Cardamom Cinnamon Rolls Are A Very Delicious Holiday Recipe

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My holiday dessert philosophy: more is more. It’s rare for me to turn down dessert at any time of the year, but during the holiday season, I rely on signature recipes that make the holidays feel even more exciting. Think gingerbread cookies, peppermint bark, eggnog, and maybe the all-important cinnamon rolls. While I love the classic version, these mini cardamom cinnamon rolls from A Couple Cooks prove that even a little twist on a recipe can make a big difference.

Alex and Sonja Overhiser are the duo behind the award-winning food blog. Their recipes represent a fun way of eating that relies on comfort and accessibility. Just in time for the holidays, they released their second cookbook, Cooking Couples: 100 Recipes to Cook Together. This book is a fun recipe that you can cook and share with the people in your life. It’s a thoughtful way to make cooking together a real quality time.

Ahead, Alex and Sonja share their recipe for mini cardamom cinnamon rolls, the Chicago bakery that inspired them, and their secret to making holiday hosting even easier.

Table of Contents

How would you describe your cooking and food philosophy?

We are all about the joy of cooking from scratch! We love to connect with people through food. This recipe is all about those cozy vibes of creating delicious baked goods with someone. It’s a little more involved than most of our recipes, but it’s all about the experience and a fun project to enjoy with a friend or family member.

How did you develop this recipe?

Many of our recipes are inspired by a certain experience, and this is a good memory for us. We took a trip to Chicago to the Lost Larson bakery: not only because it’s a well-known bakery but because our 7-year-old son’s name is Larson! We got a cardamom bun flavored with orange zest. It was so delicious we knew we had to turn it into a recipe. We created this recipe as an ode to those flavors we enjoyed—but we made it a traditional cinnamon roll.

How to make Mini Cardamom Cinnamon Rolls

What makes this recipe your favorite for the holidays?

Homemade cinnamon rolls are quick and easy, but they are the best crowd-pleasing recipe! We love to make friends and family happy. Everyone is always happy.

This recipe is easily made in a stand mixer. We like to have a stand mixer on hand for mixing dough and baked goods, and it’s great for making artisan bread and pizza dough. (You can also knead the dough by hand, but it’s much easier in a mixer.)

Some of our must-have kitchen tools are a good knife (we like the Shun brand), a Microplane (for grinding the zest in this recipe, as well as the garlic), and a large set of aluminum pans.

What are some ingredient changes?

You can try this gluten-free recipe by substituting 1 for 1 gluten-free flour, although the texture may not be as light and fluffy. This recipe is easy to make without dairy using vegan butter and oat milk.

What advice do you have for someone who might be stressed about preparing the holiday table?

Keep it simple! Don’t feel like you have to do everything. For Thanksgiving this year, we ordered some sides from a nearby restaurant and focused on a large bowl and pitcher cocktail, and asked other people to bring dessert. It worked well and was much less intense than I thought with all the food. Be sure to ask people to bring dishes and plan your menu as far in advance as possible!

We have the best job in the world! It is a great privilege to create recipes that people use to feed themselves and their families. We hope that in each recipe, students will learn a technique or combination of ingredients that fits their lifestyle. We love introducing people to new flavors and fun ways to combine seasonal ingredients to make everyday moments special.

What are some recipes from the book that people should start with?

As cookbook readers, we’re always wondering where to start, so we’ve got an initial list of the most profitable recipes. Some of our favorites from that list:

Applesauce Cake. It’s an easy and impressive and fun baking project to make with anyone.
A quick and easy chickpea curry. This one is super cute and a reader favorite from our blog. It comes together in about 20 minutes, and it’s a weeknight dinner!
Salmon piccata. This one tastes great restaurant-style—it’s always a hit! We never tire of the combination of lemon, garlic, and capers.
Warm goat cheese with jam. This is one of the easiest recipes in the book and a fun way to make an attractive appetizer that everyone will love.

Explanation

What better weekend baking project than ooey, gooey cinnamon rolls? The star here is the cardamom-orange filling, inspired by a cardamom bun we had at a bakery on Sunday morning in Chicago. This makes a 9 x 9 pan of mini rolls, so you can eat more than one and have enough to go around! Baking is a two-day process (because who wants to wake up 3 hours in advance?). Start the rolls the night before and refrigerate them overnight, then bake them in the morning and enjoy the cinnamon-infused aroma wafting from your kitchen.

for the dough:

3 cups [420 grams] bread flour
1/4 cup [50 grams] granulated sugar
2 1/4 tbsp (1 package) [21 grams] instant yeast
1 teaspoon kosher salt
4 tablespoons [55 grams] unsalted butter
1 cup [240 milliliters] milk

filler:

1 egg, he was beaten
1/2 cup [100 grams] it’s full of brown sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
1 teaspoon lightly packed orange zest
1 1/2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted

ice cream:

1/2 cup [60 g] powdered sugar
1 tablespoon milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

To make the dough, in the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the flour, granulated sugar,
yeast, and kosher salt. In a small pan, melt the butter over low heat. Add the milk once
heat until lukewarm (warm to the touch, but not hot, or between 105° and 115°F [40° and
45°C]).
Pour the butter and milk mixture into the flour mixture. Add the egg and stir with a fork until a
hard dough forms. Attach the dough hook to the mixer and mix on medium-low speed for 6 minutes, until the dough is smooth and elastic. The dough should be very sticky and will not form a ball in the mixer. (You can also knead the dough by hand; remember that it will be very sticky at first.)
Dust a work surface with flour, scratch the dough on it, and knead it a few times, then shape it into a rough ball. Place the ball of dough in a large clean bowl. Cover the bowl with a damp towel and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, 1 to 1½ hours.
To make the filling, mix together the brown sugar, cinnamon, cardamom, and orange zest. Grease a metal 9 x 9 in [23 x 23 cm] baking dish.
Lightly flour a work surface and scoop out the dough. Gently roll the dough into a 12 x 12 in [30 x 30 cm] square. Pull the corners slightly to make them as square as possible. Brush the dough with melted butter, leaving ½ in [13 mm] the border is not mixed on the left and right.
Sprinkle the sugar-spice mixture evenly over the melted butter, leaving the unrolled edges bare. Use a pizza cutter to cut the dough in half lengthwise, then cut each half into 8 equal strips (about 1½ x 6 in. [4 x 15 cm] each). Gently fold each strip, ending with the unrolled part. Pinch the top corner so the roll stays together. Place the rolls in 4 rows on a greased baking pan, leaving a little space between the rolls.
Cover the baking dish tightly with aluminum foil and let it rise for 30 minutes in a warm place. The rolls should puff up and their edges touch. Then put the pan in the fridge overnight, 15 hours, or bake immediately (see Tips for special baking instructions).
If the rolls are in the fridge, put the baking dish on the countertop 30 minutes before baking, to allow it to warm up a little. Preheat oven to 350°F [180°C].
Bake the rolls with aluminum foil covering the pan for 25 minutes. Then remove the foil and bake until browned on top and cooked through, 13 to 15 minutes. Check for doneness by inserting a food thermometer under the rolls, which should read at least 200°F. [95°C]or by scraping the roll with a fork to ensure that the bottom is not green and doughy. Remove from the oven and cool for 5 minutes before adding the frosting.
To make the frosting, in a small bowl, combine the powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla extract. If it’s not thin enough to drip, add more milk (about ½ teaspoon). Use a spoon to pour the frosting over the rolls. Cool for at least 5 minutes before serving.

Notes

Instant yeast (rather than active dry yeast) is needed in this recipe, which allows for a quick rise
times. If you use active dry yeast, the rising times will be almost double.
To bake cinnamon rolls a day, continue baking immediately. Bake for 20 minutes, covered
with foil, then uncovered for about 10 minutes, checking if it is cooked using a
a food thermometer.
Cinnamon rolls will keep at room temperature, covered in aluminum foil, for up to 2 days.
Reheat, covered, at 350°F [180°C] until warm, 10 to 12 minutes.

Preparation Time: at night
Cooking Time: 30

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