The best homemade cinnamon rolls ever! If you love gooey cinnamon buns, here’s the secret ingredient. Everyone raves about these homemade yeast rolls. You may also love our orange rolls!
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Homemade Cinnamon Rolls
It’s been almost 5 years coming. The girls didn’t want me to do it, but we’re finally sharing our secret ingredient cinnamon rolls. The from-scratch breakfast sweet rolls that everyone craves. Gooey homemade cinnamon rolls. Our best recipe that we’ve been serving friends and family on holidays and any other day for over 12 years.
We’ll get to the secret ingredient, but let’s start right into how to make these sweet rolls, because I know you don’t want to waste any time. The exact directions and rising times are in the recipe box below, but here are some hints for making cinnamon rolls.
How do you make cinnamon rolls?
When I originally set out to make the best cinnamon roll recipe, I started with this bread dough. Over that year as I tweaked the recipe, I made the dough just a tad bit sweeter. The ingredients are very basic. I like to use Red Star Platinum yeast which is an instant yeast. This means you don’t have to let the yeast “proof”. If you don’t use instant yeast, be sure to allow the yeast to proof in the warm milk until it is frothy. This will take an extra 5 minutes or so.
Be sure that your milk is warm to activate the yeast, but not too hot so that it kills the yeast (about 105-110 degrees Fahrenheit). You’ll also want to warm the butter so it is soft and mixes in easily. Bring the eggs to room temperature also by placing them in a glass of warm water before adding them to the mix. If the ingredients are not cold, they’ll help the yeast to do what it needs to do quickly and give a beautiful rise to your cinnamon rolls.
After you have the ingredients added, it’s time to mix the dough. In the video I use a stand mixer to mix the dough. If you have bread machine you can use the dough setting to make this extremely easy. Or, go the old-fashioned route and get those hands working by kneading the bread without a mixer. Any way works. If you decide to knead with your hands, be careful not to add too much flour. The dough is supposed to be tacky, which is what keeps these homemade cinnamon rolls soft.
Again…it’s important to note that the dough will be tacky and soft. It shouldn’t completely stick all over your hands, but if you touch it should feel tacky and not dry and floury. Don’t be tempted to keep adding flour!
Cinnamon Roll Filling
We use three ingredients in our homemade cinnamon rolls filling: softened (almost melted) butter, brown sugar and cinnamon. You can add a touch of vanilla extract if you’d like. We find it’s not necessary, but feel free to do so. Mix this all together while the cinnamon rolls are rising. This only takes a few minutes!
Rolling the Cinnamon Roll Dough
After you let the dough rise in a greased covered bowl until it is double in size, you’re ready to roll the cinnamon rolls. Use a pastry mat sprinkled with flour 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 filling on top and roll-up jelly-roll style. Cut into as many rolls as you’d like. We like to do 12 rolls for a 9×13 pan (which end up deliciously large!) or if we need to feed a bigger crowd, 15 rolls in a 10×15 baking pan.
Gooey Cinnamon Rolls: Cinnabon Copycat Recipe
Before I had this homemade cinnamon rolls recipe, I was addicted to Cinnabon cinnamon rolls. They were large, soft, and gooey. I’m all about the gooey. I searched and searched (mostly recipe books because recipe websites were not a huge thing back then) and finally found a key idea. Add heavy cream to the cinnamon buns before baking. THIS is the secret ingredient and what makes the rolls rich and gooey. Cinnabon copycat recipe? That’s not what I was going for, but I think we pretty much got it.
Here’s how you do it. After the cinnamon rolls are rolled into their pretty swirls and you’ve allowed them to rise in the pan…right before they are ready to bake, 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 cinnamon rolls. Adding warm (not hot!) heavy cream will keep the rolls rising as they should during baking. Pour the heavy cream overtop all of the rolls and watch that rich cream soak in and around the cinnamon roll dough.
Can you make the cinnamon rolls without heavy cream? Yes. Will they be good? Yes. Will they be as gooey? No. I find that the heavy cream helps the filling of the cinnamon rolls to be smoother and not as grainy. So just try it, K?
Cinnamon Roll Icing
After the homemade cinnamon rolls have baked and look like cinnamon heaven, it’s time to frost them. You can use a simple powdered sugar glaze or a store-bought fluffy white frosting if you’d like. But we prefer our cream cheese icing. 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!
You can add the icing while the rolls are warm and allow it to soak in, or if you’d like a pretty frosted look, spread the cream cheese icing on when the rolls are at room temperature.
And that my friends, is one of our BEST family recipes. My girls were hesitant to share our family secret ingredient for homemade cinnamon rolls, but so many of you have asked, they reluctantly agreed because they love you and want to see you happy. 🙂
What You Need to Make Cinnamon Rolls
- Stand Mixer: Ok, you don’t 100% need this, but it does make life easier.
- Red Star Yeast: My favorite yeast! It’s so forgiving and I have perfect baked goods, every time.
- Saigon Cinnamon: The best flavored cinnamon.
- Pastry Mat: This makes clean-up a breeze.
- Dough Cutter: I JUST got one of these. What have I done without it all these years? Works as a scraper too, to get stuck-on dough off surfaces.
- Baking Pan 9×13 or 10×15, depending on what you need.
Homemade Cinnamon Rolls
Ingredients
For the Dough:
- 1 cup warm milk (about 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 butter melted
- 4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
For the Filling:
- 1/2 cup 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 butter (softened)
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1/2 tablespoon maple extract (or vanilla)
Instructions
- Pour the warm milk in the bowl of a stand mixer and sprinkle the yeast overtop.
- Add the eggs, butter, salt and sugar.
- Add the 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.
- Beat the dough on medium speed for 5-7 minutes or until the dough 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 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 generously with flour. Turn out the dough onto the pastry mat and sprinkle the top of the dough with additional flour.
- Flour a rolling pin and roll the dough to about a 12x15" rectangle.
- Use a rubber spatula to smooth the cinnamon filling over the whole dough rectangle.
- Starting on the long end, roll the dough up tightly jelly roll style.
- Cut into 12 slices and place in a greased 9x13 baking pan.*
- Cover the pan and allow the rolls to rise for 20 minutes or until nearly double.
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
- 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 at 375 degrees for 17-19 minutes, until the rolls are lightly golden brown and the center rolls are cooked through.
- 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.
- Store in an airtight container.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Sarah says
Ditto to what wa said above!! I made these as a new Christmas morning tradition and everyone LOVED them!! Definitely saving this one for Christmas and other special occasions because WOW. DELICIOUS.
Margaret says
These are amazing – excellent recipe, thank you for sharing! The cream poured over the rolls is a must, and pay attention like the instructions say – do not let rise too much on the first rise. About 40 minutes did it for me. The frosting was excellent as well, and just the right amount – there was plenty to coat the top of each roll. I made these Christmas morning, and it was pretty easy as far as cinnamon rolls go. This recipe is replacing my old go-to recipe. Thanks again!
Baker John says
Just a fact about yeat. Yeat activates at 40 degrees and dies at 140 degrees. So a good gauge is 90 to a 110 degrees for proofing. Yeast needs heat and moisture to properly proof. Moisture makes the dough expand and heat makes it rise. Carfully add a shallow pan of boiling water to the bottom rack of your oven and with the oven turned to low ( below 140 degrees you have a good working proof box for your dough.
Jessa says
Great recipe! I would like to make them ahead today and bake in the am. After the cut and second rise, I’ve par-cook other recipes for 10 mins before putting them in the fridge for the evening. But the heavy cream is throwing me off. Would you suggest I pour in the heavy cream now when I par-cook? Or hold off till morning when I bake them the rest of the way? Or do you have a better make ahead method? Thank you kindly! PS these are faster with the same results at my tried and true recipe. Loving you right now! Thank you for saving me time:)
Julie Clark says
I would hold off until the morning you bake them to add the cream. 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, then let them do their second rise. Then pour on the cream and let them bake.
Jeana says
First time I’ve ever made cinnamon rolls. They were awesome!!! Thanks!!!!
Traci says
Yummy! I did change the recipe slightly though. I did 3 tbsp cinnamon for the filling and added 1/4th tsp of almond extract and 1/4th tsp vanilla for the frosting. Plus I cut back the powered sugar in the frosting to 1 1/2 cups. Used two pans and baked for 15 minutes each. Yummy, yummy, yummy!
Renee says
The best recipe ever. My family raved Christmas morning! Thanks!
Rita says
I just made these cinnamon rolls last night and they are SOO good! I do think the recipe yielded 2x the amount of cream cheese frosting needed, but all the better for me so I can make these rolls again. 🙂 Also, I only had 1/3 cup of heavy cream to pour over the cinnamon rolls, but that was more than enough. Thanks for the great recipe!
Linda says
I wanted to make these for Christmas but it is so hectic so I decided New Years because we are all hanging out. I made them this afternoon and will frost them in the AM. I did have to taste them to see how they were once they were cooled a bit. They are awesome!! The dough is really tender. I found the dough really easy to work with and the cinnamon brown sugar ratio perfect! I will definitely be making these again. Thanks for posting such a great recipe!
Libby says
If my baking pan is dark/coated, how much do I adjust the baking time & temperature? My oven, while accurate, tends to cook things very quickly anyway. Thanks!
Julie Clark says
You could try reducing by 25 degrees and/or 10 minutes baking time for the darker pan.
Blake says
I made these for the holidays and they are really good . The one question I have is whether or not they are supposed to be crumbly? They were moist but the consistency of the bread was more like a biscuit than the typical cinnamon roll dough . Did I do something wrong ?
Julie Clark says
They definitely shouldn’t be crumbly. maybe try adding less flour next time?
Ami says
Am making this recipe now but I have a small family and I freeze half of this recipe and bake it later.
Aegis2k says
This is the most amazing thing I have ever baked. Delicious, gooey and simply perfect!!!!!
Here are my changes to make this even awesomer!:
1. I added 1/2 cup of finely chopped pecans to the filling mix as well as 1 Tablespoon of real maple syrup (NOT pancake syrup!). I also don’t pack tightly the brown sugar.
2. When the dough was ready to be rolled, I actually divided the dough in two parts. This way, I managed to make not one, but TWO rolls of goodness. Using half the dough allows for a thinner rectangle which produces smaller mini rolls. I cut em around 1″ thick so I managed to get 32 mini rolls spread in two pans. And not mini-mini, but decently sized rolls as well! The filling although it was now divided onto double the surface area was still enough for me, but you might want to make a wee bit more.
3. The frosting for me was both too much in terms of sugar and quantity. I ended up using less than half and just drizzling it over the cooled down (but not completely cooled!) rolls. Also, I added a tablespoon or two of orange juice and a bit of milk to make it runnier. Plus some orange zest! My tip here is: just start with a 1/4 cup of cheese, add a bit of the butter and start adding the sugar slowly and tasting it until pleased. You want it sweet but still cheesy tart.
I know, it looks like I changed a lot, but the core recipe of this is simply PERFECT. When I soaked these guys in the heavy cream I thought I ruined them, but magic happened on the oven and this trascended human comprehension into a mystical realm of tasty awesomeness.
THANKS!
Julie Clark says
Great hints! Thank you!
Kathryn says
My dough wasn’t as sticky as yours was in the video. They are cooking in the oven now, I hope they turn out! If not, I’ll try again 🙂 Thanks for the recipe
Michelle says
Mine is the same way, they are rising. I hope they are ok.
Jasmine says
BEST CINNAMON ROLLS EVER! 🤩🤩
Heidi Uecker says
Literally the best cinnamon rolls I have ever eaten, much less made! This is the recipe you will book mark. The rise time for me is longer living in MN and making them in the winter, however, they are WELL worth the wait.
Juju says
Two quick observations…
1) 1/2 C heavy cream is 119g, not 238g, but not many people are likely using metrics.
2) For those whose dough is producing a “bready” texture, note that flour amount here = 125g per 1 C.
Some common U.S. flour brands are 120g per 1 C, so check side panel of flour bag. Measuring by volume and not weight is a far less accurate method, but yes, many rail against it.
Weighing using metrics allows for consistency and accuracy, and enabkes one to look at a recipe’s formula for baker percentages and ratios, thereby avoiding baker fails.
Hope this is helpful to some.
AD says
I’m new to your recipes. Do you use salted or unsalted butter for the dough, filling, and icing? Thanks!
Julie Clark says
I usually use salted butter, but have used both.
Moriah Jones says
I am about to try this recipe and attempted to click on the “jump to video” button, however, it never takes me to the video. Please help!
Julie Clark says
The video is underneath the recipe.
Lisa S says
After trying many recipes, this is clearly the winner. Perfectly balanced cinnamon to sweetness ratio. The heavy cream keeps the rolls moist and the frosting is delicious. This is now my go-to cinnamon roll recipe. Thank you.
Brit says
I have made these twice and they are so yummy! But my dough is always so tough and not sticky. Should I only add 4 cups flour? Also I have to let them rise FOREVER to even get them a little bigger. Any suggestions??
Julie Clark says
I would try to lower the amount of flour. That should help them rise faster too!
moriah jones says
For some reason, I just dont have a link to the video. I did subscrice to your channel on youtube. Would you mind posting the video there? thanks!
Wholly Rolly!!! says
I’ve been making cinnamon rolls for years and these are the best i’ve ever had!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Really easy to make too!!!! Everyone I share them with loves em MMMMMmmMMMMm!!!!!!!