Julie Clark
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Huge Cinnamon Rolls
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Our buttery soft cinnamon roll dough is rolled in a new way to make HUGE cinnamon rolls with lots of cinnamon sugar filling and cream cheese frosting.
Introducing the newest version of our homemade cinnamon roll recipe, featuring heavy cream and going extra-large! Our famous cinnamon rolls loved by millions now can be made in a HUGE way, perfect for special occasions or Christmas morning.
With their signature cream cheese frosting, these huge cinnamon rolls follow our regular cinnamon roll recipe, which uses heavy cream poured over the rolls before baking.
We’ve taught you how to make mini cinnamon rolls. Now learn how to roll them in a new way to make giant fluffy cinnamon rolls. Although some may compare them to Cinnabon, we believe ours stand tall as the BEST cinnamon buns.
Huge Cinnamon Rolls with Heavy Cream
It’s been over 5 years since I got the girls to agree to sharing the secret ingredient to our the best cinnamon rolls: pouring heavy cream over cinnamon rolls before baking. Recently, the heavy cream cinnamon rolls went viral on TikTok, but it’s nothing new and trendy around here. We’ve been making cinnamon rolls with heavy cream for over 23 years.
We want to be the place where food brings family together, and over the past 5 years we’ve seen this recipe do just that. It makes doing what we do here behind Tastes of Lizzy T 100% worth the blood, sweat and tears.
And now we’re making GIANT cinnamon rolls.
How to Roll Huge Cinnamon Rolls
For this recipe, you’ll make the same soft, fluffy dough that we use for our homemade cinnamon rolls. It’s a dream to work with thanks to the milk, butter and eggs. Remember that the dough should be slightly tacky, but not such a sticky dough that you can’t knead it.
Once the dough is made, here’s how to roll the giant cinnamon rolls:
- Flour a rolling pin and roll the dough to about a very large rectangle (about 26″x18″ if you can get it that big). Then spread with the brown sugar cinnamon filling.
- Use a pizza cutter to cut the rectangle in half down the middle to make two squares.
- Starting with one of the halves, on the long end, roll the dough up tightly jelly roll style.
- Cut the rolled part into 6 slices. With the remaining rolled out dough, use a pizza cutter to cut 6 long strips of dough. The strips should be about the same width as the rolled dough that you have already made.
- Place one of the rolls on its side on the first strip you cut. Roll the strip around the outside of the rolls again to make the roll twice as big (a giant roll!). Repeat with the remaining strips and rolls. You should end up with 6 very large rolls.
Are they baked through?
To check if your giant cinnamon rolls are properly baked, gently lift up on the top of a roll in the center of the pan. If there isn’t “doughiness” underneath and the dough looks cooked, the doughs are done. The tops should be golden brown.
An ideal internal temperature is approximately 190°F as measured by an instant-read thermometer. I recommend our preferred Thermoworks ThermaPen.
Overnight Huge Cinnamon Rolls
- Roll up the rolls, slice them and place them in the pan.
- Cover them and refrigerate overnight.
- In the morning, remove the cinnamon rolls from the fridge and allow them to come to room temperature. Then let the rolls rise for about 30 minutes.
- Bake as described in the recipe.
Can you freeze the rolls before baking?
Yes! If you want to freeze the huge cinnamon rolls, go ahead and freeze the individual rolls after you’ve rolled them and before you let them rise.
When you are ready to serve them, pull them out of the freezer and defrost on the counter at room temperature or in the refrigerator overnight. Allow the rolls to rise before baking. You’ll need several hours to do this correctly, so plan ahead. Read our complete guide on how to freeze cinnamon rolls.
Other Cinnamon Roll Recipes
Love this giant cinnamon roll recipe? Try one of these next!
Huge Cinnamon Rolls
Our buttery soft cinnamon roll dough is rolled in a new way to make HUGE cinnamon rolls with lots of cinnamon sugar filling and cream cheese frosting.
Servings 6
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 28 minutes
Rise Time 1 hour 10 minutes
Total Time 2 hours 8 minutes
Ingredients
For the Dough:
- 1 cup warm milk (about 115 degrees F**) 8 ounces
- 2 1/2 teaspoons instant dry yeast (I like Red Star Platinum Baking Yeast) 7 grams
- 2 large eggs (at room temperature)
- 1/2 cup salted butter (melted) 4 ounces
- 1 teaspoon salt 5 grams
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar 100 grams
- 4- 4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 520-585 grams
For the Filling:
- 3/4 cup salted butter (almost melted) 6 ounces
- 1 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar 300 grams
- 3 tablespoons ground cinnamon 19 grams
To pour over rolls:
- 1/2 cup heavy cream (for pouring over the risen rolls) 4 ounces
For the Frosting:
- 3 ounces cream cheese room temperature
- 2 1/2 tablespoons salted butter room temperature 35 grams
- 1 cup powdered sugar 130 grams
- 1/2 teaspoon maple extract (or vanilla extract) 3 grams
Instructions
Make the dough:
- Pour the warm milk in the bowl of a stand mixer and sprinkle the yeast overtop. 1 cup warm milk, 2 ½ teaspoons instant dry yeast
- Add the eggs, butter (melted, but not hot), salt and sugar. Add the flour and mix using the paddle attachment on low speed just until the ingredients are barely combined. Allow the mixture to rest for 5 minutes so the flour has time to soak up the liquids. 2 large eggs, ½ cup salted butter , 1 teaspoon salt, ½ cup granulated sugar, 4- 4 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- Scrape the dough off the beater blade and remove it. Attach the dough hook. Beat the dough on medium speed for 5-7 minutes or until a soft dough forms that is elastic and smooth. **The dough will be tacky and will still be sticking to the sides of the bowl. That’s ok! Don’t be tempted to add more flour at this point.
- Spray a large bowl with cooking spray. Use a rubber spatula to remove the dough from the mixer bowl and place it in the greased large bowl. Cover the bowl with a kitchen towel or plastic wrap.
- Set the bowl in a warm spot and let the dough rise until nearly double. Do not allow the dough to rise too much or your cinnamon rolls will be airy.
Make the cinnamon filling:
- While the dough is rising, prepare the cinnamon filling. In a small bowl, combine the softened butter, brown sugar and cinnamon, mixing until well combined. Set aside. ¾ cup salted butter, 1 ½ cups packed light brown sugar, 3 tablespoons ground cinnamon
Assemble the rolls:
- Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured surface and sprinkle the top of the dough with additional flour. Flour a rolling pin and roll the dough to about a very large rectangle (about 26″x18″ if you can get it that big).
- Use a rubber spatula to smooth the brown sugar filling over the whole dough rectangle.
- Use a pizza cutter to cut the rectangle in half down the middle to make two squares.
- Starting with one of the halves, on the long end, roll the dough up tightly jelly roll style. Cut the rolled part into 6 slices using a serrated knife or dough cutter.
- With the remaining rolled out dough, use a pizza cutter to cut 6 long strips of dough. The strips should be about the same width as the rolled dough that you have already made.
- Place one of the rolls on its side one of the strips you cut. Roll the strip around the outside of the rolls again to make the roll twice as big. Repeat with the remaining 5 rolls. You should end up with 6 very large rolls.
- Place the rolls in a greased 10×15″ baking pan.* Cover the pan and allow the rolls to have a second rise for 20 minutes while the oven preheats to 350ºF. It’s ok if they don’t rise much. They’ll rise as they bake.
- Warm the heavy cream until the chill is off. Don’t make it hot…you just don’t want it cold. It should be warm to the touch. Pour the heavy cream over the top of the rolls, allowing it to soak down in and around the rolls. ½ cup heavy cream
- Bake for about 28 minutes, until the rolls are lightly golden brown and the center rolls are cooked through. If the rolls are getting too browned on top, cover loosely with a piece of aluminum foil.
- While the rolls are cooling, prepare the cream cheese icing. In a large bowl, combine the softened cream cheese and butter using a hand mixer. Blend well. Add in your favorite extract and the powdered sugar. Beat until combined. 3 ounces cream cheese, 2 ½ tablespoons salted butter, 1 cup powdered sugar, ½ teaspoon maple extract
- Spread the frosting over the cooled rolls. Serve the rolls on a large platter or place each one in its own small cast iron skillet for a pretty look.
Notes
- If you don’t have a pan that size, you can use two smaller 8×8″ baking pans.
- Instant yeast or active dry yeast both work in this recipe.
- The calories shown are based on the recipe making 6 VERY LARGE rolls, with 1 serving being 1 large frosted roll. Since different brands of ingredients have different nutritional information, the calories shown are just an estimate. **We are not dietitians and recommend you seek a nutritionist for exact nutritional information.**
Nutrition
Calories: 1552kcal | Carbohydrates: 232g | Protein: 24g | Fat: 60g | Saturated Fat: 36g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 15g | Trans Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 218mg | Sodium: 838mg | Potassium: 415mg | Fiber: 7g | Sugar: 93g | Vitamin A: 1977IU | Vitamin C: 0.3mg | Calcium: 212mg | Iron: 9mg
Best rolls ever! Lizzy, wondering if you’ve ever tried rolling them narrower – maybe 26×10 and rolling from the short end to get bigger rolls? I want to try it but also don’t want to waste a full recipe 🤔
Best Cinnamon Roll Recipe. I make them at least twice a week
I was sent this recipe by a friend. I poured the heavy cream on before the second rise though. My grand son said, and I agree, the absolute best cinnamon rolls EVER!
Can you let these do their second rise over night in the oven?
Soooo good. Making them again but it I want to keep them small this time how long do I bake them for?
I’ve made cinnamon rolls for 50 years and all the recipes are the same so thought I’d try this one for a family reunion. I like the larger rolls but I guess you can make them from any recipe. But why do you put the rolls so far apart? It makes the edges hard/firm not soft when they don’t touch. I have never seen this before and sad to tell you but I got tons of complaints from everyone about this. I was told cinnamon rolls are suppose to be soft not firm like dinner rolls.
These are amazing. My kids thought they were too big at first and then each ate a whole one! They are really good. Thanks for sharing!