These Coffee Cinnamon Rolls will satisfy all your coffee cravings! They're super soft, fluffy, gooey and full of coffee flavour.
Coffee Cinnamon Rolls
I'm back again with yet another cinnamon roll recipe! I recently shared a recipe for the best cinnamon rolls EVER (in my opinion, that is). These cinnamon rolls are similar to that recipe, but with a caffeine twist! Soft and fluffy coffee dough, ooey gooey coffee filling, and smothered in a cream cheese coffee icing — these rolls are seriously delicious!
Soft and Fluffy Coffee Dough
Let's start with the dough. To add the coffee flavour to the dough, I originally planned on adding strong brewed coffee, but that would be too much liquid resulting in a sticky dough. If the dough was too sticky, I'd have to add a ton of extra flour which would make the dough tough.
Instead, I used instant coffee granules and mixed it into the wet ingredients so it could dissolve. I'm not a huge fan of the coffee flavour, so I only added a tablespoon of instant coffee. If you are a coffee fanatic, you may be able to get away with adding more.
As you can see below, the instant coffee gives the dough a beautiful golden brown colour.
Filling
Next up, the filling. There's a few ways you can incorporate the coffee flavour into the filling. You can mix the instant coffee granules with the brown sugar and cinnamon, or you can mix everything together with the melted butter.
I actually decided to mix the instant coffee granules with the melted butter to create some kind of "butter coffee" and I spread it all over the dough. I then sprinkled the brown sugar/cinnamon mixture on top of that.
Honestly, one day I'll learn how to roll the perfect cinnamon roll, but that day is not today. As you can see, my rolls are HUGE! I like big buns and I cannot lie. Sorry, I had to. Anyways, you can make these rolls as big or small as you want. I cut out 8 large rolls, but you can get 6 jumbo rolls or 12 small rolls.
Coffee Cream Cheese Icing!
Ahh, this is my favourite part! The coffee cream cheese icing is super silky and addictive. It's your regular cream cheese icing with a punch of coffee flavour! I started by adding some instant coffee granules, but it didn't really blend into the icing that well — which is perfectly fine since it adds beautiful flecks of coffee to the icing.
I had prepared a pot of freshly brewed coffee to include as a prop in the photos, so I decided to scoop out a few tablespoons to add to the cream cheese icing and it worked wonders! The pairing of cream cheese and icing is out of this world, and it's 100x better when that pairing is slathered onto warm coffee cinnamon rolls.
I swear I almost passed out after inhaling the great smells of freshly baked cinnamon rolls, freshly brewed coffee and coffee cream cheese icing all at once.
A little trick I learned for the best cinnamon roll experience is to generously lather the rolls with half of the cream cheese icing as soon as they come out of the oven. Allow the rolls to cool for about 15 minutes, then smother them in the remaining half of icing. The hot cinnamon rolls allows the cream cheese icing to melt into every inch of the roll which makes them extra sinful!
A freshly brewed cup of coffee with a giant fluffy cinnamon roll is the perfect way to start a morning. Put those two together and you have the most amazing breakfast treat.
Store the remaining rolls in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 to 5 days (as if they’d last that long). Reheat them in the microwave for about 30-45 seconds and they’ll be as warm and gooey as they were on day 1!
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Coffee Cinnamon Rolls
These Coffee Cinnamon Rolls will satisfy all your coffee cravings! They're super soft, fluffy, gooey and full of coffee flavour.
Ingredients
Coffee Dough:
- 1 cup warm milk (110-115˚F)
- 1 package (2 and ¼ tsp) active dry yeast
- ½ cup + ½ tsp granulated sugar, divided
- ⅓ cup unsalted butter or margarine, melted
- 1 Tbsp instant coffee
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
- 4 - 4 and ½ cups All purpose flour
- 1 tsp salt
Filling:
- ¼ cup margarine, melted
- 1 Tbsp instant coffee
- 1 cup dark brown sugar, packed
- 3 Tbsp ground cinnamon
Coffee Cream Cheese Icing:
- ½ cup unsalted butter or margarine, softened
- 1 (8 oz) package of cream cheese, softened to room temperature
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- ½ tsp instant coffee granules
- ⅛ tsp salt
- 1-2 Tbsp freshly brewed coffee (or more, if desired)
Instructions
For the Coffee Dough:
- In a medium heat-proof bowl, heat the milk in the microwave until warm, about 50-60 seconds. It should be around 110-115˚F. If you don't have a thermometer, test it out by sticking your finger inside. The milk should be warm enough for you to hold your finger inside comfortably. It should not be too hot, if it is, let it sit for 5 minutes to cool.
- Sprinkle the yeast and ½ teaspoon of sugar into the warmed milk, do not stir. Allow to sit for about 5-10 minutes or until frothy. If yeast doesn't foam up, your yeast is either dead or the milk is too hot, which means you have to start over.
- Add melted butter, instant coffee, vanilla and eggs to the milk and yeast mixture and whisk to combine.
- In a stand mixer bowl fitted with the dough hook attachment, add 4 cups of flour, remaining ½ cup sugar and salt. Mix on low to combine. Alternatively: add the dry ingredients to a large mixing bowl and whisk to combine.
- Pour in liquid mixture and mix on low until just combined, about 30 seconds. Increase speed to medium-low "2 on a kitchenaid mixer" and knead dough until it's smooth, elastic and pulls away from the sides of the bowl, about 7-10 minutes. Or you can mix the dough with a wooden spoon, then transfer it to a lightly floured surface and knead by hand for about 7 to 10 minutes until dough is smooth. If the dough is too sticky after 5 minutes, add more flour 1 tablespoon at a time until dough is smooth.
- Lightly oil a separate large bowl with olive oil or cooking spray, place dough inside and turn to cover both sides. Loosely cover with plastic wrap and let it rest in a warm place for 1 to 1 and ½ hours, or until dough has doubled in size.
For the Filling:
- In a small heat-proof bowl, microwave the butter in 30 second intervals, stirring after each until melted and smooth. Stir in the instant coffee granules. Don't worry if it doesn't completely dissolve. Set aside.
- In a separate bowl, add brown sugar and cinnamon and stir with a fork to combine. Set aside until ready to use.
Assembly:
- Lightly grease a 9x13 inch baking dish with cooking spray or softened butter and place a piece of parchment on the bottom. Set aside.
- Once dough has doubled in size, gently punch it down and turn onto a floured work surface.
- Using a rolling pin, roll out dough into a 9x13 inch rectangle. Use a pastry brush to brush melted butter/coffee over the dough. Sprinkle brown sugar and cinnamon mixture over the top, leaving about 1 and ½ inches of the border uncovered. Lightly press filling into the dough.
- Starting on the long side, roll the dough into a tight log and pinch the seams to seal. Slice the log into either 6 jumbo rolls, 8 large rolls, or 12 small rolls and place in prepared baking dish.
- Lightly cover with a damp towel or plastic wrap and let rise for 30 minutes to 1 hour, until doubled in size (see notes). While rolls are rising, preheat oven to 350°F (180°C).
- Once rolls have doubled in size, bake in preheated oven for 25-30 minutes, or until lightly golden. Meanwhile, prepare the icing.
For the Coffee Cream Cheese Icing:
- In a medium mixing bowl using a handheld mixer, beat beat butter and cream cheese until light and fluffy, 3-5 minutes.
- Add powdered sugar and mix on low until combined. Add vanilla, instant coffee and salt and beat until combined and smooth. Mix in 1-2 tablespoons of freshly brewed coffee, or more to taste.
- Remove the rolls from the oven and immediately spread half of the creamy icing on top so the glaze can melt into the rolls. Allow rolls to cool for about 10-15 minutes, then spread remaining icing on top. Serve warm.
Notes
- The rolls can be made a day ahead of time. After slicing the rolls and placing them into the baking dish, you can tightly cover the dish with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. The next day, preheat your oven to 150 or 170°F. Once preheated, turn the oven off, uncover the cinnamon rolls and place in the oven for about 1 - 1 and ½ hours until rolls have doubled in size. Carry on with the remaining baking steps.
- It is super important that your flour is measured CORRECTLY! You don't want to scoop out the flour with your measuring cup. Instead, use a flour scoop or spoon to scoop and sprinkle the flour into your measuring cup. Fill the flour over the top of the measuring cup, then use the back of a butter knife to scrape off the excess flour.
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Bon Appétit!
Love, Dedra ❤
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