Cinnamon Rolls Recipe
Prepare to make the best cinnamon rolls of your life! These soft and fluffy rolls topped with cream cheese frosting are a family favorite and perfect for Christmas morning.
Ingredients
Dough:
- 1 cup warm milk whole or 2% recommended
- 2 Tablespoons +1 teaspoon granulated sugar divided
- 2 ¼ teaspoons quick rise yeast (1 packet)
- 6 Tablespoons butter melted, I used salted
- 1 large egg at room temperature, whisked
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3-3 ¼ cups bread flour or all purpose flour, see notes
Filling:
- ⅓ cup salted butter very soft
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- 1 Tablespoon + 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ cup dark brown sugar light brown works too
Icing:
- 4 ounces cream cheese softened
- ¼ cup butter softened
- 1 cup powdered sugar or more for desired consistency
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
Make the Dough:
- Combine warm milk (ideally 105-110° F) and combine with 1 teaspoon sugar and yeast. Set aside to proof. Within 5 minutes the mixture should be very foamy and growing pretty rapidly. If not, throw away and start over. Your yeast must be active and well for the best cinnamon rolls.
- Melt butter and whisk egg. Combine butter, egg, salt, sugar, salt, remaining sugar, bread flour and proofed yeast together and mix to combine. You can use a stand mixer with a dough hook attachment, your hands (I recommend watching a youtube video on how to knead) or a bread maker on the dough setting to knead the dough. Knead 10-20 minutes until dough is silky smooth and elastic. Push a finger into the dough to make an indentation; the dough should bounce back easily. See photos above for a visual guide.
- Spray a glass bowl with cooking spray or oil it with your preferred oil. Place dough inside, then spray the top with a little oil so they don't dry out. Cover with cling wrap and allow to rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about an hour.
Make the filling and fill the dough:
- Combine the cinnamon and granulated sugar together in a bowl.
- Roll the dough out evenly. It should be about an ⅛-1/4" thick and the long end should be about 16-18". Spread the very soft butter across the dough evenly. Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar mixture evenly over top of the butter. Use your fingers to crumble the brown sugar evenly over the top of the rest of the filling.
Roll up the dough and bake:
- Starting on the long end, roll up the dough. Cut into 12 even rolls. I like to cut the log in half, then each half in half again. Then each of those I cut into 3 even pieces. This is the easiest way for me to get them even in size. See picture above for a visual reference. Place evenly in a greased 9x13" pan. I like to spread them out a bit and make sure they aren't tightly rolled. I find this enables the insides of the rolls to puff up and expand more. Cover and allow to rise for 30 minutes. 10 minutes in, preheat the oven to 350° F. Once they are done rising, bake for 17-22 minutes until done. The tops and edges will just be starting to turn golden brown.
Make Icing and Frost the Cinnamon Rolls:
- Beat the cream cheese and butter together on medium speed until completely smooth and lump free, about 1-2 minutes. Add the powdered sugar and mix until well combined. Add the vanilla, then mix until combined.
- Allow cinnamon rolls to cool about 10-20 minutes before frosting. This way they will still be warm and the icing will seep into the rolls. For frosting that sits on top of the rolls, wait until they have cooled completely. Make sure to check out the notes below for all the tips and tricks!
Video
Notes
- I prefer making these with 2% or whole milk, they make for a softer rolls. You can absolutely use skim or 1% if that's what you have on hand.
- For years I made these with regular all-purpose flour. And while they were still amazing, I discovered in my research that if I used bread flour they stayed soft and tender longer. I now use bread flour exculsively.
- I usually end up using 3 cups + 2 Tablespoons of flour. Things like humidity can affect how much flour you need. The dough should just barely be pulling away from the sides of whatever bowl you are mixing it in. The dough should be very soft and almost sticky.
- It is so important to proof your yeast. Getting it activated and foamy and ready to go ensures you will get a good rise from your rolls and the perfect texture.
- I usually make my dough in a bread maker on the dough setting. I find it works perfectly, as it is what it is designed to do. I love that I don't really have to do anything besides add the ingredients.
- Reheat individual rolls in the microwave for 10-15 seconds for that fresh-from-the-oven texture.
- For icing that sinks almost completely into the rolls, frost immediately after removing from oven.
- I like to spread the rolls out just a bit when placing them in the pan. I find that when I don't do this, the inside bits of the roll don't expand as much and can be a little dense. Spreading them but a bit, enables them to grow and expand making them so soft and fluffy.
Nutrition
Serving: 1cinnamon rollCalories: 370kcalCarbohydrates: 50gProtein: 7gFat: 16gSaturated Fat: 10gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 55mgSodium: 393mgPotassium: 111mgFiber: 2gSugar: 24gVitamin A: 501IUVitamin C: 0.1mgCalcium: 89mgIron: 1mg
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