Sweet Potato Cinnamon Rolls

With a sweet potato dough, a brown sugar filling and a delicious browned butter frosting, these sweet potato cinnamon rolls are sure to be a hit wherever you take them! Scroll all the way through for tips on how to work ahead by making these overnight or freezing them. 

Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by Ello but all words and thoughts are my own.

The holiday season is nearly upon us which means potlucks, family meals and cooking for relatives abound!

Normally, I cook for two, which means cooking for 4 or 8 or even an office potluck is significantly more cooking than I’m used to.

So as you can imagine, I’m all about a one dish recipe for the busy holiday season… Like these easy, peasy sweet potato cinnamon rolls. They’re a one bowl, one casserole dish wonder with all the trappings of holiday baked goodness: Fluffy sweet potato dough, brown sugar filling and a slightly nutty-flavored browned butter frosting.

And if you grab yourself an Ello DuraGlass baking dishes to make these in, these babies can go from freezer to fridge to oven all in one container.

Plus I’m literally living for the sealing lids that come with each of these dishes.

How to make sweet potato cinnamon rolls

First, brown the butter for the browned butter frosting.

In a small sauce pan, bring the butter for the frosting to a gentle boil over medium heat. 

Once the butter begins to boil, you’ll want to stir it continually to make sure it browns evenly. As the butter browns, it’ll also start to develop a foam, which can make it hard to see how much the butter has browned.

If this happens, don’t be afraid to remove the butter from the heat so that the froth diminishes and you can see where your butter is at in the browning phase.

You know your butter has reached browning perfection when it’s light brown, there are visible browned bits in the bottom and it has a nutty smell.

Pour the browned butter into a bowl, cover and allow it to set overnight.

If you overcooked the browned butter and it smells burnt rather than nutty, you can simply strain the burnt bits out with a fine mesh sieve. Discard the solids and use the remaining liquid butter.

Second, make the sweet potato dough.

Combine the warm milk and the active dry yeast and allow to proof until frothy (about 5 minutes).

In order you give your yeast the best environment possible to grow, you want your milk to feel warm to the touch but not hot.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, stir together the flour, brown sugar, salt, ground ginger and ground nutmeg.

Add the remaining ingredients and, using a dough hook, knead the dough until it’s smooth and elastic (about 5 minutes).

At this point the dough should be soft but not sticky.

Place the dough in a greased bowl (this could literally be the bowl you just made it in), cover and allow to rise in a warm place until double in size (about an hour).

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and roll into a 12″x16″ rectangle.

Spread the softened butter for the filling out over the dough.

In a small bowl, stir together the brown sugar and cinnamon for the filling. Sprinkle the filling over the buttered dough.

Roll the dough into a log along the long edge and use a sharp knife or string to cut the dough into 10-12 rolls.

Personally, I find that using string helps the cinnamon rolls retain their perfect circular shape. To cut the dough with string, simply work your sting under the log, bring the ends up, over and across to the other side, pulling until the string slices all the way through.

Place the rolls in your greased 9″x13″ Ello DuraGlass casserole dish with enough room between them to rise. Allow the rolls to rise for 30-40 more minutes or until they fill up the pan.

Bake your sweet potato cinnamon rolls at 350F for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown.

A great way to test for doneness: Use a toothpick to gently tug at the center of your cinnamon rolls. If it easily slides up and looks raw, it needs to bake a little longer. If it won’t budge, it’s probably a little overcooked. The sweet spot is right when the center has a little bit of give but looks cooked through.

Finally, make the frosting.

The frosting for these cinnamon rolls really couldn’t be easier!

Simply combine the browned butter and powdered sugar in a bowl, and beat on high until smooth and lump-free.

Spread the browned butter frosting over the top of your still-warm cinnamon rolls and serve!

These cinnamon rolls are best eaten the day of, but if you don’t manage that, the Ello DuraGlass dishes all come with handy lids that seal in all that baked goodness.

A few tips for making these sweet potato cinnamon rolls

• Your browned butter is overcooked: If you overcook your browned butter and it has a burnt smell, you can salvage it by straining out the burned bits with a fine mesh sieve.
• Cutting the cinnamon rolls: Be sure to use a really sharp knife or a string to help the rolls retain their round shape. To cut cinnamon rolls with string, slide the string under the dough log, bring it up, over and continue pulling until the string cuts clean through.
• Testing for doneness: To test if your cinnamon rolls are done, use a toothpick to gently tug at the center. You want the to be able to pull the center slightly up and have it look cooked through.
• Overnight cinnamon rolls: Don’t have time to make these in one go? Simply make the dough and allow it to rise overnight in the refrigerator. To use, bring the dough to room temperature (about 30-60 minutes), roll it out and continue with the recipe.
• Freezing: If you want to work ahead by freezing your unbaked cinnamon rolls, simply take them all the way through to slicing them up and freeze them (unrisen) in your dish. To bake, allow them to thaw and rise before baking as directed.
• Storage: Store any leftover cinnamon rolls in your airtight Ello DuraGlass dish for 2-3 days.

Like what you see? Check out Ello’s full line of bakeware including their 8″x8″ dish, 9″x13″ casserole dish and their 6 piece bake and store set!

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If you liked this recipe, you might also like…

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