My cinnamon roll donuts are the same gooey, plush cinnamon rolls we all know and love but fried to deep golden perfection just like a donut and dipped in a sweet cream cheese glaze! Trust me, you’ll never want a regular donut or cinnamon roll ever again!
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Why you'll love these cinnamon roll donuts
- Overnight Proof: By letting the dough rise slowly in a cold environment, it not only develops more depth of flavor, but also gives you more flexibility with the timing of frying the donuts. Cold brioche dough is also much easier to work with! I recommend making the dough the night before, proofing overnight, and frying the donuts within 24 hours.
- Pillowy Texture & Buttery Flavor: As an enriched dough, this brioche has a pillowy soft texture with a beautiful even, tender crumb. Its buttery, slightly sweet, and balanced yeasty taste makes it the perfect vessel for just about any coating or glaze.
- Cinnamon Roll & Donut in One! The combination of gooey cinnamon sugar and sweet cream cheese glaze with fried pillowy dough is an unforgettable flavor profile.
For more donut recipes, try my Bourbon Apple Fritters, Old Fashioned Apple Cider Donuts, and Cinnamon Sugar Brioche Donuts.
Ingredient Notes
- Flour: Use unbleached all-purpose flour for the best flavor and proper gluten development.
- Salt: Add kosher or fine sea salt to the flour to enhance the flavors in the donut. Mix it into the flour rather than the salt to the milk, yeast mixture, or it may kill the yeast.
- Milk: Use whole milk for best flavor, and bring it to about 110 degrees F to help the yeast activate. Be careful not to make it too hot, or it can kill the yeast.
- Sugar: A small amount of granulated sugar is mixed in with the milk and yeast to help activate the yeast, as well as give the brioche a richer color on top as it bakes.
- Yeast: Feel free to use instant or active dry yeast.
- Eggs: Bring your eggs to room temperature quickly by placing them in a bowl of warm water for about 10 minutes.
- Butter: Use high quality European-style butter for optimum flavor and overall result. I recommend Kerrygold.
See recipe card for full information on ingredients and individual quantities.
Step by Step Instructions
Here are step by step photos and instructions on how to make this cinnamon roll donut recipe! For the full ingredient list and method, see the recipe card at the end of this post.
Make the brioche
In a stand mixer, make the brioche. Transfer it to a lightly greased bowl, cover, and allow to proof overnight (or at least 6 hours) in the fridge.
Shape the cinnamon roll donuts
On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out to 12"x18". Spread the cinnamon sugar filling all over the dough. From the long side, roll the dough up into a log. Use a knife to score lines every 1” to get 15 rolls. Use dental floss to cut each roll. Place them on the parchment squares and cover with plastic wrap to rise for about 30 minutes. When pressed with a finger, the dough will slowly spring back.
Fry & glaze
Once the dough has proofed and the oil has come to temperature, use the parchment squares to gently lower 3-4 donuts into the hot oil. Fry the donuts for about 2 minutes on the first side, then flip over and fry for an additional 2 minutes until deeply golden. Transfer the donuts to the wire rack. Once the donuts have cooled just enough to handle, dip them in the cream cheese glaze and enjoy!
Expert Baking Tips
- Proof the dough overnight: I recommend allowing your brioche dough to rise slowly overnight (or at least 6 hours) in the fridge. Cold dough is so much nicer to work with! But you can also let it proof at room temperature for one hour and make the donuts immediately.
- Make the donuts within 24 hours: To find that sweet spot between properly proofed with a developed flavor and over-fermented, I recommend giving the dough at least 6 hours to rise in the fridge, but no more than 24 hours.
- Wait for the oil to temp to rise again before frying more donuts. When frying, be sure to wait a minute or so in between each set of donuts for the oil temperature to come back up to 350 degrees F.
Recipe FAQs
The windowpane test is used to tell when the brioche has developed enough gluten. To check if the dough is ready, tear off a small piece and carefully spread it out to see if you can see the light through it without it tearing. If it tears, mix for another minute and check again.
Brioche dough has a fairly delicate proofing window. Ideally, the brioche would be proofed overnight for ease in handling/rolling out the cold dough, as well as more controlled proofing, but it can also be proofed in the fridge for just 6 hours.
Once the dough is shaped into donuts, it should be proofed for approximately 30 minutes or until nearly room temperature, but still slightly cool to the touch. When pressed with a finger, the dough will slowly spring back. If it springs back quickly, it needs more time to proof; if it doesn’t spring back at all, it is over-proofed.
Properly proofed brioche donuts will float in the hot oil, form a white ring around the center once fully fried, and have an even fluffy interior. Under-proofed brioche donuts will sink in the hot oil and result in a very dense interior. Over-proofed brioche donuts result in a gap between the interior and outside of the donut.
To ensure that your donuts do not turn out too oily, do not fry them in oil less than 350 degrees F. If the oil is not hot enough, the dough will absorb the oil and make your donuts too oily. Keep an eye on the temperature of your oil before and after you fry the donuts!
Frying oil cannot be poured down the sink drain. The best way to dispose of oil is to let it cool completely in the pot, then pour back into its container and throw it away in the trash.
These donuts are best eaten the day that they are made. If stored in an airtight container or ziplock bag and kept at room temperature, they will last a day or two. I recommend warming them up in the microwave for a few seconds before eating. You can also store them in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Baking in Grams
All of the recipes on this blog are carefully developed with gram measurements so you can easily recreate them in your own kitchen with success. Volume measurements are extremely inaccurate and leave room for significant errors. Not all measuring cups are made equally, so your one cup of flour will be different from my one cup of flour. By providing precise measurements in grams (aside from minor ingredients, which are given in tsp/tbsp), you can make these recipes accurately and with less cleanup! All you need is this kitchen scale.
If this still isn't enough to convince you, I have provided volume measurements in the recipe card. If you are interested in understanding the conversions, this is the best conversion chart.
But trust me, once you try baking in grams you'll never turn back!
Happy baking! x
Other donut recipes to try
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📖 Recipe
Cinnamon Roll Donuts
Ingredients
For the dough:
- 113 g (½ cup) whole milk, warmed to 110 degrees F
- 7 g (2 ¼ teaspoon) active dry or instant yeast
- 20 g (1 ½ tablespoon) granulated sugar
- 2 eggs, room temp
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 300 g (2 ½ cups) all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 85 g (6 tablespoon) unsalted butter, room temp
For the filling:
- 56 g (4 tablespoon) unsalted butter, softened
- 106 g (½ cup) brown sugar
- 6 g (1 tablespoon) cinnamon
For the glaze:
- 28 g (2 tablespoon) unsalted butter, melted
- 56 g (2 oz) cream cheese, room temp
- 113 g (1 cup) powdered sugar
- 30 g (2 tablespoon) heavy cream or milk
For frying:
- 48-64 oz neutral oil, enough to fill 2" of your dutch oven
Instructions
For the dough:
- In a glass measuring cup, heat the milk to 110 degrees F (40 degrees C) and stir in the sugar and yeast. If using active dry yeast, allow it to sit for 15 minutes for the yeast to activate. If using instant yeast, simply move on to the next step.
- Mix the eggs and vanilla into the milk yeast mixture.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, mix the flour and salt together. Pour the wet ingredients into the flour and mix on low-medium speed for about 3 minutes, or until it forms a ball around the hook.
- Add in a few pieces of butter at a time, allowing them to fully incorporate before adding more. Once all of the butter is incorporated, turn the mixer up to medium-high speed and mix for 8-12 minutes. The dough will eventually pull away from the sides of the bowl and have a silky smooth texture with minimal stickiness. To check if the dough is ready, use the windowpane test - tear off a small piece and carefully spread it out to see if you can see the light through it without it tearing. If it tears, mix for another minute or two and check again.
- Once the dough is ready, transfer it to a lightly greased bowl, cover, and allow to proof overnight (or at least 6 hours) in the fridge. Alternatively, you can let the dough rise in a warm place for about 1 hour or until doubled in size.
For the filling:
- In a medium bowl, combine the butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon, and mix until smooth. Set aside.
For the glaze:
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the melted butter, cream cheese, powdered sugar, and heavy cream until smooth. Set aside.
To shape & fry the donuts:
- Fill a dutch oven or heavy bottomed pot with enough neutral oil to cover 2” (5 cm). Place the oil over low heat just to get it started while the donuts are shaped and rising.
- Place a wire rack over a paper towel lined baking sheet. On a separate baking sheet, cut out 15 parchment squares for the donuts.
- On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out to a rough rectangle measuring 12"x18".
- Spread the cinnamon sugar filling all over the dough. From the long side, roll the dough up into a log. Use a knife to score lines every 1” to get 15 rolls. Use unflavored dental floss to cut each roll by placing the floss under the dough, wrapping around, and pulling to cut through.
- Place the rolls on the parchment squares and cover with plastic wrap to rise at room temperature for about 30 minutes or until nearly room temperature, but still slightly cool to the touch. When pressed with a finger, the dough will slowly spring back.
- Meanwhile, turn the heat up to medium to bring the oil 350 degrees F. Place a wire rack over a paper towel lined baking sheet.
- Once the dough has proofed and the oil has come to temperature, use the parchment squares to gently lower 3-4 donuts into the hot oil. Fry the donuts for about 2 minutes on the first side, then flip over and fry for an additional 2 minutes until deeply golden.
- Transfer the donuts to the wire rack. Wait a minute or so for the oil to come back up to 350 degrees F, then continue frying the donuts.
- Once the donuts have cooled just enough to handle, dip them in the cream cheese glaze and enjoy!
Notes
- Proof the dough overnight: I recommend allowing your brioche dough to rise slowly overnight (or at least 6 hours) in the fridge. Cold dough is so much nicer to work with! But you can also let it proof at room temperature for one hour and make the donuts immediately.
- Make the donuts within 24 hours: To find that sweet spot between properly proofed with a developed flavor and over-fermented, I recommend giving the dough at least 6 hours to rise in the fridge, but no more than 24 hours.
- Wait for the oil to temp to rise again before frying more donuts. When frying, be sure to wait a minute or so in between each set of donuts for the oil temperature to come back up to 350 degrees F.
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