 1½ cups powdered sugar
- pinch of salt
Instructions
Brioche Dough
- In a small bowl, combine the warm milk, packet of yeast and a teaspoon of sugar and let sit and foam for about 5 minutes. Once frothy, add the espresso powder and mix it together.1 cup warm milk, 1 package active dry yeast, 1 tsp granulated sugar, 1 tsp espresso powder
- In a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a hook attachment, add flour, sugar, salt, 2 egg yolks, vanilla extract, and the activated yeast mixture and let knead for at least 10 minutes until the dough comes away from the bowl and forms a sort of ball.3 cups (360g) bread flour, ¼ cup (50g) granulated sugar, ¾ tsp salt, 2 egg yolks, 2 tsp vanilla extract
- Start adding the softened butter slowly until all is incorporated and knead for an additional 10-20 minutes until the dough forms a smooth ball and does not stick to the sides of the bowl. When touching with your finger, the dough should not stick at all. The dough will be tacky and a lot smoother/silkier than a regular dough.6 tbsp (85g) unsalted butter
- You know the dough is ready when it passes the windowpane test: take a small piece of dough and stretch it out between your fingers. If it stretches out without tearing and light can pass through, then it has passed the windowpane test. If it tears, let the dough knead another 5 minutes, then perform the test again.
- Place the dough in an oiled bowl and cover and let rise for at least an hour.
Shaping the Cinnamon Rolls
- Line a 9x13 metal baking dish with parchment paper and set aside.
- Once proofed, flour your work surface and roll out your dough to about a 15x9 inch rectangle.
- In a bowl combine brown sugar, espresso powder, cinnamon and mix, then add the melted butter and mix completely.⅔ cup (135 g) light brown sugar, packed, 1 tbsp cinnamon, 1 tsp espresso powder, 6 tbsp unsalted butter
- Spread the filling all over the surface of the rolled out dough.
- Start rolling the dough from the short end (the 9 inch end), then divide it into 12 pieces.
- Line them up in your baking dish, then cover with a towel or saran wrap and let proof for 30-45 minutes until doubles in size.
Baking & Glazing
- Preheat the oven to 350℉
- Bake the Coffee Cinnamon Rolls for 15-20 minutes until the tops starts to get golden brown and the temperature reads 190℉ using a meat thermometer. Remove from the oven.
- In a small bowl, heat milk for about 15 seconds, then add the tablespoon of espresso and mix, set aside. In another bowl, beat the softened cream cheese until smooth, then add the espresso milk and continue beating (you could also use a whisk here), then add the powdered sugar ½ cup at a time until the glaze is completely mixed and smooth. Lastly, add the salt and mix for another 30 seconds.2 oz. cream cheese, ¼ cup milk, 1 tbsp instant espresso powder, 1½ cups powdered sugar, pinch of salt
- The glaze will be quite runny (the photos in the post had less milk, which created a thicker glaze. I prefer more milk, which then gives room for the cinnamon rolls to soak up the glaze and makes it more delicious).
- Pour the glaze on the Coffee Cinnamon Rolls and enjoy warm.
- Store any leftovers in an airtight container.
Notes
- Measure Flour Correctly: As always, with any recipe, use a kitchen scale, as it is the best form of measuring your ingredients. If you don’t have a kitchen scale, fluff your flour, scoop flour with a spoon into a measuring cup and level off.
- Don’t Skip Kneading: Knead the dough for at least 10 minutes before adding the softened butter. This will ensure the dough forms and pulls away from the bowl. Then once you add the butter, knead for another 10-20 minutes until the butter is completely incorporated and the dough has pulled away from the bowl again.
- Don’t add too much flour: This dough will be tacky, but shouldn’t stick to your hands. It will also be very silky (this due to all the butter added). If while kneading, the dough doesn’t come together after 15 minutes, you can add one tablespoon of flour at a time. But be patient before adding the flour. You don’t want a dry dough.
- Make Ahead: You can absolutely make this recipe ahead of time by letting the dough proof in the refrigerator overnight for the first rise. When you’re ready to use, remove from the refrigerator and continue with the recipe. You won’t need to let the dough come to room temperature because you’ll still need to proof a second time, so it will have plenty of time.
- Proof in pre-heated oven: One trick I love doing is to pre-heat the oven to 170 degrees Fahrenheit, then turning off the oven and letting my dough proof in the oven. This cuts down on proofing time, especially if I'm in a hurry, but it also helps in the winter when it's especially cold.
- Windowpane test: To know if your dough is ready, perform the windowpane test where you take a small piece of dough and stretch it out between your fingers. If it stretches out without tearing and light can pass through, then it has passed the windowpane test. If it tears, let the dough knead another 5 minutes, then perform the test again.
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