i love cinnamon rolls.
wholeheartedly.
passionately.
devotedly.
and i’m not alone.

If you do an Internet search for “cinnamon roll recipe,” you get over 1.4 million results. North Americans crave their cinnamon rolls, and the confection is also popular around the world. Swedes love their cinnamon rolls so much that they actually have a kanelbullens dag, or Cinnamon Roll Day, on October 4. In any language, however, cinnamon rolls translate into “delicious.”

cinnamon roll	United States and Canada
cinnamon bun	United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia
franzbrotchen	Germany and Austria
kanelsnegle	Denmark
korvapuusti	Finland
kanelbullar	Sweden
skillingsbollen	Norway
pain or brioche à la canelle	France and Quebec

With renewed interest in all things bread—from no-knead to bread machine, vegan, and gluten-free bread-making techniques—the cinnamon roll continues to intrigue. With the mix-and-match possibilities among different doughs, fillings, and toppings, the cinnamon roll continues to satisfy our need for a signature dish. And with the stresses of modern life, the cinnamon roll continues to comfort. If you love cinnamon rolls, like I do, then you’re reading the right book!

I Love Cinnamon Rolls! starts you at whatever level of expertise or special dietary need you have, from making cinnamon rolls from mixes, to using a bread machine, to learning a traditional kneaded dough recipe, trying the no-knead technique, making light and delicious whole grain, gluten-free, or vegan cinnamon rolls, or laminating a Danish pastry dough for that rich and buttery croissant effect.

So, let’s get started. We’ve got so many cinnamon rolls to sample. . .

the history of cinnamon rolls

Since Egyptian times, cinnamon has added a warm spiciness to foods, its aroma celebrated in the Hebrew Song of Solomon. In Europe and the Arab world during the Middle Ages, ground cinnamon most often flavored savory dishes such as stews and bistiya, a meat pie. During the eighteenth century, German, Austrian, and Scandinavian bakers started using cinnamon, often paired with cardamom, in yeast-risen baked goods. And when those people came to North America, the cinnamon roll came with them.

Today, cinnamon rolls have become the quintessential comfort food, served at school and church fund-raisers, in airports to harried travelers, at bed and breakfast inns, bakeries in small towns and big cities, and our home kitchens.

anatomy of a cinnamon roll

A signature cinnamon roll is greater than the sum of its parts. Each layer adds flavor, texture, color, and moisture.

the pan sauce

This is the sauce you put in the bottom of the baking pan. It forms a bed for the cinnamon rolls to bake upon, keeping them moist while adding flavor and color. The simplest pan “sauce” is cooking spray or softened butter. More complex pan sauces include granulated or brown sugar to help form a caramel, fruit juices, nuts, crispy bacon, apples, toffee bits, or orange zest.

the dough

A cinnamon roll dough needs to be sweet and tender, yet sturdy enough to stand up to both a filling and a frosting, glaze, or inverted pan sauce. All eight doughs in this book accomplish that deliciously.

the filling

You have to have cinnamon somewhere, and it’s usually in the filling. But how you create that filling can vary. The most common type is the brush of butter on the dough, then a sprinkling of cinnamon sugar. But you can also have a more crumbly cinnamon streusel paired with fruit, sweet cheese, a pumpkin blend or cinnamon oil (because it’s colorless) blended with snowy white flaked coconut.

the topping

Toppings for cinnamon rolls range from the European egg wash, plus sugar or nuts, to the American ooey-gooey frosting.

Egg wash An egg wash is a whole egg, egg white, or yolk beaten with a little water, then brushed on top of the roll for a shiny golden or clear finish.

Pearl sugar Small, white, irregular pieces of sugar on top of a cinnamon roll provide a crunchy, sweet first bite.

Glaze This thin, translucent sweet finish is brushed on cinnamon rolls after they’ve baked. Basically, a glaze consists of confectioners’ sugar, a liquid, and flavoring.

Icing This solidly white, somewhat thicker finish is meant to be piped, swirled, or drizzled decoratively on top of a just-baked cinnamon roll. An icing also consists of confectioners’ sugar, a liquid, and flavoring.

Frosting The thickest topping is a spreadable frosting. Basically, a frosting is confectioners’ sugar combined with butter and/or cream cheese and flavoring.