Homemade Cinnamon Rolls

Homemade Cinnamon Rolls are a delicious and decadent sweet treat. In this recipe, a simple sweet yeasted dough is spread with softened butter, sprinkled with cinnamon sugar and rolled before being sliced and baked until golden perfection. Once baked, they are then topped with a generous amount of homemade cream cheese icing. This recipes yields 12 large cinnamon rolls.

There are a few rules when it comes to cinnamon rolls.

They must be homemade, large in size and have a generous amount of icing. With that said, I introduce to you the best cinnamon rolls you will ever taste.

It’s a pretty confident statement but it’s an honest one. I know there are a lot of cinnamon roll recipes on the internet, and I guarantee a lot of them are amazing. But these, THESE from scratch cinnamon rolls are phenomenal. A simple yeasted sweet dough spread with super soft butter, sprinkled with a cinnamon sugar is rolled, sliced and baked before slathering with a generous amount of homemade cream cheese icing.

So simple, yet ridiculously good.

Whether it’s this Saturday, Christmas morning or a random Wednesday evening… you need these ooey-gooey cinnamon rolls in your life.

To Make The Cinnamon Roll Dough You Will Need:

• whole milk
• water
• active dry yeast
• unsalted butter (melted)
• egg
• sugar
• kosher salt

Add 1/2 cup whole milk and 1/2 cup water to a saucepan and heat until an instant thermometer reads 110°.  Any hotter and you can kill the yeast.

Stir in 2-1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast. Set a timer for 10 minutes to allow the yeast to activate.

Meanwhile add 1/4 cup melted (and cooled) unsalted butter, 1/4 cup sugar, 3/4 teaspoon salt and 1 large egg into the bowl of your stand mixer. Mix until combined.

In a separate bowl, measure 3-1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour. Add half of the flour mixture into your stand mixer and mix until incorporated. The mixture will be crumbly.

What Is the Best Way to Dry Measure Flour?

Give your flour a quick stir to fluff it a bit. Then spoon the flour into your (dry) measuring cup and then level it off with a knife.

Next, pour in the yeast mixture.

Stir until combined and then add in the remaining flour mixture. Stop mixing once the flour is just about all the way incorporated.

Switch over to the dough hook attachment and mix on low speed for 8 minutes.

Remove the dough from the hook and shape into a ball. Transfer the dough to a lightly greased bowl.

Cover and let rise in a warm dry place for 1 hour.

To Make These Homemade Cinnamon Rolls You Will Need:

• sweet dough (once risen)
• butter (softened)
• dark brown sugar
• granulated sugar
• ground cinnamon

In a bowl, measure and add 1/2 cup dark brown sugar, 1/2 cup granulated sugar and 1-1/2 tablespoons ground cinnamon. Try to use a good quality ground cinnamon for the most flavorful outcome.

Whisk until combined. Break up any large clumps of brown sugar.

Preheat your oven to 350℉ (180℃) and grease a 9×13 baking dish.

Once risen, use your hand to punch or press out the air to deflate the dough.

Also known as therapy.

Turn the dough out on to a lightly floured surface.

Roll the dough out to approximately 16×10 rectangle.

Use an offset spatula to spread 1/2 cup super soft butter out evenly, corner to corner, leaving a 1/2-inch (on one of the longer sides) unbuttered.

See my recipe notes to read how I get super soft and spreadable butter.

Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar evenly over top, avoiding the unbuttered edge.

Starting at the long side (coated with butter and sugar) roll towards the opposite side (the unbuttered edge). The seam should be on the bottom. 

Like so.

Use unflavored floss (or a kitchen knife) to cut the dough in half. Floss really works best here because you avoid smashing or flattening the log.

Slide the floss underneath the dough, overlap the threads and pull the ends of the thread, cutting through the dough. Sort of like tying a shoe but without making any loops or knots.

Then slice the two halves in half so you have 4 equal sections.

Then slice each of the four sections into thirds.

So you have 12 pieces.

Arrange the 12 cinnamon roll slices in your prepared pan. Any cinnamon sugar that escaped, I sprinkle back into the cinnamon rolls crevices.

Bake on the middle rack of your preheated oven for 25 minutes. Rotate the pan halfway through baking to ensure even baking and browning.

Meanwhile, make the cream cheese icing.

To Make The Cream Cheese Icing You Will Need:

• cream cheese (softened)
• unsalted butter (softened)
• fine salt
• sifted powdered sugar
• whole milk or half & half

In a medium mixing bowl, add 4 ounces softened cream cheese, 6 tablespoons unsalted butter and a pinch of fine salt.

Using a hand mixer, blend until smooth.

Sift 4 cups powdered sugar into a separate bowl. Add 1 cup (just eyeball it) sifted powdered sugar to the cream cheese mixture with a splash of milk or half & half.

Blend until incorporated and repeat until all 4 cups of sifted powdered sugar and all 3 tablespoons of milk.

With the last of the powdered sugar and milk, add in 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract.

Mix until smooth and thoroughly combined.

Once baked, removed and let cool about 10 minutes before frosting.

In the meantime, let’s take a closer look shall we?

Add dollops of the cream cheese icing over top of each cinnamon roll and use an offset spatula to gently spread.

These cinnamon rolls really don’t lack in the icing department, that’s for sure.

Serve with hot tea or coffee.

These homemade cinnamon rolls are everything you could wish them to be. Tender dough with cinnamon filling topped with cream cheese icing what more could you ask for?

My husband (who I suppose could be biased) always speaks the truth and after his first bite said “These are better than Cinnabon.” That’s right my friends.

You. Are. Welcome.

Enjoy! And if you give this recipe a try, let me know! Snap a photo and tag me on twitter or instagram!