Famous Trilogy Cinnamon Rolls

Gooey Cinnamon Rolls

Right now is about when you are thinking to yourself, what the heck is a Trilogy Cinnamon Roll, am I right? Well, I’m about to tell you: they’re the BEST cinnamon rolls you’ll ever eat. And the recipe makes TWO PANS!

If you’ve ever been to Maui, you might be familiar with the Trilogy Sailing Excursions. They do catamaran snorkeling and sunset cruises out of Lahaina and they feed you cinnamon rolls on the trip. We’ve been sailing with Trilogy for over 20 years – and we hope to go back some day once Maui has recovered.

The cinnamon roll dough is soft and fluffy and they’re filled with the best cinnamon sugar filling – and topped with a unique frosting that makes the rolls, along with the sprinkling of macadamia nuts. These are EPIC!

How to make Fluffy Cinnamon Rolls

• You’ll want your water to be warm to start – between 100-110°F. Use an instant read thermometer for best results. Place the warm water in the bowl of an electric stand mixer and add yeast. Allow the yeast to activate – it will bubble and foam.
• Whisk eggs and oil together. Add the egg mixture to the yeast mixture along with 1 cup of the flour.  Start the mixer and then slowly add rest of flour, stirring in gradually. Run the mixer with the dough hook until the dough is elastic. Turn it out onto a floured board and knead it a few times until it is no longer sticky.
• Place the dough into a bowl that’s been sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. Let the dough rise until doubled.
• Spray two 9×13-inch baking pans with nonstick cooking spray.
• Divide the dough in half and roll each into a rectangle. Top with melted butter and sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon. Slice rolls and place 12 in each baking pan, then let sit for a second rise.
• Preheat oven to 350°F. Bake sweet rolls approximately 20-25 minutes.
• Make the icing: beat butter and confectioners’ sugar until crumbly, the add extracts, salt, and heavy whipping cream and mix until smooth.
• Sprinkle the warm rolls with chopped macadamia nuts and spread with icing.

Expert Tips

• To help them rise faster, place them on the stove top or near the oven while it’s preheating. You can also set the bowl and/or pans over a heating pad set to low.
• Use unflavored dental floss to make the slicing easier., or use a serrated sharp knife.
• Cinnamon buns are done baking when they are a beautiful light golden brown. The cooking time is approximately 20-25 minutes.
• Serve warm or room temperature. Store tightly covered for up to 4 days.
• Freeze baked or unbaked rolls for up to 3 months – thaw before baking.

Famous Trilogy Cinnamon Rolls Recipe

3.95 from 19 votes

This is my favorite soft and fluffy cinnamon roll – they're the official recipe from Trilogy Sailing Excursions.

Recipe Video

Prep Time 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes minutes

Resting Time 2 hours hours

Total Time 2 hours hours 55 minutes minutes

Yield 24 rolls

Serving Size 1 roll

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

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Ingredients

 

Dough:

• ▢ 1 ½ cups (355ml) warm water
• ▢ 2 tablespoons active dry yeast
• ▢ ½ cup (100g) pure cane sugar (may substitute granulated sugar)
• ▢ 1 teaspoon salt
• ▢ 2 large eggs
• ▢ ¾ cup (177ml) vegetable oil
• ▢ 5 cups (620g) all-purpose flour

Filling:

• ▢ 6 tablespoons (85g) unsalted butter , melted
• ▢ ⅔ cup (167g) pure cane sugar or brown sugar
• ▢ 2-4 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Icing:

• ▢ ½ cup finely chopped Macadamia nuts
• ▢ 6 tablespoons (85g) unsalted butter , softened
• ▢ 2 cups (226g) powdered sugar
• ▢ ¼ tsp lemon extract
• ▢ ¼ tsp almond extract
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon salt
• ▢ 3 tablespoons (45ml) heavy whipping cream

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Instructions

• Place warm water (about 100-110°F) into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook. (The easiest way to test the water is using an instant read thermometer, but if you don’t have one, think hot bathwater.) Sprinkle the yeast into the water, then add the salt and sugar. Stir with a wooden spoon. Let rest until it bubbles, about 5 minutes.
• In another bowl or large measuring cup, whisk eggs and oil together. Add the egg mixture to the yeast mixture along with 1 cup of the flour.  Start the mixer and then slowly add rest of flour, stirring in gradually. Run the mixture for about 5-10 minutes or until the dough is elastic. The dough will be slightly sticky and very soft. Turn it out onto a floured board and knead it a few times until it is no longer sticky.
• Place the dough into a bowl that’s been sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. Let rest until doubled.
• Spray two 9×13” pans with nonstick cooking spray.
• Punch down the dough and divide it in half. Roll each half out to a rectangle that is about 12×15”. To fill, spread each rectangle with melted butter, sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar to taste. Roll up lengthwise. Make roll as tight as possible. Cut into one-inch pieces. Place in greased pan so that rolls just touch each other.
• At this point you have two options: 1. Let rise until doubled (about 20-30 minutes), then bake as directed below or 2. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and chill overnight. Let the rolls come to room temperature before baking.
• Preheat oven to 350°F. Bake approximately 20-25 minutes.
• Make the icing: beat butter and powdered sugar until crumbly, the add extracts, salt, and heavy whipping cream and mix until smooth. The frosting should be thin enough to easily spread but not liquidy.
• Sprinkle the warm rolls with chopped macadamia nuts and spread with icing. Serve warm or room temperature. Store tightly covered for up to 4 days.

Recipe Nutrition

Serving: 1roll | Calories: 300kcal | Carbohydrates: 36g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 16g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 33mg | Sodium: 129mg | Potassium: 56mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 16g | Vitamin A: 248IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 14mg | Iron: 1mg

Nutritional information not guaranteed to be accurate

Course Breakfast

Cuisine American

Author Dorothy Kern

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