I usually make yeast breads in a stand mixer, but I recently discovered that the kneading attachment on my food processor does a super quick job of getting dough to the "smooth and elastic" phase. These food processor cinnamon rolls were my latest experiment.
Food Processor Cinnamon Rolls
I took one of our oldest, favorite, cinnamon roll recipes, halved it, and revamped it for the processor. The rolls baked up light, fluffy and perfect! The icing is a little different from others. It's made with cream cheese rather than butter and includes a bit of corn syrup and heavy cream so it doesn't harden as it sits out. You can ice these with whatever type icing you like, but this one was actually very good. It has the consistency of the kind of icing that comes with packaged cinnamon rolls.
But back to the dough. The egg measurements are a little strange since I had to halve an egg, but the extra yolk in the dough (plus everything else) makes it a really nice dough to work with. I coated the dough with a little oil during the first rise, so when I punched it down it was just slick enough that I could skip the floured surface and just press it into a rectangle on my silicone mat.
A Secret Ingredient for Cinnamon Rolls!
One final note. It's not easy to find, but if you can score some McCormick Butter & Nut Extract (they now call it Cake Batter Flavor), use a bit of that and a bit of vanilla instead of just vanilla in the dough. That particular extract has a strong flavor and color so I use it very, very, sparingly, but it adds "a little something" to sweet yeast doughs and some cakes. I haven't seen it in Chicago and could never find it in Texas, but you can buy it on Amazon or find it in grocery stores in parts Pennsylvania, Florida and North Carolina.
Update: I added an alternative icing in case you don't have cream cheese. Also, you don't have to make these in the food processor. When I came up with the recipe I just happened to have it out. A stand mixer with a dough hook is just fine.
Recipe
Food Processor Cinnamon Rolls
Ingredients
Dough
- ¼ cup milk skim, reduced fat or whole all work
- ¼ cup water
- 4 tablespoons butter I used unsalted
- ½ teaspoon vanilla or vanilla butter & nut extract if you can find it!
- 1 ¾ to 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1 ¼ teaspoons of instant quick rising yeast about half a packet
- 2 ½ tablespoons sugar
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons lightly beaten egg
- 1 egg yolk
Filling
- ½ cup packed light brown sugar
- ½ tablespoon cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons melted butter
Icing (See notes for a second version without cream cheese)
- 4 ounces cream cheese softened
- 1 tablespoon corn syrup
- ½ cup confectioners’ sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon heavy cream
Instructions
- Put the butter in a saucepan and allow it to melt over medium heat. Once it’s almost fully melted, add the milk and water. Bring mixture to a simmer, then remove from heat and let cool to 125 degrees F. Add the vanilla.
- Meanwhile, combine 1 cup of the flour, yeast, sugar, egg and salt in a bowl. Add the warm milk mixture, then add remaining flour ¼ cup at a time, stirring to make a soft, slightly sticky dough.
- Put the ball of dough into a food processor fitted with a kneading hook and let the processor knead the dough until smooth and elastic. Note: The processor works pretty quickly. My dough is done in less than 3 minutes. Check dough, scraping it a bit, every 40 seconds or so to make sure it’s not too warm from friction of processor.
- Scrape the dough into a well-oiled bowl and roll it around so it’s coated with a thin layer of oil. Cover and let rise until doubled in bulk (about 45 minutes with the quick rising yeast).
- After the dough has doubled, press it down and turn it out onto a lightly floured work surface. I’ve found that if the dough is coated with oil, I don’t need to use flour, I just press the dough right down onto a clean surface (I use a big silicone mat). Shape the dough into a rectangle that is 12x8 inches.Mix together the filling ingredients and sprinkle the filling evenly over the dough. Roll the dough, beginning with the 8 inch side, into a tight spiral.
- Line a 9x13 inch metal pan with nonstick foil. Cut the spiral into 6 equal pieces and set in the pan cut side by, spaced about an inch apart. Cover with plastic wrap and place in a warm draft free spot until doubled in bulk (another 45 minutes to an hour with the quick rising yeast).
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and adjust oven rack to the middle position.
- Bake the rolls for 25 to 30 minutes or until golden brown.
- To make the icing, beat the cream cheese until smooth, then beat in corn syrup, vanilla and sugar. Add cream until icing is smooth and creamy. Spread icing over rolls while still warm.
Anna says
Thanks Cheryl! That was the right thing to do. I'll double check the instructions and fix that right now.
Cherl derby says
Hi
Trying your cinnamon roll receipe.
The 1/4 cup water and vanilla left out of the instructions. I just added to the bowl
Hope works!
Thanks
Cheryl
d says
Ok, I'll give it a try and let you know how it goes!
Anna says
Sue, I made some CCCs with my processor too. I think I overworked the flour a bit, but the cookies were still good.
Darla, let me know what you think. I have the Watkins one as well, but this one is completely different. It reminds me of cake mix flavoring. It tastes and smells very artificial and has a bright yellow color so it might be a little off putting at first. You definitely don't want to use too much of it. However, just a tiny little bit does some magic. Try it in different pound cakes, cookies and sweet yeast breads. Sometimes if a recipe calls for a teaspoon of vanilla, I'll use 3/4 teaspoon of vanilla and maybe 1/4 teaspoon of the butternut extract.
D says
WATKINS USED TO SELL A BUTTER AND NUT FLAVORING THAT I LOVED. I JUST ORDERED THIS ONE. THANKS! THE ROLLS LOOK YUMMY!
Anna says
Pam, I vaguely knew what it was but had no intention of using it. It's amazing that I didn't lose it in a move! Needless to say, I'm happy I gave it a try.
Pam says
Haha! Thanks! I never knew what that plastic little paddle was that came with my food processor!
Sue says
These look really tasty. It's funny you used your food processor unconventionally. I used a food processor to make CCC's this past weekend. It worked great.
Anna says
Thanks for the link, Pam! I'm going to remove the direct link and ask that people just go to a site called Jet.com and do a search. I've never used it and can't endorse it, but it looks like they offer free shipping.
pam says
Link to Butter and Nut extract with no shipping cost
(Jet.com)
Anna says
Dani, I hope you find it. I like visiting grocery stores in different cities and one thing I always look for is that extract.
Sweet Treats by Dani says
these look great! and that butter & nut extract sounds like the perfect little "je ne sais quoi" i've been looking for. thanks for the tip 😉
Anna says
Hi Patti,
The kneading hook looks like a blade but is made of plastic. It looks kind of like the kneading paddle used on a bread machine. I guess technically it's a blade and not a "hook" as I called it. I'm used to saying "dough hook".
Patti says
These cinnamon rolls look delicious, and I love brown sugar in my cinnamon roll filling. I do have a question about your method. What is a kneading hook for a food processor.? I have never seen any sort of dough attachment for a food processor. My food processor which is very old only has a grating attachment and an S blade. Will the S blade work?