My Favorite Homemade Cinnamon Roll Recipe
on Dec 09, 2019, Updated Oct 22, 2024
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This cinnamon roll recipe creates fluffy, golden, gooey-on-the-inside rolls with a easy frosting that you may be tempted to eat by itself!
There are a few things I can’t say no to in this life. One of them? A fluffy, gooey, steaming hot cinnamon roll. How could anyone resist?! It’s the perfect Christmas morning meal to have with hot cocoa sitting around the fireplace, or just any morning when you want something decadent and special. And I promise you, these are doable for anyone to make! Even if you’re averse to baking of any kind, you can make these guys with ease.
I know that rolls especially can be intimidating because there are a few different steps and a bunch of ingredients, but I provided detailed instructions and easy-to-follow images for you to reference as you go! You’ll be tempted to make these every weekend after you make them just one time. They’re so soft on the inside with the perfectly creamy and thick frosting that melts in your mouth, and I love the sticky cinnamon filling so much I could eat it plain. Enjoy!
Table of Contents
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- This recipe is so simple! You can make it on a lounge-y, cool morning and it’ll warm you and your loved ones up right away!
- The ability to prepare the rolls the night before and simply bake them in the morning makes this recipe perfect for hassle-free, delicious breakfasts or brunches.
- The dough is irresistibly soft and fluffy.
- The sweet frosting adds a delightful sweetness that complements the rolls with a flavorful filling that oozes with each bite, making the rolls irresistibly delicious.
Recipe Ingredients
- Milk – Can be subbed for your favorite dairy-free alternative
- Active dry yeast
- Sugar – You will need granulated white, brown, and powdered sugar
- Eggs
- Oil – I used Canola but can be subbed with vegetable or coconut oil
- Butter
- Flour – All-purpose
- Vanilla
- Cinnamon
- Salt
See the recipe card below for full information on ingredients and quantities
How to Make Homemade Cinnamon Rolls
Step 1. Mix warm milk, yeast, and sugar; let rest for 2 minutes. Add eggs, oil, salt, and flour to form a soft dough. Knead until smooth and let rest for 30 minutes.
Step 2. Roll out the dough, spread with butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Roll up and cut into 12 pieces.
Step 3. Place rolls in a greased baking dish, let rest for 30 minutes. Bake at 350°F for 20 minutes until golden brown.
Step 4. Mix butter, vanilla, powdered sugar, and milk to make frosting. Spread over warm rolls and serve.
Recipe FAQs
The key to great cinnamon roll dough is letting it rise two times. First, let it rise for about 30 minutes covered in a bowl, and then after you’ve shaped and filled the rolls, let them rise again for about 30 minutes covered in the baking dish. Don’t skip or rush the rising time. The yeast is working extra hard to raise because it’s a sweet dough, so it needs that additional time. Also, make sure you don’t roll the dough too tight, which gives them less room to expand.
In general, bread expands as it’s baking because steam from the liquid in the recipe puffs up the pastry when it’s hot in the oven. As steam releases when the rolls cool, the rolls may shrink in size a bit. But no worries, it shouldn’t affect the flavor or texture at all!
Yes, you can use a non-dairy milk like almond, soy, or oat milk. Just make sure it is warmed to 100 degrees F.
Yes absolutely, just the dough as directed but don’t let it rise in the bowl. Skip the first rise and roll out the dough and make the cinnamon rolls as directed and place them in your prepared pan. Cover the pan well with plastic wrap and refrigerate right away. Keep in the fridge overnight or up to 18 or so hours. When you are ready to bake, remove the rolls from the fridge while your oven preheats. When the oven is hot cook the rolls according to the directions, adding a little time as needed to cook them until golden brown. I normally bake them 5-10 minutes longer. Frost and serve.
Expert Tips
- Ensure the milk is warm, about 100 degrees F. If it’s too hot, it can kill the yeast, and if it’s too cold, the yeast won’t activate properly.
- Knead the dough until it is smooth and elastic, adding flour as needed. This develops the gluten structure, which contributes to the rolls’ fluffy texture.
- Spread the cinnamon-sugar filling evenly over the dough, leaving a small border. This prevents the filling from spilling out during rolling and ensures each roll has a consistent, delicious flavor.
- Use a serrated knife for cutting the rolls to avoid squishing the dough. Marking the dough first helps achieve even-sized rolls for uniform baking.
- Keep an eye on the rolls while they bake. They should be golden brown but still soft in the center. Overbaking can result in dry rolls.
- Frost the rolls while they are still warm so the frosting melts slightly, creating a luscious glaze that seeps into the rolls.
How to Serve and Store Cinnamon Rolls
Cinnamon rolls are best enjoyed warm. Serve them fresh out of the oven after a slight cooling period of about 5 minutes. This allows the frosting to melt slightly and spread evenly over the rolls. They are a perfect addition to a breakfast or brunch with yogurt parfaits, corned beef hash, frittata, crustless quiche, bacon and cheese egg bake, or a hash brown casserole.
You can cover cinnamon rolls with foil or plastic wrap right in the baking dish after they’ve cooled and store them at room temperature for up to 2 days. To keep them longer, store them in the refrigerator for up to a week.
You can freeze rolls unbaked, un-risen, in the baking sheet. Just cover them and let them thaw and rise for a few hours before baking as instructed in the directions below. Or you can freeze them completely finished and frosted. Let them cool, cover with plastic wrap or foil, and freeze for up to 3 months.
More Breakfast Recipes to Consider
Simple Gingerbread Recipes
Homemade Gingerbread Syrup: Cozy Holiday in a Bottle
Muffin Recipes
Spice Up Your Morning With Gingerbread Muffins
Pancake Recipes
Stack ‘Em High: Golden Cornbread Pancakes
Sourdough Recipes
Sourdough Cinnamon Swirl Bread – A Perfect Breakfast Loaf
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My Favorite Homemade Cinnamon Roll Recipe
Ingredients
For the dough:
- 1 cup warm milk, about 100 degrees, not hotter
- 2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1/3 cup canola oil or vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 4 1/2 to 5 cups all-purpose flour
For the filling:
- 1/2 cup butter, melted
- 1 1/4 cups packed light brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
For the frosting:
- 1/2 cup butter, melted
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- Enough cream or milk to thin, about 3 tablespoons
- Dash of salt
Instructions
- In a large bowl (or a stand mixer), add the milk, yeast, and sugar, and stir to combine. Let the mixture rest for 2 minutes.
- Add the eggs, oil, and salt, and mix to combine.
- Add 3 cups of flour and mix well; continue mixing for 2 minutes.
- Continue adding the rest of the flour until a soft dough forms, and mix until well combined.
- Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead, adding flour as needed, until a smooth dough forms.
- Shape into a ball, and return the to bowl you mixed it in. Cover with plastic wrap or a clean dish towel, and let the dough rest for 30 minutes. It won’t rise much, just a bit.
- After 30 minutes, remove the dough from the bowl onto a lightly floured work surface. Roll it into a rectangle that is about 24 inches wide and around 18 inches tall (it can be a bit taller; it’s a rough rectangle).
- In a medium bowl ,add the melted butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon and stir to combine well.
- Spread the sugar mixture all over the rolled dough, leaving a 1 inch gap of dough along the top with no cinnamon mixture.
- Roll the dough up starting at the bottom (which is 24 inches wide) up to the top where there’s a bit of dough without filling.
- Mark the dough doll roll by making a small slit in the middle, then divide the middle into two more pieces (you are now up to 4 pieces), and then divide each of those 4 quarters into 3 more pieces. This is to divide the dough evenly into 12 pieces. Each line should be about 2 inches apart.
- Use a serrated knife to cut the rolls where you made your marks.
- Place the cut rolls, cut side down, in a parchment lined or greased large 17×11-inch baking dish, 3 rolls wide and 4 rolls down.
- Cover with plastic wrap or a clean dish towel, and let rest for 30 minutes.
- While the rolls are resting, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- After the 30 minute rest, remove the towel or the plastic wrap, and place in the oven. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden-brown.
- While the rolls are cooking, make the icing.
- Add the melted butter to a medium bowl. Add the vanilla and the powdered sugar, and mix well to get out all the lumps. It helps if the butter is warm or even a bit hot when you mix in the sugar. Add enough cream or milk, and stir to combine until you get a medium-thin consistency, about as thick as toothpaste.
- When the rolls come out of the oven, let them cool for 5 minutes and then frost warm and serve.
Video
Notes
- A 9×13-inch and a 17×11 inch baking dish both work great for this recipe, you can use two 9-inch cake pans and put 6 rolls in each pan.
- Use a serrated knife for cutting the rolls to avoid squishing the dough. Marking the dough first helps achieve even-sized rolls for uniform baking.
- Spread the cinnamon-sugar filling evenly over the dough, leaving a small border. This prevents the filling from spilling out during rolling and ensures each roll has a consistent, delicious flavor.
- TO MAKE THESE THE NIGHT BEFORE: Make the dough as directed but don’t let it rise in the bowl. Skip the first rise and roll out the dough and make the cinnamon rolls as directed and place them in your prepared pan. Cover the pan well with plastic wrap and refrigerate right away. Keep in the fridge overnight or up to 18 or so hours. When you are ready to bake, remove the rolls from the fridge while your oven preheats. When the oven is hot cook the rolls according to the directions, adding a little time as needed to cook them until golden brown. I normally bake them 5-10 minutes longer. Frost and serve.
Am I able to freeze them and thaw out a a latter time?
Also just wanted to say I have been making these for a few years. My family have come to expect them when I visit them. My grandkids eat at least 2 or three at one sitting. They are the absolute best 👌
I feel like you could freeze them, maybe if you did it at the cut and place in the pan step? Don’t let them rise there, stick them in the freezer and then let them thaw and rise when you are ready (which might take a while!). I’d love to know if you try it!
I lose all my filling when I put them on the pan and it melts out. How do I fix that? 😂
You can use softened butter instead of fully melted, that could help!
My family love this even if you sub the sugar the still taste delicious.
Oh what are you subbing the sugar for??
I could not see a temperature to bake these cinnamon rolls Also how long to bake the rolls
Step 15 it shows the temp, it’s 350 degrees F.
I made this today. Simple and delicious. I sprinkled chopped pecan nuts over the filling as well as the tops after icing it. Thank you for the recipe .
Hi! Thanks for the recipe… If I follow the overnight notes, do they not rise at all?
Can this recipe be doubled?
Yep, no issues there.
Everyone loved these rolls! I changed up my cinnamon roll game with this recipe rather than an overnight roll recipe, and they turned out well! As long as you have the time to make them, they will be a big hit.
Great recipe! I made this today and the ratios and cooking times are on point! Thank you for sharing:)
These are easy to make and taste fantastic!