Brown Butter Cardamom Cinnamon Rolls

I love cardamom and putting it in cinnamon rolls just sounded like a no duh kinda thing to do; so these brown butter cardamom cinnamon rolls came to be! Make these for breakfast, brunch, or something sweet just because; they will be a family favorite for sure! Can’t wait to build some special family memories centered around these cinnamon rolls, a cup of coffee, and the break of sunlight glimmering on my daughters’ faces. How will you enjoy these cardamom brown butter cinnamon rolls?

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Makes 8 large cinnamon rolls.

Brown Butter Cardamom Cinnamon Rolls Ingredients

1/4 cup whole milk
3/4 cup water
1/2 cup brown butter
2 tbsp active dry yeast
4 – 4 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp cardamom
1/2 cup sugar + 2 tbsp
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs

Filling Ingredients

1/2 cup butter at room temperature
1 cup dark brown sugar
2 tbsp cinnamon

Brown Butter Cream Cheese Frosting Ingredients

1/2 cup brown butter melted
1 cup cream cheese
1 2/3 cup powdered sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions for Brown Butter Cardamom Cinnamon Rolls

In a small saucepan add 1/4 cup whole milk, 3/4 cup water and 1/2 cup brown butter. Place pot on stove over medium low heat and bring to 110° F. Watch the mixture and make sure it is not too hot so as to not kill the yeast that will be added.
- Check out our How to Brown Butter tutorial.
Add 2 tbsp sugar to wet ingredients and 2 tbsp yeast. Allow yeast to bloom for 5 – 10 minutes. Set mixture aside and let’s prep the dry ingredients.
In a large mixing bowl combine 2 cups of all purpose flour, 1 tsp cardamom, 1/2 cup sugar, and 1/2 tsp salt.
Mix in wet ingredients with dry ingredients.
Add 1 tsp vanilla and 2 eggs to the mixture and thoroughly combine.
Stir in additional 2 cups flour. As the dough gets thicker you can start to knead by hand for about 10 minutes. Have an additional 1/2 cup of flour available to flour kneading surface and get desired consistency. Dough will be slightly sticky but should pull away from the surface easily. Dough is ready when you make an indent into it and it bounces back.
- If you have a stand mixer, start on low speed until combined and then speed up the paddle for 5 – 10 minutes. Add up to an additional 1/2 cup flour to the mixture until you have reached your desired consistency. Dough should be sticky but pull away from the surface easily. Dough is ready when you make an indent into it and it bounces back.
Place dough in a large bowl greased with butter and allow it to rise for 1 – 3 hours; until doubled in size.

Let’s Make the Filling

Combine room temperature 1/2 cup butter, 1 cup dark brown sugar and 2 tbsp cinnamon into a small mixing bowl. Mix until thoroughly combined. Set aside.

Let’s Make the Frosting

Check out our Brown Butter Cream Cheese Frosting post!

Cream together melted brown butter and cream cheese until smooth.
- Check out our How to Brown Butter tutorial.
Add salt and vanilla; mix together until combined.
Lastly add in powdered sugar a bit at a time mixing until smooth.

Ta-da! Your brown butter cream cheese frosting is ready! Set aside until you are ready to gobble down the rolls!

Time to Build the Rolls

Once the dough has doubled, punch it down and tip it out onto a flat surface.
Roll out dough with a rolling pin and stretch into a 16 x 12 inch rectangle.
Spread the filling to the very edges of the dough.
Roll dough onto itself lengthwise so it creates a cylinder.
Cut the dough with dental floss into 8 equal size pieces and place into a 12 inch cast iron skillet.
Cover the skillet and dough with a tea towel and allow to rise for 30 minutes.

Almost time for Brown Butter Cardamom Cinnamon Rolls!

Preheat oven to 350° F.
Bake for 25 – 30 minutes until golden brown.
Cover generously with some brown butter cream cheese frosting and serve immediately!

Tools Needed

Mixing Bowls
Measuring Spoons
Measuring Cups
Danish Dough Hook or Spatula
Silicone Spatula
Cookware Set– specifically need small skillet for browning butter and small saucepan for warming wet ingredients
Rolling Pin
Kitchen Towels
12 inch Cast Iron Skillet

Oven Mitts

Green in the Kitchen

I try my best to be as green as possible in the kitchen using organic ingredients and using tools that can be handed down through the generations and/or are sustainably made. I am always on the lookout for products that support this vision. Though not perfect I still have tools that are not completely in line with this vision; however, I look forward to taking great care of them and using them as long as possible so they stay out of landfills. Once they have reached their end of life I look forward to introducing an eco-friendly version to the home. I also look forward to sharing with you what can be composted from each dish so less food waste is sent to landfills. If you have an opportunity to use the unused portions of ingredients in another dish all the better but if you don’t have plans for… let’s say, that whole head of lettuce YOU CAN COMPOST IT!

What Can Be Composted From This Dish?

Eggshells! Eggshells provide calcium which helps plants build cell walls. I crush my eggshells so they break down quicker but you definitely do not have to; whole shells work too.