These coffee and cream cinnamon buns combine your favorite coffeehouse flavors with a breakfast treat. They are absolutely wonderful!
These cinnamon rolls are super tender, really ooey gooey and beyond delicious. Plus they have coffee baked right inside making them an extra special treat.
Are you ready for these? No really, make sure you are in your comfy pants and get ready for what I am about to throw your way. They are good. I mean, really good.
Coffee and cream cinnamon buns are like your expensive coffee house favorite and an ooey gooey cinnamon bun got together for a night of craziness and this is what resulted.
Sometimes you just have to have that hit of coffee. I can’t start a day without a cup of joe. So, when I got an itch to make a new coffee flavored recipe, I knew I had better scratch it!
The problem was, what to make?! I’ve already made a Coffee and Cream Sponge Cake, Mocha Whipped Cream and Mocha Frosting.
And that is when it hit me!
If you can do a cinnamon bun latte, why couldn’t you do it the other way around?
It seemed like it would be easy enough to infuse some coffee flavor into my favorite soft cinnamon roll recipe I loved so much.
So I went to the pantry and pulled out my trusty jar of instant coffee. I never thought I would use it nearly as frequently as I do.
I bought it for a recipe I really wanted to try and put it in the pantry where I thought it would linger until it looked old and dusty only to be thrown away. Boy, was I ever wrong. I find myself putting it in almost any recipe that calls for chocolate.
That jar sees the light of day more than I ever gave it credit for and brings such a nice depth to so many fun chocolate recipes? Don’t believe me? It’s in probably darn near a third of my chocolate recipes!
They smelled so good as they baked. Just like your favorite coffee shop bakery.
The coffee in the dough is subtle, but the filling gave it that added punch without being too much. A non-coffee lover could still enjoy it but those of us who live by coffee would certainly love them more.
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They were soft, just sweet enough and had that added layer of flavor from the coffee. You are going to have to give them a try to see for yourself!
Why is there potato in the dough?
Potato starches are like adding little sponges to bread dough. They attract water and hold onto it more than the starch found in flour.
That makes your finished cinnamon rolls extra moist and delicious. The centers have the super soft texture that makes them so beyond good.
Yeast loves that potato starch as well. So using some of the water from boiling the potato to proof the yeast gets it really bubbly and happy.
The extra moisture in the dough also keeps the cinnamon rolls from getting dry and stale as fast. They are good for several days before they start to show their age.
Storing cinnamon rolls
Like most bread products, cinnamon rolls are best stored in an airtight container at room temperature. They can be stored that way for a few days.
For longer storage, cinnamon rolls can be frozen for up to three months. It is easiest to freeze them separately so you can just grab as many as you need.
A few seconds in the microwave is all it takes to make them fresh and delicious again. They will taste fabulous.
Breads do not store well in the refrigerator. The refrigerator dries out baked goods and makes them go stale more quickly.
Coffee and Cream Cinnamon Buns
Ingredients
Dough
- 1 cup plain mashed potatoes with ¼ cup of the cooking water reserved if possible
- 1 cup milk
- 1 Tablespoon instant coffee granules
- 1 Tablespoon granulated sugar
- 2½ teaspoons active dry yeast
- 4 Tablespoons butter
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 egg beaten
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 4 cups all purpose flour
Filling
- ½ cup light brown sugar packed
- 1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 1½ Tablespoons instant coffee granules
- 3 Tablespoons butter softened
- 1 pinch salt
Icing
- 1½ Tablespoons butter softened
- 1⅓ cup powdered sugar
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon instant coffee granules
- 3 Tablespoons heavy cream
Instructions
- Start by getting your 1 cup plain mashed potatoes ready. I used one large potato. Peel it, cut it into cubes and boil it until it is soft. Pour ¼ cup of that water into a small bowl or measuring cup to proof the yeast. Drain the rest of the water and return the potato cubes to the saucepan. Mash until smooth.
- Meanwhile dissolve the 1 Tablespoon instant coffee granules in the 1 cup milk and set aside.
- Once water is about 110°F, add 1 Tablespoon granulated sugar and 2½ teaspoons active dry yeast. Set aside.
- Add the coffee milk, 4 Tablespoons butter, ½ teaspoon salt and ½ cup granulated sugar to the potatoes. Stir and warm over low heat until warmed through.
- Butter a large mixing bowl and set aside.
- Place the warm potato mixture in the bowl of your mixer. Stir in the 1 egg, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, and yeast mixture.
- Slowly add in the 4 cups all purpose flour. You want to stop adding flour while the dough is still sticky, but it should at least come together into a dough. With the dough hook attachment, allow your mixer to “knead” the dough for about 5 minutes. Feel free to add a bit more flour if needed, but you don’t want to add any more than you have to. If you notice my picture of my dough hook, it was still a pretty loose dough when I was done.
- Turn the dough into the buttered bowl, be sure to scrape all that goodness off of the mixer bowl and hook. Cover and allow to rise to at least double its size, about an hour or an hour and a half.
- Punch down the dough and give it a couple of quick kneads to make sure it is deflated.
- Place on a lightly floured surface. Let rest for about 10 minutes, then roll into a 18-inch square.
- Butter a 10x15x1-inch jelly roll pan. (Two 9×13 pans or or half sheet pan would work as well.)
- In a small bowl, mix together the ½ cup light brown sugar, 1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon, 1½ Tablespoons instant coffee granules, 3 Tablespoons butter and 1 pinch salt. Distribute over the dough.
- Roll dough into a log and cut into 12 equal pieces. Place on buttered baking dish. Cover loosely with a towel and let rise for another hour.
- Preheat oven to 375°F.
- Bake for 20 minutes, rotating the pan half way through. The tops should be a light golden brown.
- Let sit for about 5 minutes, then put together the glaze.
- In a small bowl, use your hand mixer to beat together the 1½ Tablespoons butter, 1 teaspoon instant coffee granules, 1⅓ cup powdered sugar, 1 pinch salt, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and 3 Tablespoons heavy cream until smooth. You want it to be a thick consistency, barely thin enough to pour.
- Drizzle glaze all over warm cinnamon rolls and spread a bit if necessary, then let cool.
Video
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This recipe was originally published in 2016 and was updated in 2021.
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I just learned about putting mashed potatoes in cinnamon roll dough last week. I'll have to try your recipe!
You will be amazed how much the yeast likes the potato water if you boil a potato. You can also use instant though if you're in a hurry. The plain cinnamon bun recipe definitely stole my heart, but these give them a run for their money!
I can only imagine the aromas when you bake these and then eating a warm bun? I'm in heaven just thinking about it!!!!
They smelled soooo good baking, Monica. It was hard to keep from diving into one as soon as it came out of the oven! Thank you!
Great idea using mashed potatoes, must be unbelievable! Nettie
I love how soft the potato dough is! Thank you!
Hi Carlee, OMG those buns looks so good and I bet are delicious. Thanks for the recipe!!
Enjoy the week.
Julie xo
Thank you, Julie! They are definitely worth the effort!
Mmmm…I love that you added so much yummy coffee flavor to these buns!!
I really worried I might have overdone it for a minute… then I took a bite and the worries melted into a smile! Thanks, Liz!
What what WHAT?! How did I not think of this?
I know, right? We've been missing out all of this time!
Oh, man, Carlee! You almost, alllllllmost, wouldn't need a cup of coffee with these. But wouldn't a cup be perfect with them!
Thanks, Stacy! You could almost get away without, but it would feel slightly blasphemous! 😉
Love that the cinnamon rolls have coffee flavor in them!
Thank you! It really goes well with the cinnamon and creamy glaze!
Cinnamon buns are my favorite and your coffee version looks amazing. I love there's coffee in the glaze too!
Thank you, Ellen! I figured in order to really have the coffee come through, I should put it in ever step. Then I panicked that maybe I had done too much and they'd be bitter. All of that worry for nothing. I wouldn't change a thing next time I make them!
I am all for a gooey treat! I bet the coffee adds a really nice flavor and keeps the buns from being too sweet.
The coffee really does help balance the sweetness and gives it just enough coffee flavor. Thank you!