Giada De Laurentiis's Italian Cinnamon Rolls Recipe Will Blow Your Mind by Ann Marie G. Halstead

Giada De Laurentiis's Italian cinnamon rolls recipe is kind of a big deal. The Food Network queen posted her cinnamon roll recipe on Instagram, to much acclaim. 

Giada's citrus and spice-flavored cinnamon rolls recipe will blow your mind (and taste buds). After one bite, you'll know why people can't stop sharing Giada De Laurentiis's delicious cinnamon rolls recipe.

To make Giada's Italian cinnamon roll recipe you will need active dry yeast, water, flour, ground anise seed, kosher salt, granulates sugar, butter, eggs, vanilla extract, heavy cream, brown sugar, fresh oranges and lemons, ground cinnamon and powdered sugar. 

Bake up a batch of these mouth-watering cinnamon rolls as part of a decadent brunch, or for an amazing breakfast or dessert. Mom would love these Italian cinnamon rolls for Mother's Day! Trust me, it's worth the three hours!

Cuisine: Italian
Prep Time: 60 minutes plus 1 1/2 hours to rise
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 3 hours
Servings: 12

Ingredients

• 2 envelopes active dry yeast (4 1/2 teaspoons)
• 1 1/4 cups warm water
• 5 1/4 cups flour
• 1/2 teaspoon ground anise seed
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup melted unsalted butter (1 stick)
• 2 egg yolks
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 cup heavy cream, at room temperature

Filling

• 1 cup light brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest (1 lemon)
• 1 1/2 teaspoon orange zest (1 orange)
• 1 teaspoon ground anise
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened (1 stick)

Icing

• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice

Here's how to make it: 

1. Sprinkle the active dry yeast over the warm water. Let it sit for 2 minutes or until it becomes creamy and starts to bubble.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer combine the flour, anise seed, salt and sugar. Stir together. In another bowl, whisk together the melted butter, egg yolks, vanilla and heavy cream. Add the wet ingredients and the active yeast to the dry ingredients. Using a spatula, stir together to form a rough dough. Place on the mixer with a dough hook and kneed for 10 minutes or until the dough pull away from the sides but is still soft and silky. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside to double in size, about 1 hour.
3. In a bowl, mix together the brown sugar, lemon zest, orange zest, anise and cinnamon. Dust a work surface lightly with flour. Pour the dough out on to the surface and dust the top of the dough with more flour. Roll the dough in to a rectangle about 22 inches by 15 inches and a 1/3-inch thick. Spread the butter evenly over the dough leaving a 1/4-inch boarder around the edge. Sprinkle evenly with the brown sugar mixture.
4. Starting at the end closest to you, begin rolling the dough away from you. Moisten the far edge with a little water and seal. You should have a log that looks like a pinwheel on the sides. Cut the log into 12 2-inch rolls.
5. Butter the inside of a 13x9-inch glass baking dish. Place the rolls in the pan and allow to double in size, about 30 minutes. (You could bake these in a casserole dish or a cast iron skillet.)
6. Bake the rolls for 30 to 35 minutes or until golden brown and puffed in a preheated 350-degree F oven. Allow to cool slightly while preparing the glaze.
7. In a small bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar and orange juice. Drizzle the glaze over the rolls and serve warm. Keep the cinnamon rolls in an airtight container to keep them fresh.

Recipe cooking times, nutritional information and servings are approximate and provided for your convenience. However, 30Seconds is not responsible for the outcome of any recipe, nor may you have the same results because of variations in ingredients, temperatures, altitude, errors, omissions or cooking/baking abilities. Any nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and it is up to the individual to ascertain accuracy. To ensure image quality, we may occasionally use stock photography.

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