These cinnamon rolls are full of gingerbread spices and topped with an amazing cream cheese frosting.
A picture is worth a thousand words, so I'm going to let you stare at the above
gingerbread spice roll for a minute or two.
These gingerbread cinnamon rolls are easy to make. Instead of using only cinnamon in the filling, you're going to use a gingerbread spice mix (either storebought or homemade, there are tons of recipes online !) with a little cinnamon thrown in to kick all those flavorful spices up a notch.
The frosting is an amazing cream cheese frosting I found
here. Poured over the hot rolls, the frosting melts and seeps into the pastry, leaving you with a wonderfully moist and delicious gingerbread roll.
How to make gingerbread spice rolls :
You'll start by making the dough for the rolls (with or without a stand-mixer, fitted with a paddle attachment) : in a bowl, lightly stir some dry yeast with water, and set it aside. In the bowl of a stand-mixer, whisk some butter, sugar and salt into lightly warmed up milk. You'll then add in the yeast and a beaten egg, and mix. Add in the flour, and knead until everything is fully incorporated. The dough will have to rise in a warm place for about an hour.
After the rising period, roll the dough out into a rectangle shape. Spread some butter, cover with brown sugar, cinnamon and gingerbread spices. Roll up the dough, cut into slices and set them in a pan to rise for 45 minutes. After that, the gingerbread spice rolls will be ready for the oven !
How to make cream cheese frosting for gingerbread spice rolls :
Beat butter and cream cheese together, then add in icing sugar, vanilla and milk.
This frosting was amazing poured directly over the rolls, a few minutes after they came out of the oven. I only used about half of it over the gingerbread cinnamon rolls, and kept the other half in the fridge. When I had a gingerbread roll craving, I microwaved a roll for about 45 seconds, and poured some more cream cheese frosting on top.
Here are some recipes you might want to check out :
Gingerbread snickerdoodles
Snickerdoodles (no baking soda, no cream of tartar)
Tarte au sucre
Here is the recipe for gingerbread cinnamon rolls :
Ingredients :
For the dough :
3 tbsp of dry baker's yeast
60 mL of tepid water
110g of butter, softened and cut into cubes
50g of white powdered sugar
1 1/2 tsp of salt
240 mL of milk, room temperature
1 egg, lightly beaten
560g of flour
For the filling :
60g of unsalted butter
90g of light brown sugar
1 tbsp of gingerbread spice mix
1/4 tsp of cinnamon
For the cream cheese frosting :
60g of unsalted butter, softened
125g of cream cheese, softened
190g of icing sugar
1 tsp of vanilla extract
1 tbsp of milk, room temperature
Instructions :
Make the rolls :
Lightly stir the dry yeast into the tepid water. Set aside.
Lightly heat up the milk (~30 seconds in the microwave). Add in the butter, white sugar and salt. Whisk until the butter has melted and let cool.
Whisk in the water/yeast mix and beaten egg.
Add the flour in, knead until the flour is fully incorporated.
Transfer the dough to a greased and floured bowl, cover with a clean damp towel, and let the dough rise in a warm place for about an hour.
Flour a clean surface. Knead the dough lightly and roll it out into a rectangle shape (about 30cmx40cm/11inx15in).
Using a butter knife, gently spread the softened butter over the entire rectangle. Mix the light brown sugar and spices, and spread them over the butter.
Roll up the dough, starting with the shortest side. Using a sharp knife, cut the rolled up dough into 6 slices. Transfer the rolls to a greased and floured pan, cover with a damp towel, and set in a warm place to rise for 45 minutes.
Preheat the oven (180°C/350°F).
Bake the gingerbread spice rolls for 25 minutes, until the top is a golden color.
Make the frosting :
While the rolls are baking, make the frosting : beat the softened butter and cream cheese together. Add in the icing sugar, vanilla, and milk. Mix until everything is fully incorporated.
Once the rolls are baked, let them cool for about 5 to 10 minutes, and pour the frosting over the gingerbread spice rolls.
Note :
I recommend pouring only about half of the cream cheese frosting over the rolls. Keep the other half in the fridge. When the rolls are fully cooled, you can microwave them individually for about 45 seconds. Pour more frosting on top ;)
