Five-Spice Cinnamon Roll Biscuits

**By Chadwick Boyd**

If You Love Biscuits & Cinnamon Rolls, You Will Want to Eat the Whole Pan of These Cinnamon Roll Biscuits

These Cinnamon Roll Biscuits came to me in a dream during the pandemic. They are flaky, golden and pillowy with a wondrous flavor. I still remember how they tasted on my tongue the moment I woke up.

New biscuit recipes often come to me in the middle of the night…in very clear, technicolor dreams. Every time they do, I have to rise up from bed and race into kitchen to make them precisely from the sight, feel, taste and touch in my dream. These recipes are almost always spot-on, which I revel in.

Making cinnamon rolls from biscuit dough saves a ton of time. It removes the laborious hours of kneading yeasted dough and waiting for it to proof. That means you get them hot out of the oven in just about an hour.

Adding fragrant Chinese five spice to a classic cinnamon-brown sugar filling takes the flavor to a whole new level. The star anise, clove, fennel, ginger and extra cinnamon creates a decadent, unforgettable taste. When I ate these biscuits the first time, I nearly cried. When the creamy icing sugar settles into all the nooks of the layers, eating these biscuits becomes other-worldly.

Have a little patience while making the biscuits, especially when folding and rolling up the dough. It pays off in the end, I promise.

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Chadwick’s Checklist

What you need to know before you cook.

Take the cream cheese out of the refrigerator an hour before baking so it is room temperature for the icing
Keep your butter and sour cream in the refrigerator until just before you use them
A standard 9-by-13-inch baking dish works best for these biscuits

Serving Size: 15 biscuits Prep Time: 25 mins Cooking Time: 30-32 minutes

Ingredients

For the Biscuits

2¼ sticks very cold salted butter, divided
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup full fat sour cream
¾ cup very cold water or milk
1 cup light brown sugar, packed
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2½ teaspoons Chinese five spice
4 cups all-purpose flour, sifted, plus more for folding and rolling out
2 tablespoons baking powder
1½ teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon sea salt
¾ teaspoon flake salt, if desired

For the Icing

1½ cups confectioner’s sugar, sifted
1 teaspoon sea salt
4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
2 tablespoons milk

Directions

Place the rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 375°F.
Spray the inside of a 9-inch-by-13-inch baking dish with cooking spray. Set aside.
Place a ¾ stick of butter in a small pot over medium heat and melt. Stir in the vanilla. Take off the heat and set aside.
Meanwhile, mix together the sour cream and water in a liquid measuring cup and place back in the refrigerator.
Place the brown sugar, cinnamon and Chinese five spice in a small bowl and mix. Set aside.
In a large, wide mixing bowl, add the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Whisk well.
Place a box grater in the bowl and grate the remaining 1½ sticks of butter into the flour mixture. Cup the flour up over the butter pieces to separate them, then gingerly shake them apart so they are evenly dispersed through the dough.
Add the sour cream mixture to the dry ingredients. Gently bring the dough together with a stiff rubber scraper. If it’s still a bit too dry, add very cold milk or water, one tablespoon at a time, until the dough comes together and is soft and still a little crumbly.
Lightly dust a clean surface with flour. Turn the dough out onto the surface. Lightly sprinkle with more flour. Using a lightly floured rolling pin, roll out to a 1-inch thick rectangle. Fold the dough in thirds like a letter, left third over the center third, right third up over the other two thirds. Roll it out into the rectangle size again 1-inch thick. Repeat the folding and rolling out 5 more times. You will make 6 complete folds. Roll out the dough into a 20-inch-by-16-inch and ¼-inch thick rectangle.
Using a pastry brush, brush the dough with all but 2 tablespoons of the melted butter. Sprinkle the brown sugar-spice mixture on top going all the way to the edges.
With your hands, tightly roll the 20-inch side of the dough like a jelly roll. If the dough sticks to the surface, use a bench scraper or knife to loosen it.
Lightly flour a sharp chef’s knife and trim the ends to even them up. Then, cut the roll into 15 equal slices. Place them in the prepared pan.
Brush the tops with the remaining melted butter. Place in the oven and bake for 30-32 minutes or until all the biscuits are nicely golden brown and the center is cooked through. Meanwhile, make the icing.
In a small bowl, mix together the confectioner’s sugar, salt, softened cream cheese and milk until smooth.
When the biscuits are done, transfer to a wire rack. Let them settle in the pan about 5 minutes. Spread the icing on top. Top with flake salt if desired.
Serve immediately.