Smoked Cinnamon Rolls

Soft, tender cinnamon rolls that are made on your smoker for the perfect breakfast! They have a hint of pecan from pecan wood pellets. Topped with a cream cheese frosting that’s flavored with bourbon. An option to bake these in the oven too! The perfect sweet treat for breakfast or dessert.

Tender, light cinnamon rolls with maple flavored dough and topped with a bourbon cream cheese frosting! These Smoked Cinnamon Rolls take it to the next level. Plus, when you smoke them with Pecan wood chips it gives it the perfect hint of pecan flavoring.

If you are looking for a holiday breakfast, treat or dessert these are calling your name!

They can also be baked in the oven if you prefer that preparation method. Grab your cast iron skillet and ingredients!

Why This Recipe Works:

• Dough is flavored with maple to make these cinnamon buns mouthwatering.
• Top them with a Bourbon Cream Cheese frosting that will have you licking your fingers clean!
• Either smoke them on the pellet grill or bake them in the oven. Use whichever method you prefer.

Ingredients Needed

Here’s a quick overview of the ingredients needed to make these!

Cinnamon Roll Dough

• Active Dry Yeast
• Light Brown Sugar
• Water
• All-purpose flour
• Sugar
• Maple Extract
• Milk
• Egg
• Butter
• Cinnamon

Bourbon Cream Cheese Frosting

• Cream Cheese
• Butter
• Powdered Sugar
• Bourbon
• Maple extract
• Milk
• Salt

If you prefer to not add bourbon to your frosting that’s fine you’ll just have a maple flavored frosting or you can make it a traditional cream cheese frosting by omitting the bourbon and maple. I would replace the maple extract with vanilla.

The sugar can either be a cane sugar or a white sugar for the rolls. The rolls call for maple extract but if you’d like to swap it out with a vanilla extract your could.

How to Make Cinnamon Rolls

Cinnamon rolls can be a bit overwhelming and intimidating when you first make them. Here are step by step images and instructions to help you make the more perfectly, light and fluffy ones possible!

Prepare the Dough

The first thing you will do is to mix your yeast with brown sugar and warm water. Let it proof for five minutes or until it is bubbling. If it does not bubble do not proceed.

Causes of it not bubbling are often times that the yeast is old or that your water was to hot and killed the yeast.

After your yeast has proofed add in the flour, sugar, and maple extract to the bowl. Using a dough hook on a stand mixer, mix for 1 minute. Slowly incorporate warm milk and the egg. Mix for 1 more minute.

Remove dough from the mixing bowl and place on a lightly floured surface. Knead the dough until soft. Coat a large mixing bowl with a thin film of canola oil. Add dough to the bowl and cover with a towel. Let proof for 45 minutes or until about doubled.

Cinnamon Sugar Filling

While the dough is proofing mix softened butter, light brown sugar, and cinnamon in a small bowl. Set aside.

Rolling the Dough

Remove dough from the bowl and punch it down to flatten. Then, use a floured rolling pin and roll out the dough to 16”x8” rectangle.

Spread brown sugar and cinnamon butter mixture onto the dough Tightly roll up the dough, starting from the short end and finishing on the opposite short end. Make sure to seal the edges by gently pinching together with your fingers.

Cut dough into 2” sections. The easiest way to do this is to cut the dough in half, then cut each half in half, until you have 8 pieces.

Heavily butter the bottom and sides of a 12” cast iron skillet  Place cinnamon rolls inside and cover with a towel. Let rise until doubled in size.

Bake or Smoke

You’ll have the option to either smoke these on an electric smoker to get that pecan flavor or you can also bake these in the oven.

If you are using a smoke preheat the smoker to 325 degrees F. Place the cast iron skillet on the smoker and shut the cover. Smoke for about 20 minutes or until the tops are golden brown and rolls cooked through.

If you are baking them in the oven preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place the cast iron pan in the center oven rack and bake for 25 minutes or until the tops are golden brown and rolls cooked through.

Bourbon Cream Cheese Frosting

While the cinnamon buns are baking, prepare the frosting. Add cream cheese and butter to a stand mixer and mix on low. Slowly incorporate bourbon, powdered sugar, maple extract, milk, and salt.

Remove cinnamon buns from smoked or oven then smother in bourbon icing and enjoy!

What kind of wood chips should I use?

We recommend using a pecan pellet to give that hint of pecan flavoring to these cinnamon rolls, but you could also use a competition blend if you didn’t want to have a hint of pecan flavoring.

Expert Tips

• If your yeast does not bubble do not proceed. Some causes of it not bubbling are often times that the yeast is old or that your water was to hot and killed the yeast. The water should be between 110 – 115 degrees F.
• Room temperature ingredients work best, so use eggs, butter etc at room temperature.
• Don’t overwork the dough. You’ll know the dough is properly mixed when the dough is pulling away from the sides of the mixing bowl and is tacky, but not sticky, to the touch.
• Go easy on the flour. To much flour and the rolls with be dry and touch. Not enough and rolls won’t have enough structure to rise and be dense and soggy.
• Ideal proofing temperature for dough is between 75 degrees and 95 degrees.
• For the cinnamon sugar filling use softened, not melted, butter.
• Make sure you spread the filling from edge to edge so every cinnamon roll has a delicious bite of filling.
• Roll the dough tightly to help them hold their shape while baking.
• Slice the rolls using floss! Just loop it around the dough and pull it in opposite directions to slice.

More Breakfast Recipes!

• One of our most popular recipes is this delicious Sausage Breakfast Casserole! Loaded with hash browns, cheese and sausage.
• Every breakfast needs a side of Smoked Bacon Slices. The best way to prepare bacon!
• Pull apart, easy to make Apple Monkey Bread is a hit with everyone!
• Pair these cinnamon rolls with some protein by making this Smoked Breakfast Fatty.

Don’t forget, comment below and let me know how much you love this meal! Post a picture on Instagram and be sure to tag me so I can see it too!

I’m loving all of your delicious foodie pics! You can find me at @gimmesomegrilling or just #gimmesomegrilling – if you hashtag me, I’ll get to see it that way too!