Flaky Buttermilk Biscuit Cinnamon Rolls
Ingredients
Biscuit Dough:
- 4 ½ cups (639 g) all-purpose flour
- ⅓ cup (71 g) granulated sugar
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- 2 ½ tablespoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 13 tablespoons (184 g) cold salted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces
- 2 cups buttermilk, plus a few extra tablespoons, if needed
Filling (see note):
- ½ cup (106 g) light brown sugar
- 2 to 3 teaspoons cinnamon, depending on how cinnamon-y you like the filling
- 4 tablespoons (57 g) salted butter, melted
Icing (see note):
- ½ cup (57 g) powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons heavy cream
- 1 tablespoon salted butter, melted
- Splash of vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a half sheet pan with parchment paper and lightly grease with cooking spray. Set aside.
- For the biscuit dough, in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the blade (see notes for making the biscuit dough without a food processor), add the flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Process to combine.
- Add the butter and pulse until the butter is in pea-size or slightly larger pieces.
- Drizzle in the buttermilk and pulse until the biscuit dough starts to come together and form a cohesive mass. Don't over mix. It's ok if there are a few dry patches. Add additional buttermilk a tablespoon at a time only if the dough is too dry to press together.
- Scrape the dough out onto a lightly floured countertop.
- Gently pat the dough to about 1/2-inch thick. Fold the dough in thirds (see visual in the post) and press into a 1-inch thick rectangle. Repeat two more times. These folds are what help to create flaky layers. Don't over work the dough, just fold and press gently and quickly.
- With a lightly floured rolling pin, roll the dough into a rectangle, about 18X10-inches, more or less.
- For the filling, in a small bowl, stir together the brown sugar and cinnamon.
- Spread the melted butter over the top of the dough. Sprinkle the filling over the butter.
- Starting with one long edge, roll up the cinnamon rolls tightly without pulling or stretching the dough.
- Reposition the long roll until it is seam side down.
- Using a serrated knife, dental floss, or a bench knife, cut the log into 1-inch or 1 1/2-inch rolls. Tuck the loose end of each roll underneath and place 1/2-inch apart on the prepared baking sheet.
- At this point the rolls can be covered and refrigerated for up to 24 hours. To bake immediately, bake in the preheated oven for 13 to 16 minutes. If baking straight from the refrigerator, add a couple minutes to the baking time.
- For the icing, whisk together the powdered sugar, heavy cream, melted butter and vanilla until smooth and creamy.
- Let the rolls cool for 10 to 15 minutes. Drizzle the warm rolls with icing. Serve warm.
Notes
Mixing Dough by Hand: To mix the dough by hand, add the dry ingredients to a large bowl. Add the butter in pieces and use a pastry blender to cut the butter into the flour mixture until the butter is in pea-size or slightly smaller pieces. Alternately, the butter can be grated into the dry mixture on the large holes of a box grater - toss with the dry ingredients. Add the buttermilk and mix with a spatula until the dough starts to come together. At this point, it is easier to use your hands to fold the dough together. Add additional buttermilk only if the dough is too dry to come together. Proceed with the recipe.
Buttermilk: I usually champion the homemade buttermilk solution, but it has failed miserably when I’ve used it in this recipe (dough too wet, rolls flattening while baking). If wanting to use homemade buttermilk, I'd suggest using this substitute: half sour cream and half milk to equal the amount in the recipe for a thicker buttermilk.
Filling: Many readers report that they prefer doubling the filling.
Icing: As written, the icing amount is a very light drizzle over the rolls. Double for a thicker coverage of icing.