Chai-Spiced Cinnamon Rolls

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I’ve had this flavor combination gemstone  living in my brain for the past few weeks.  I wanted to smash the beautiful flavors of chai with my always-obsession: cinnamon rolls.

If I made cinnamon rolls as often as I wanted them, I’d probably make the two to three times a day.  Not normal.  Not healthy.  Not generally acceptable.

I usually need to call someone when I make cinnamon rolls.  It’s not so much a friendly phone call as much as it is a cry for help.  The subtext is something along the lines of  ‘I need you to come over here right now and help me eat these cinnamon rolls because if you don’t I’ll surely eat them all on my own and if I do that my only option is to blame you for friend negligence’.

All that being said, when Emily from Cupcakes and Cashmere and I decided to get together for brunch… I knew what’d I’d be making:  steamed broccoli cinnamon rolls DUH!

emily + joy by emily

 photo by emily schuman

I packed up my dough and bowls.  I packed up my spices and brown sugar.  I put on a dress and fished a matching pair of earrings out of the bottom of my purse… and I descended upon the kitchen of my new friend Emily.

I won’t even tell you how bonkers excited and nervous I was to hang with super-talented, super-blogger Emily Schuman.  I thought about what I was going to wear for three minutes… and then I remembered that I’m not a fashion expert aaaaattttt aaaalllllll. I wore a Forever 21 dress, a vintage belt, an orange slip I bought 13 years ago… and I painted my nails in the car (which is probably as illegal as texting while driving).  Totally normal.

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I wanted these cinnamon rolls to feel like a cozy Fall blanket.

Nothing brings the cozy blanket quality out of food more than a boat-load of spices.

Ground cinnamon, cardamom, ginger two ways, cloves, and cracked black pepper.

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This cinnamon roll recipe is one of my absolute favorites.  The recipe is born from these Cream Cheese Cinnamon Rolls (which are totally as indulgent as they sound).

What I love about this recipe is the softness of the dough.  It’s tender and lovely… almost feminine.  Though the dough is somewhat sticky, it can be easily coaxed into lusciously tender cinnamon rolls.  Work with the softness.

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Dough is rolled thin and topped with melted butter and a candied ginger, spiced, brown sugar mixture.

Nothing here can go wrong.  Nothing at all.

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It’s just so cool to be in the kitchen with someone you admire.

It’s really amazing to see how different people approach things.

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I also LOVE taking in the little details and gear.

I have a naturally nosey nature.  That’s real.

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This is where I live.

I live right here in these rolls.

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These will rise and bake, rise and brown.

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While the cinnamon rolls rise, I took in the details.

I’m a little obsessed with the gold silverware.

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And the festive twine.

And the fancy white scissors.

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Emily sets the brunch table.

I stand by and admire the Cinderella pumpkins.

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I love to see how people work in the kitchen.

This is how Emily makes Bloody Marys.

It’s a crazy-beautiful mess.

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Stir and…

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Stir and serve.

Emily has tricks.  She chilled these Bloody Marys with tomato juice ice cubes.

Totally clever!

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Brunch was divine!  Bloody Marys, warm and spicy cinnamon rolls, and an Onion and Ricotta Frittata that I can’t wait to tell you about!

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photo by geoffrey fuller

After brunch we sat in the kitchen nook and played with candy corn.

We were making little post brunch treats (while simultaneously gorging ourselves on Halloween candy).  Yeeeesh!

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photo by geoffrey fuller

Some things never change for me.

I always want to eat cinnamon rolls.  Cinnamon rolls should be the new Thanksgiving turkey.

I’m always nervous getting to know new friends… especially if I know they have fancier shoes that me (everyone has fancier shoes than me).

and

Food is how I make friends.  I’d like to come over and make your house smell like cinnamon rolls.  Just like that… friends!!

Emily, thank you for your sweet kindness and warm kitchen.  Next time I’m coming over with homemade pizza.  Just deal with it.  xo!

Chai-Spiced Cinnamon Rolls

makes 8 large rolls

Print this Recipe!

For the Dough:

1 – 1/4 oz (just over 2 teaspoons) package active dry yeast

1/2 teaspoon, plus 1/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup milk, at room temperature

2 Tablespoons light brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 large egg

1 large egg yolk

2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, sifted, plus more for kneading

1 teaspoon cinnamon

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon cardamom

pinch of ground cloves

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus more for the pan

For the Filling:

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup light brown sugar

1/2 cup finely chopped candied ginger

1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground cardamom

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper

1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

2 Tablespoons maple syrup

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted

For the Icing:

1 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar

3 tablespoons heavy cream

a dash of cinnamon, cardamom, and cloves

Making the Dough:

In the bowl of a stand mixer combine yeast, 1/2 teaspoon sugar and 1/4 cup water heated to 115 degrees F.  Stir to combine and let sit until frothy and foamy, about 10 minutes.

Add remaining sugar, milk, brown sugar, vanilla, egg, and egg yolk.  Beat with a wire whisk until well combined.  Fit the bowl onto the mixer, fitting with the dough hook attachment.  Add the flour, spices, and  salt and mix on medium speed until the dough just begins to come together.  Turn the machine on medium-high and knead the dough for 4 minutes.  The dough will be very moist.

With the mixer on medium speed, add the butter about 1 tablespoon at a time and continue to knead for about 6 minutes.  The dough will the wet and sticky.  Place the dough on a well floured work surface, and knead about 1/3 cup all-purpose flour into the dough.  Don’t worry, the dough still might be a little sticky.  It’s ok.  Just set the dough to rest in a large greased bowl.  Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and a kitchen towel and allow to rise in a warm place for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, or until doubled in size.

While the dough rises, make the filling.  Combine the sugar,  brown sugar, candied ginger, spices, and salt in a large bowl.  Stir to combine.  Stir in the maple syrup.  The filling will be slightly moist and crunchy.  Set aside.

When the dough has doubled in size, dump it from the bowl onto a heavily floured work surface.  Gently knead the dough  adding more flour as needed.  I think I added about 3 Tablespoons of flour.  Work the dough for about 1 or 2 minutes.  Once it’s no longer very sticky, place a kitchen towel over the dough and let rest for 5 minutes before you roll it out.

Using a floured rolling pin, roll the dough into a 10 x 10-inch square.

Brush the top of the dough with half of the melted butter.  We’ll use the rest of the butter after the rolls are baked.

Pour all of the filling onto the dough.  Spread evenly, leaving a 1-inch boarder at one of the short edges of the dough so the roll can be properly sealed.  Lightly press the filling into the dough.

Using your hands, lift up the bottom edge of the dough and roll it forward into a tight cylinder.  Place dough cylinder seam side down on a cutting board.  Using a sharp, thin knife, trim off the uneven edges.

Cut cylinder into 8 equal slices.  Nestle the slices, cut side up and evenly spaced in a butter 9 x 13-inch metal baking dish.  Cover pan with plastic wrap and set aside in a warm place to let rise for 1 hour.  You may also cover the rolls with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

Heat the oven to 375 degrees F.  Uncover the rolls.  If you refrigerated the rolls, let them sit at room temperature for 15 minutes before baking.  Drizzle with remaining butter and bake until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 30 minutes.

Make the icing:  While the rolls are baking, whisk together the sugar, spices and cream in a small bowl until smooth.

Transfer the pan of cinnamon rolls to a cooling rack.   Let cool for 5 minutes.  Dip the tines of a fork into the icing and drizzle over the rolls.  Serve immediately.

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I Made This

Questions

185 Responses

  1. The hubby made these for Christmas morning brunch and I topped them with cream cheese frosting. These were perfectly huge spiced buns to herald in Christmas morning.

  2. They are delicious! But I messed up converting the flour cups to grams and ended up having to double the recipe. Joy, do you think they could stand two nights in the fridge so I could bake the other half tomorrow?

  3. We’re holding a brunch for quite a few freinds at my place, do you think can be made mini so we can have enough for everybody and room for more food? They look divine!

  4. Hi Joy! I’m a big fan from across the pond (UK). I tried making these yesterday, but the dough was far too wet. I left it for 3 hours to rise but it only marginally increased in size. I added plenty of flour while kneading prior to adding the butter and sugar but it still did not feel right.
    I think it would be helpful if you would kindly provide weights along with cup measures, UK cup sizes differ from US sizes. I tried consulting various conversion online sites, but they don’t all agree!!!
    Thanks!!

  5. Hi Joy – Quick Question! I have not yet had the privelege of becoming a happy stand-mixer owner (fingers crossed for Christmas!)

    I was wondering if there is a way to combine all the ingredients and create the same kind of luscious dough without a stand mixer? Any suggestions are appreciated!

    Jess

    1. you could mix the paste and sugar mixture together with your fingers and then add the eggs whites and stir with a wooden spoon. totally do-able! fingers crossed for your stand mixer!!

  6. SERIOUSLY! I adore both of your blogs, it makes so much sense that you both adore each other! IN LOVE with this recipe!

  7. Sounds and looks delicious! I like the twist on the regular cinnamon rolls! And is that you drizzling over the frosting? Beautiful picture and you look really pretty too! :)
    And it looks like you had a great day together, which results in gorgeous photo’s and mouthwatering recipes for us readers :P Thankyou! :D

  8. Thanks for finally combining two of my favorite things! As a fellow cinnamon roll (let’s say) enthusiast (and not crazystalkerfan), I’m up for trying anything that looks like it might turn out delicious. Can’t wait to make these!

  9. Can I make the dough the night before and wrap it up tight? I love cinnamon rolls for breakfast on the weekend but dont want to have to wake up at 6 am to eat them at 9!

    1. Kelly,
      Did you make the dough the night before? I’m curious how it turned out. I’m making these later in the week and was hoping to make the dough the night before too.
      Thanks, Sheri

  10. Ohmygoodness her kitchen is SO CUTE. Those white scissors and pretty twine! The gold silverware contrasting with the shiny silver bowls… and did you see all those adorably fancy bottles?! lovelovelove

    PS. I totally can’t wait to make these cinnamon rolls for a cute boy!

  11. I just made these for a community brunch with a few mods. I never thought I would make cinnamon rolls. These were great. I used some whole wheat flour with the AP flour. I forgot to pour the butter over them before baking and they came out just fine. I would however I would reduce the amount of cinnamon next time to let the cardamom and ginger shine .

  12. Thank you so much for giving the actual chai spice dimensions! I hate it when a recipe just says “chai spices” because I can’t find it here and I’ve been dying to make something like this. You’ve brightened my evening.

  13. Just pulled these out of the oven! I plan to bring most of them to a friend this afternoon, but my husband and I each had one. And it’s going to be a real struggle not to have another…

    (Especially with the cream cheese glaze that I couldn’t resist using – yum!)

  14. I just took mine out of the oven, and I can hardly wait for them too cool down enough for me to eat them all! (Maybe not all of them, but close to it..) My whole house smells soo good, i just want to eat the air. Thank you so much for these!

  15. Hey Joy! I tried making this earlier, but I came across some problems : ( I followed all the steps, the mixture/dough seemed fine until I kneaded the flour in and put it in a bowl to set. A hour half after, it was still very sticky and wouldn’t form a dough. So I added more flour and let it rest in the bowl again. It just doesn’t seem like it’s going to raise a double size. What should I do? Should I try rolling it out or trash it? : (

  16. I have literally spent the whole week looking forward to making these beauties. One more sleep to go!
    Quick Q – when you say cardamom do you mean ground cardamom? I can’t find any of that in the shops but I’ve found the cardamom pods???

  17. i cannot begin to describe how perfect these rolls look. I am the BIGGEST chai and cinnamon fan and in a roll … i am actually drooling… thank-you a million times for this recipe .. and bookmarked! great blog by the way! :) and wow how amazing to work with ‘cupcakes and cashmere’!

  18. Joy! I’m glad you get nervous making friends as well . . . em, not that I’m glad you get nervous. You know . . . I just got married and moved to Canada, & getting plugged into the community gives me butterflies in my stomach! Not the flirty kind. The kind that make you have the unsure laughter & the I’mthinkingabouthowcozymykitchen&lifeisathome-itis. But it’s good. And I think you have inspired me to make cinnamon rolls & friends. So thanks.

  19. Hello Joy!

    Monday was my first day hearing about your blog and I saw these cinnamon rolls and immediately tried them. They were the best I’d ever had. Thanks for sharing,

    Happy Baking!

  20. Such a beautiful picture of you in the kitchen, Joy! Can’t wait to try these cinnamon roll (my first cinnamon rolls, can you imagine??).

  21. i totally painted my nails in the car today. and worried about the illegality of it. and maybe accidentally spilt a little iridiscent gold. yeesh! at least it wasn’t on the fabric…that makes it slightly better..right?

  22. Joy, your cinnamon buns looks absolutely delish! Since you say you love them, you must pay a visit to Sweden, home of cinnamonbuns. They’re so delish it’s dangerous. If you ever visit, drop me a line by my blog and I will give you the def toplist for Stockholms cinnamon buns bakeries and cafes. (After three pregnancies one can say I researched this very carefully since it was a main craving:)
    Love Caroline

  23. Food is how I make friends, too! I moved to the suburbs 3 1/2 yes ago when I married my love and I’m a little shy, but when people in the neighborhood have babies or surgery or just need a little pick-me-up I drop off food to them. And when our church has a party I always bring food. People may not know my name but when they see my face they know I’m the lady with lots of kids who brings everyone food!

  24. Looks like you guys had an awesome time. Yes, it’s so interesting to see how someone else approaches photographing and styling food. :) BTW, I like your method of getting friends to eat desserts with you. I should try it on my sisters. ;) AND these cinnamon rolls look uh-mazing.

  25. You had nothing to worry about – the dress looked lovely on you, especially with that great peek of orange (and I don’t usually like orange!).

    So wonderful to read about your brunch with a new friend, and can’t wait to try these cinnamon rolls! =)

  26. Oh my goodness. made these for my family and brought the rest in to work and now everyone loves me. : )

    You are so right about the dough. I may have actually sighed when I got my hands into it after rising. It is lovely, and bakes up beautifully. I will probably lighten up on the sugar in the filling next time, and I anticipate there being many, many next times!

  27. For whatever reason, I really loved this post-and the cinnamon rolls sound lovely. Thanks for writing, baking, and being you, Joy!

  28. If i wouldn’t be in hot water, i so would be cancelling my weekend plans to stay home and make these, invite girlfriends over to knit and watch pride & prejudice for the bagazillionth time. Definitely in my bucket list of recipes to make!

  29. My two favorite bloggers in the kitchen together! I wish I was invited to brunch. I guess I will have to settle for making this cinnamon rolls by myself and invite my friends over to share the goodness. Can’t wait!

  30. i absolutely LUVVVV the dress (and forever 21 – my husband jokes to me about how i’m 41 and luv ‘forever 41 going on 21;P)
    gonna try those spiced rolls the next moment i get…thank you!!!!
    juliet tarantino

  31. This post made me sooo happy. I love your writing Joy. It is so honest. I had a long day at work and got home and made fried chicken wings. Last Sunday, I made Vietnamese summer roll, Lasagne and apple turn overs just because. I hear you Joy. I do sometime feel like I live in fried chicken batter. I make cupcakes for hobby. I baking and cooking is my therapy. But most of all, I love sharing with people I love. That is what it’s all about. I get you Joy!

  32. These sound amazing!

    Side note: my friend stared at me in horror when I told her I painted my nails while driving this weekend….I reassured her that I only did it one nail at a time at stoplights. Thinking that’s a trick I probably shouldn’t repeat!

  33. Cinnamon rolls are gggooooood. And much like candy corn, addictive.
    You can come make them at my place any time!
    I will make you my own obsession, pie.
    And a cocktail.

  34. Oh how I love to make cinnamon rolls and these ones look so wonderful. If you every need a “cinnamon roll eatin friend” I’m your gal. I can’t wait to try the recipe.

  35. Joy the Baker and Emily from Cupcakes and Cashmere?!?! Two of my fave blogs mashed together in one yummy brunch? I love it…..I’m thinking you two should teach a class in Los Angeles! That would be totes fun…maybe Tracy Shutterbean could join and make it a real party/class/awesometimes!

  36. Food brings people together. Where I live, if you want to get people to come to a function, just add “Lunch/Dinner will be served after the event… for free!” And trust me, come they will.

    Plus, I love this version of cinnamon rolls! The spice mixes things up a bit. Like it.

  37. I’ve heard the name Joy the Baker and now I know who you are! A joy! Love this little festive get together that you and Em had! It’s fun to cook and talk with friends old and new! You inspired me to bake something special this weekend! Have a great week! I’m your newest follower! And if you like things coastal check out my blog…

  38. These look so delicious I wish I had called in sick today to stay home and bake them!

    I have wondered though (while drooling over every cinnamon scrolls recipe you post, especially the raspberry one!) have you had any success or attempts at gluten-free ones? I’d love to make these for my colleagues at work but one of them is gluten-intolerant and I’d hate to make her miss out…

    (p.s. thank you for my favourite blog, and for writing the book that my sister is buying me for Christmas!)

  39. You are so super cute! I was reading and you won’t believe what I was doing after reading each of your sentences, I was like awwww so cute. Love you and you are my inspiration :)

  40. You are reading my m ind, in the best possible way! Both my kids have some dumb state testing at school tomorrow, and I was sitting here thinking that I should make them something special for breakfast, so naturally I concluded the thing to do was search your recipe index.

    Lo and behold, all I had to do was visit the main page! I thank you, my boys thank you, Mr. Jingles thanks you . . .

    (Although I too am wondering where the black pepper comes in! Is it in the bloody marys???)

  41. I love chai. And I LLLOOOVVEE cinnamon rolls. Love them. I want to call in sick to work and make these in the morning.

  42. This is going to sound a little crazy, but I totally want to squeeze that dough ball! Bread dough in general is so fun to work with, but there is nothing really like the silky cinnamon roll dough. Makes me want to dig in and get dirty!

    Plus, it’s genius to use chai.

  43. What a lovely way to make a new friend! Maybe I’ll invite myself over to prospective friends’ places by saying, “hey, can I maybe bake you some chai cinnamon rolls?” I can’t imagine anyone would say no to that. And if they do… I probably don’t want to be their friend.

  44. First of all, these look amazing. Second, you beat me to it. I’ve been dreaming about creating similar beauties. Third, if you’re ever in Eastern Canada, please come make my house smell like whatsoever you wish.

  45. I love anything chai-spiced in the fall! If you haven’t tried out the chai gingerbread bars from Tasty Kitchen, they’re a must-do for this season. They’re perfect with tea in the morning or topped with whipped cream after dinner.

  46. Joy, the fact that you are standing over a pan of cinnamon rolls drizzling icing on top of them, in pretty dress, with makeup and earrings and nail polish and high heels, and yet you don’t have a speck of food on your dress…means you have a superpower.

    I need an apron if I’m going to be doing more than pouring milk into a cup.

  47. Painting nails while driving is waaaayyy more dangerous than texting. Typing errors, I could live with, but nobody wants polish all up and down the sides of their fingers! Oh my gosh, please come and make these in my tiny 1970’s looking kitchen!!! Those bloody marys look awesome btw.

  48. Looks like such a fun time! I love the idea of chai spiced cinnamon rolls instead of just plain ol’ cinnamon rolls (not that I would turn those down either!)

  49. Hope Emily is going to be on We’re About to Be Friends sometime soon. I miss that podcast. Have you given up on it? Hope not!

    Oh, and the cinnamon rolls look awesome. Can’t wait to try them! Thx Joy!

  50. I love how you guys got together and cooked together. My friends and I don’t do that nearly as often as we should. And cinnamon rolls? They are my siren song. I see them, I MUST EAT THEM! That was kinda creepy sounding…but so true.

  51. These look amazing! I had to laugh because next week is my last week at my job and I asked my staff what they would like me to bake. They all said Chai Snickerdoodles, I am thinking that I will also bring them these for breakfast :)

  52. I just read Emily’s post, and found myself needing that recipe for chai spiced cinnamon rolls! Holy deliciousness.
    and who says you can’t do fashion? I love your dress, especially with the orange underneath! Very autumnal of you :)
    If cinnamon rolls were the new Thanksgiving turkey, my life would be complete.

  53. Dear Joy, I am a University student living in Residence and at the moment an oven does not exist in my world (crying face), it snowed last night and now all I want is a warm cooked breakfast. I am living through your blog right now. I am pretending my cheerios are these wonderful, mouth-watering cinnamon buns. Sincerely, that crazy, poor university student, Lexi.

  54. This is why we’re meant to be: fishing earrings from the bottom of your purse and painting your nails in the car. This is my actual life.

    Also, these look stupid delicious.

  55. This is the type of autumn brunch that I would love to attend for sure…my two favorite bloggers together in one place!
    I love both of your blogs and both of your books!

  56. I ADORE homemade cinnamon rolls! My most recent dive into twists on traditional recipes was pumpkin, but I LOVE the idea of chai spice. What a warm, wonderful way to start your day.
    PS. I heart candy corn. It comes but once per year. Best indulge

  57. Hey future friend :). You can come to my house anytime and bake cinnamon rolls, or pizza for that matter <3
    Happy Tuesday!

  58. friend negligence and feminine dough. Joy, you are awesome! Love your writing so much. I also make friends by using food. Is that bribery??:)

  59. My two favorite bloggers!! Those look amaaazing! I’m also PSYCHED you will be coming to Boston! Can’t wait to meet you, Joy!

  60. I’m sure your shoes are fancier than mine. I LOVE this idea of chai cinnamon rolls!! I just made chai-spiced hot chocolate last week and loved that. I wonder if it’d be too much chai going on to have both at once. My fam is always up for some new cinnamon rolls; gotta try these! Do you add black pepper also? I didn’t see it in the ingredient list.

  61. Soo funny this post woke me up this morning. My phone made a beeping noise notifying me there was a new tweet. As soon as I saw it was you making cinnamon rolls I had to at least look at the pics. Ended up reading the whole post at 5:00 a.m. now I”m sleepy at work and day-dreaming of when I’ll be making these luvly rolls.

  62. That dress is stunning! Love it. And Chai is probably my favourite flavour/spice. I think this fall/winter that’s what I’ll miss most about home: my chai lattes and teas. (I should really see if I can dig up something around here.)

    I would love it if you’d come for a visit. I’ve been craving baked goods.

  63. That looks like a yummy cinnamon rolls. Love to know your blog through Emily’s post. It’s adorable to see how people meet and became friends through this blogging world. An awesome experience and a relationship to nourish. Have a great day!

    <3,
    Angie
    audrinajulia.blogspot.com

  64. I am certain my shoes are not fancier than yours. Wanna come bake at my house?? You bring the dough, I’ll take care of everything else :)

  65. Steamed broccoli diet Vs. Cinnamon roll diet… hmmm not sure which one I would prefer ;) ;) ;)
    It looks like you guys had an amazing time and there is nothing better than bonding over some cooking time!
    Would love to see more of these blogger get together posts :)

    ps. I almost took a bite at my computer screen when i saw your cinnamon rolls!

  66. I love that you made cinn rollls with chai! Mmm, so good I bet! I love cinn rolls and was just playing around with yeast and dough today. Now I wish I had turned it into cinn rolls! And what an awesome brunch with Emily. You both look fabulous….as do the rolls!

  67. Yum! These look/sound so amazing, I’m tempted to get out of bed and start baking (it’s 2 am). Note to self- don’t look at your recipes right before going to sleep.

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