11 cinnamon roll recipes to die for

Made with sugar, cinnamon and butter, the cinnamon roll is a very popular pastry all over the world. Here are our tips, recipes and tips to learn everything about this famous Scandinavian pastry.

The cinnamon roll is a traditional Scandinavian recipe known as Kanelbullar, which is also very popular in North America. These are cinnamon rolls, much easier to make than they seem.

Origin of cinnamon rolls

The first cinnamon rolls appeared in Sweden in the early 1900s, before being imported to North America. In their country of origin, cinnamon rolls are covered with pearls of sugar, unlike those spread with icing found in the United States or Canada, and are much less fatty. They are enjoyed at breakfast, but especially during Fika, “coffee” backwards in Swedish, break time seen as a moment of sharing and conviviality. Since 1999, Sweden has even named October 4 National Cinnamon Roll Day, Kanelbullens dag, celebrated every year.

Preparation of cinnamon rolls

To make cinnamon rolls, you have to start with homemade brioche dough. We mix lukewarm milk with yeast and sugar. In another container, make a well in the flour before adding the eggs, the milk mixture and melted butter. Form a ball of dough and let it rise for about 1 hour.

Once the dough is ready, roll it out into a rectangle on a floured work surface. We cover everything with soft butter and a sugar-cinnamon mixture. To finish, all you have to do is roll everything into a sausage, cut into sections to obtain several cinnamon rolls of the desired size, and place in the oven for about 20 minutes. For cinnamon rolls worthy of the name, the dough must be slightly undercooked. We then cover them with pearls of sugar or cream cheese frosting when they come straight out of the oven, before being eaten.

Possible variations

It is entirely possible to incorporate other ingredients into the sugar-cinnamon mixture such as ginger, nutmeg, or even vanilla for revisited cinnamon rolls. You can also cut fruit into small pieces and add them to the rolls just before rolling everything into a sausage. When it comes to icing, anything goes! Classically, cinnamon rolls are covered with cream cheese or vanilla icing, but for even more indulgence, you can make chocolate or caramel icing. You can also enjoy them plain, or cover them, Scandinavian style, with sugar pearls.

To be continued: 11 cinnamon roll recipe ideas, each tastier than the last.