Have you ever made cinnamon rolls from scratch? They’re SO good! During fall and winter, I like to make them as a treat on weekends to go along with my coffee which is probably what inspired this version – using coffee within the actual cinnamon rolls to make Coffee Cinnamon Rolls!
Coffee Cinnamon Rolls
Yes, there is ground coffee within the ooey-gooey, yummy, cinnamon and coffee mixture (I’ll tell you how to do this so it’s not gritty, keep reading) and I topped them with a coffee and creamer cream cheese frosting. Try saying that five times fast:
Coffee Cinnamon Rolls topped with Coffee and Creamer Cream Cheese Frosting!
It’s a mouthful, alright. A mouthful of deliciousness! As a mama of twin babies, I currently can’t get enough coffee. Maybe that’s why I came up with the idea of adding more coffee to my breakfast by putting it into the cinnamon rolls! Ha! If you’re a coffee fan, then you will love these coffee cinnamon rolls!
These coffee cinnamon rolls are perfect for entertaining if you have guests in town for the holidays. Brew some coffee, bake some cinnamon rolls, and then have coffee and coffee cinnamon rolls for a mid-morning Sunday brunch!
The full recipe is below, but I’m going to warn you, I make my cinnamon rolls extra cinnamon-y. There is absolutely no shortage of that ooey-gooey delicious layer of cinnamon sugar in my cinnamon rolls. I pile it on thick! Here’s a photo for proof:
And pro-tip: use dental floss to slice your cinnamon rolls. I find it so much easier using floss than a knife! Plus, it’s fun!
Can you see the coffee grounds within the cinnamon mix? They’re the larger, dark bits. I used about 2 tablespoons of coffee grounds within the cinnamon mixture and I thought the flavoring in the final result was fairly strong. If you love the taste of coffee, then 2 tablespoons are the way to go, but if you don’t love the taste of coffee and only like it, then maybe try only 1 tablespoon or 1.5 tablespoons.
To make sure the coffee grounds aren’t gritty within the cooked cinnamon rolls, be sure to heat and mix them with melted butter while you’re allowing your dough to proof for an hour. This gives the coffee grounds time to soak in the butter and soften.
And I like to make a bit of extra icing for dipping! Normally, I just make a cream cheese icing, but for these coffee cinnamon rolls, I made a coffee and creamer cream cheese icing.
These are great for a weekend breakfast! Because you have to allow time for the cinnamon rolls to proof (allow the dough to rise), they’re great for weekends because you can go on a walk and get the newspaper or (for me) read a magazine and drink a cup of coffee while your kiddos nap!
Coffee Cinnamon Rolls
Ingredients
- Cinnamon Rolls:
- Dough:
- 3 tsp yeast
- 1 cup milk
- ⅓ cup butter, softened
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- 4 cups flour, sifted
- 2 eggs, beaten
- 1 tsp salt
- Cinnamon Filling:
- ⅓ cup butter, softened
- 1 cup brown sugar, packed
- 3 Tbsp ground cinnamon
- 2 Tbsp ground coffee
- Frosting:
- 6 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened
- 2.5 cups powdered sugar, sifted
- 4 Tbsp creamer
- 1/8 cup strong brewed coffee
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ¼ cup cream cheese
- ⅛ tsp salt
Instructions
- Heating half the milk over medium heat on the stove. Bring it to a simmer, then pour into a small bowl with the other half of the milk, so it comes to 110 degrees F. Add the yeast to the warm milk along with a couple pinches of sugar, whisk it, and let sit for 5 minutes.
- While the yeast is sits, add butter, sugar, salt, eggs, and flour to a stand mixer fitted with a mixing attachment and combine.
- Then switch to the dough hook and after the yeast's 5 minutes have passed, add the milk/yeast to the mixer and mix for 5 minutes on medium-low.
- Then cover the bowl with a towel and let the dough rise for 1 hour.
- Combine the Cinnamon Filling's butter and coffee in a bowl and heat in the microwave for 30 seconds, stir, and repeat. Allow the mixture to sit while the dough rises.
- When the dough is done rising, roll it out on a lightly floured surface to about the size of 16-18" x 12" at ¼" thick.
- Combine the Cinnamon Filling's butter and coffee mixture, brown sugar, and ground cinnamon in a bowl and mix, then spread the mixture over the rolled out dough, leaving a 1" frame all around the edges.
- Take the far long edge of the dough and roll it towards you so you have a long log.
- Grease a square 8" or 9" pan.
- Slice the cinnamon log into 1½" slices using a knife or a piece of floss (I used floss, it was EASY and minty, just kidding!) and add the rolls to your pan.
- Once full, cover the rolls with a towel and let them rise again for 30 minutes.
- Set a timer for 15-20 minutes and preheat your oven to 350 degrees F while the cinnamon rolls proof for the last 10-15 minutes.
- Bake the cinnamon rolls for 20-22 minutes.
- While the cinnamon rolls are baking, make the frosting by combining all of the frosting ingredients in a stand mixing bowl and whisking until smooth. Refrigerate.
- Allow the cinnamon rolls to cool a bit, then frost generously and serve.
- Enjoy!
- Note: prep time does NOT include proofing times.
- Note: if you would like dough to be fluffier, add 1 potato (mashed) into the dough.
