Cinnamon Rolls

Homemade cinnamon rolls are easy to make with simple ingredients. They're soft, fluffy, and topped with cream cheese icing.

Course Breakfast or Brunch, Desserts

Cuisine American

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 25

Proofing 2

Total Time 2 40

Servings people

Calories 703kcal

Author Jessica Robinson

Ingredients

Cinnamon Roll Dough

2 ¼ teaspoons (1 packet) active dry yeast
¼ cup lukewarm water
1 ½ cups milk warm (scalded and cooled to warm)
½ cup granulated sugar
3 large eggs room temperature
5 ½ to 6 cups all-purpose or bread flour
1 teaspoon salt
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened

Cinnamon Roll Filling

½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
ground cinnamon

Cinnamon Roll Icing

3 cups powdered sugar
4 ounces cream cheese softened
½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2-4 tablespoons whole milk

Instructions

Cinnamon Roll Dough

In a large mixing bowl of a stand mixer dissolve the yeast in the warm water. Add the warm milk, sugar, and eggs.
Add the dough hook attachment, and stir in the flour and salt. Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl occasionally with a rubber spatula. Cut the butter into small pieces and incorporate into the dough. Scrape the bowl a few times. Beat the dough until it becomes smooth, about 5-7 minutes.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead for 5-6 minutes, making a smooth dough. This dough is going to be sticky when you turn it out. After kneading, shape into a round ball and place back into the greased mixing bowl. Cover with plastic wrap or reusable plastic shower cap and drape with a clean kitchen towel. Place in a warm area and let rise until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead the dough for a few minutes. Turn back into the greased bowl (spray with cooking spray or use a pastry brush to brush on vegetable shortening again if needed). Cover with plastic wrap or reusable plastic shower cap and let rise again until doubled, 30 minutes to 1 hour.
Refrigerate the dough for 2-4 hours or overnight.
In a medium mixing bowl, combine granulated sugar, brown sugar and ground cinnamon. Adjust the cinnamon to your liking. Cover with plastic wrap to stay fresh and set aside.
Turn the chilled dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and roll out with a rolling pin. Making it into a rectangle shape, about ½-3/4-inch thick.
Spread the melted butter evenly with a pastry brush. Spread evenly with cinnamon sugar mixture over the melted butter. Use your hand to evenly spread it out.
Gently roll up, starting at the long end fairly tight. Brush the edge of the dough with melted butter and press to seal. Cut the dough into 2-inch rolls.
Place the cinnamon rolls evenly into greased baking pans or a half sheet pan lined with parchment paper and sprayed with cooking spray. Cover the pan loosely with plastic wrap or a half sheet pan plastic cover and refrigerate for 2-4 hours or overnight.
*At this point, you can freeze cinnamon rolls if desired.

Cinnamon Roll Icing

Whisk together your icing. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside. You want it to be fairly thick.
To make the icing; mix the powdered sugar, vanilla extract, softened cream cheese, and milk in a bowl with a whisk or heavy duty spoon. Adjust the milk amount as needed based on how thick or thin you prefer your icing.

Cinnamon Rolls

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Remove cinnamon rolls from the refrigerator and use a pastry brush to gently brush with an egg wash, heavy cream or half & half. Place the baking pan in the preheated oven and bake for 25-30 minutes or until lightly golden brown.
Let cool on a baking rack for 10 minutes before spooning the icing over top the cinnamon rolls.
Enjoy cinnamon rolls immediately. Refrigerate any leftovers in an airtight container.

Video

Notes

My secret ingredient to soft and fluffy cinnamon rolls is using potato flakes. You'll add 1-2 cups per recipe. That amount comes out of the flour total.

Egg wash is 1 large egg, beaten with 1 teaspoon of water and a pinch of salt.
Or you can use 1 large egg, beaten with a few tablespoons of whole milk

You can substitute instant yeast and let the dough rise only once, if you prefer. Though we highly recommend (and personally prefer) using active dry yeast and letting the dough rise twice. Then rolling into cinnamon rolls.

I prefer to refrigerate prepared cinnamon rolls for 2-4 hours. Sometimes they leak juices a bit if you refrigerate too long.

Cinnamon rolls can also be made ahead of time, rolled into cinnamon rolls, covered and frozen. You can bake right out of the freezer or let them thaw slightly.

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