Homemade Cinnamon Rolls

Discover the secret to the best homemade cinnamon rolls with our foolproof recipe! Learn our heavy cream trick that makes a gooey caramel sauce on the bottom of the rolls.

There’s nothing quite like the cherished tradition of eating the best homemade cinnamon rolls on Thanksgiving, Christmas morning or other special occasions. With a pillowy soft dough, a rich cinnamon filling, and melt-in-your-mouth cream cheese frosting, these are often called a Cinnabon Copycat Recipe. But trust the thousands who have made them, they are better than Cinnabon cinnamon rolls.

Our cinnamon rolls were the first to feature the secret of heavy cream. This secret ingredient transforms the base into an irresistible caramel sauce that’s the hallmark of the gooey cinnamon roll. It’s a trick that makes the best cinnamon buns.

Whether you’re an experienced baker or just starting out, our guide is designed to help you create the best cinnamon roll recipe that’s guaranteed to impress. 

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Ingredients for Cinnamon Rolls

• Milk. 2% milk is what I traditionally use for the dough. Whole milk or non-dairy almond or coconut milk works too.
• Yeast. I have much success with instant yeast. You can also use active dry yeast.
• Eggs. Large eggs are standard. I have not tried any replacement for eggs in this recipe.
• Butter. The original recipe called for ⅓ cup butter, but since I’ve made it over the years, one tweak I made was to increase the butter to ½ cup. See this in the notes I made in the recipe card. I highly recommend it!
• Sugars. Granulated sugar goes in the dough. Brown sugar is in the filling. Dark brown sugar is also delicious.
• Salt. Although we use salted butter, we still add 1 teaspoon of salt to the dough. 
• Flour. Bread flour will help the rolls have a fluffier, chewy but sturdier texture. If you don’t have bread flour, use all-purpose flour.
• Cinnamon. Use Saigon cinnamon in this filling.
• Heavy cream. Heavy cream is what gives the best results. Evaporated milk, whole milk or half and half works too. Don’t skip this! It’s what makes gooey cinnamon rolls.
• Cream cheese. Full fat cream cheese is for the frosting.
• Powdered sugar.
• Maple or vanilla extract. I love, love maple flavor for my yeast cinnamon rolls, but vanilla extract works just as well.

Cinnamon Roll Dough

• Pour the warm milk (115ºF) in the bowl of a stand mixer and sprinkle the yeast overtop. Allow this to sit for 3-4 minutes. The yeast will get a little frothy to show it is activated.
• Add the eggs, butter and sugar. Mix until combined.
• Add in salt and 4 cups (save the other ½ cup and add only if you need it) of flour and mix using the beater blade 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. Scrape the dough off the beater blade and remove it. Attach the dough hook.

• To knead, beat the dough on medium speed for 5-7 minutes, adding in up to ½ cup more flour only if needed to form a dough. The dough should be elastic and smooth. **The dough should be tacky and will pull away from the sides of the bowl but may stick slightly to the bottom. That’s ok! Don’t be tempted to add more flour at this point. We generally add about 4 ¼ cups, but start with 4 cups.**
• 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 clean kitchen towel or wax paper.

• Set the bowl in a warm place and allow the dough to rise until nearly double. If the house is cool, turn on the oven to the lowest setting for 1-2 minutes. Then turn off the oven and place the dough to rise in there. It normally takes about 30 minutes for the dough to rise. Do not allow the dough to rise too much or your cinnamon rolls will be airy.

How to Roll Cinnamon Rolls

After you let the dough rise, you’re ready to roll. Use a pastry mat sprinkled with flour or other lightly floured surface to keep the dough from sticking.

Remember…the dough will be tacky and this is the point where it is ok to add flour on the pastry mat and on top of the dough itself for easy rolling. You’ll find this dough is very easy to roll out. If it is too much of an arm workout, you’ve most likely added too much flour.

After you’ve rolled the dough, spread the cinnamon mixture on top and roll-up jelly-roll style.

Use a sharp, serrated knife or a steel dough cutter to cut into as many rolls as you’d like. 12 rolls fit in a 9×13″ pan (which end up deliciously large) or for smaller rolls, 15 rolls in a 10×15″ baking pan.

Pro Tip for cutting cinnamon rolls:

Use unflavored dental floss! It makes a perfect cut without squishing the dough.

The Secret to the Best Cinnamon Rolls

Heavy cream has been our trade secret to the best cinnamon rolls for over 23 years. It has since gone viral over and over on social media, and we’re thrilled that so many of you love it! It really is the best part and makes for gooey rolls.

Here’s what to do. After the cinnamon rolls are rolled into their pretty swirls and you’ve allowed them to set in the pan while the oven is heating, warm heavy cream in a small bowl.

Why warm the cream? Because your rolls have risen in warmth and you don’t want to add refrigerator-cold cream to your unbaked rolls. Adding warm (not hot!) heavy cream will keep the rolls rising as they should during baking.

Pour the heavy cream over the top of the unbaked cinnamon rolls and watch that rich cream soak in and around the rolled dough.

Can you make these rolls without heavy cream? Yes.

Will they be good? Yes.

Will they be as gooey and have a luxurious caramel sauce on the bottom? No.

Pro Tip

If you don’t have cream, use half and half, coffee creamer, evaporated milk, whole milk or coconut cream. Any of these will work. Even 2% milk will work, but we prefer a higher fat milk.

Bake the Rolls

Bake the rolls at 375º for 20-22 minutes, until the rolls are lightly golden brown and the center rolls are cooked through. 

Cinnamon Roll Frosting

After the homemade cinnamon rolls have baked and look like cinnamon heaven, it’s time to frost them. Use a simple powdered sugar glaze or a store-bought fluffy white frosting. But we prefer our homemade cream cheese frosting.

This frosting contains butter, powdered sugar, cream cheese and extract (either vanilla or maple). You could even throw in a touch of cinnamon to make a cinnamon glaze. We’ve done it all!

Spread the icing over the warm rolls and allow it to soak in, or for a pretty frosted look, spread the cream cheese icing on when the rolls are at room temperature.

And that my friends, is the BEST cinnamon rolls ever. My girls were hesitant to share our family secret ingredient, but so many of you have asked, they reluctantly agreed because they love you and want to see you happy. 😊

Homemade Cinnamon Rolls (Cinnabon Copycat Recipe)

4.77 from 4763 votes

The best homemade cinnamon rolls ever! If you love gooey cinnamon buns, THIS is the recipe with the secret ingredient that makes all the difference.

Servings 12

Prep Time 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time 22 minutes minutes

Rise Time 1 hour hour 10 minutes minutes

Total Time 1 hour hour 59 minutes minutes

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Ingredients

 

US Customary – Metric

For the Dough:

• 1 cup warm milk (115 degrees F)
• 2 1/2 teaspoons instant dry yeast* (I like Red Star Platinum Baking Yeast)
• 2 large eggs at room temperature
• 1/3 cup salted butter** (Melted or very softened, but make sure it isn't over 110º Fahrenheit.)
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (divided)

For the Filling:

• 1/2 cup salted butter (almost melted)
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons cinnamon
• 1/2 cup heavy cream*** (for pouring over the risen rolls)

For the Frosting:

• 6 ounces cream cheese (softened)
• 1/3 cup salted butter (softened)
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1/2 tablespoon maple extract (or vanilla)

Instructions

 

• Pour the warm milk (115ºF) in the bowl of a stand mixer and sprinkle the yeast overtop. Allow this to sit for 3-4 minutes. The yeast will get a little frothy to show it is activated.
• Add the room temperature eggs, butter and sugar. Mix until combined.
• Add in salt and 4 cups (save the other ½ cup and add only if you need it) of flour and mix using the beater blade 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.
• Scrape the dough off the beater blade and remove it. Attach the dough hook.
• To knead, beat the dough on medium speed for 5-7 minutes, adding in up to ½ cup more flour only if needed to form a dough. The dough should be elastic and smooth. **The dough should be tacky and will pull away from the sides of the bowl but may stick slightly to the bottom. That's ok! Don't be tempted to add more flour at this point. We generally add about 4 ¼ cups, but start with 4 cups.
• 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 towel or wax paper.
• Set the bowl in a warm place and allow the dough to rise until double. I like to turn on the oven to the lowest setting for 1-2 minutes. Then turn off the oven and place the dough to rise in there. It normally takes about 30 minutes for the dough to rise. Do not allow the dough to rise too much or your cinnamon rolls will be airy.
• While the dough is rising, prepare the cinnamon filling. In a medium bowl, combine the soft butter, brown sugar and cinnamon, mixing until well combined. Set aside.
• Sprinkle a pastry mat or work surface generously with flour. Turn out the dough onto the surface and sprinkle the top of the dough with additional flour. 
• Flour a rolling pin and roll the dough to about a 24×15" rectangle. (the size of the rectangle can vary…it does not have to be exact!)
• Use a rubber spatula to smooth the cinnamon filling over the whole dough rectangle.
• Starting on the long side, roll the dough up tightly jelly roll style. 
• Cut into 12 slices and place in a greased 9×13 baking pan.**** Cover the pan and allow the rolls to rise for 20 minutes while the oven is preheating.
• Preheat the oven to 375ºF.
• 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. Once the rolls have risen, pour the heavy cream over the top of the rolls, allowing it to soak down in and around the rolls.
• Bake in a preheated oven for 25 minutes, until the rolls are lightly golden brown and the center rolls are cooked through. Note…the time will vary based on how big the rolls are, what type of pan, how close the rolls are packed, etc. They could take up to 30 minutes. Check the rolls at 20 minutes. If they are getting too browned, cover loosely with foil for the remaining baking time.
• While the rolls are cooling, prepare the cream cheese frosting.
• 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. Spread the frosting over the cooled rolls.

Video

Notes

*One packet of yeast is 2 ¼ teaspoons. If you have packets rather than bulk yeast, it is completely fine to just use one packet of yeast. Different yeast calls for slightly different proofing methods. We follow Red Star Platinum’s temperature guidelines. Please check your yeast packet to see what temperature the milk should be at.

**A note about the butter, we have used ½ cup of butter instead of ⅓ cup many times. We feel it keeps the rolls softer. Give it a try!

***If you don’t have cream, use half and half, coffee creamer, evaporated milk, whole milk or coconut cream. Any of these will work. Even 2% milk will work, but we prefer a higher fat milk.

****For smaller rolls, cut the dough into 15 slices and use a 10×15″ baking pan. The larger pan will also allow the rolls to rise more evenly.

Overnight Instructions

We often make the cinnamon rolls and get them to the point of the second rise (when they are rolled out, cut up and put in the pan). Cover and refrigerate until morning.

The morning you want to bake them, pull them out of the refrigerator. They may have doubled in size in the fridge overnight. If they have, let them sit for 30 minutes to get the chill off, then bake.

If they did not rise in the fridge overnight, allow them to rise at room temperature. Plan about at least an hour for this. Then pour on the cream and let them bake.

*The Calorie count shows the amount with ALL of the frosting used. There will be less calories in the rolls if you don’t use all of the frosting at once. Calories are per roll with the recipe making 12 frosted rolls.

Nutrition

Calories: 618kcal | Carbohydrates: 85g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 28g | Saturated Fat: 17g | Cholesterol: 109mg | Sodium: 427mg | Potassium: 145mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 47g | Vitamin A: 965IU | Calcium: 89mg | Iron: 2.6mg

Author Julie Clark

Course Breakfast

Cuisine American

Calories 618

Keyword brunch, christmas morning, weekend

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