Tasty homemade cinnamon rolls: perfectly spiced, sweet, and baked in your own kitchen. These from-scratch treats rival the best bakery versions.
Few baked goods feel as warm and comforting as gooey cinnamon rolls. Instead of driving to a bakery, you can make these beloved treats at home for family breakfasts, holiday mornings, or a cozy weekend brunch. The dough is tender, the filling is buttery and spiced, and a smooth cream cheese frosting finishes them off perfectly.
Tasty Homemade Cinnamon Rolls
Cinnamon rolls are one of my favorite indulgences. While store-bought cans of cinnamon rolls are convenient, making them from scratch delivers far better texture and depth of flavor. Homemade dough yields a softer roll, the fresh cinnamon-sugar filling is more aromatic, and a handmade cream cheese frosting gives the right balance of tang and sweetness. If you’ve been avoiding the extra effort, this recipe is worth the time.
The process is straightforward: proof the yeast, mix and knead the dough, let it rise, roll it out, add the cinnamon-sugar filling, cut into rolls, proof again, bake until golden, and top with cream cheese frosting while still slightly warm. The result is soft, gooey, and irresistible.
Besides the delicious flavor and texture, making cinnamon rolls at home saves you a trip to the mall and gives you the satisfaction of a homemade treat. Serve them straight from the pan and watch them disappear.
More Sweet Breakfast Recipes
- Pull Apart Cinnamon Bread — a delicious, shareable cinnamon bread often made with frozen dough.
- Easy Cinnamon Sticks Recipe — captures the cinnamon roll flavors in a hand-held stick with simple vanilla icing.
- Easy Cream Cheese Danish — made with crescent roll dough and finished with cream cheese frosting for an on-the-go treat.
Our Cinnamon Rolls Ingredients
This recipe has three main components: the dough, the filling, and the cream cheese frosting. Below are the ingredients you will need.
- Dough: Milk, active dry yeast, sugar, melted butter, egg, vanilla extract, and flour.
- Filling: Softened butter, white sugar, brown sugar, and ground cinnamon.
- Frosting: Cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and a little milk to adjust consistency.
How to make Cinnamon Rolls from Scratch
Start with the dough: warm the milk to about 100°F (warm to the touch but not hot). Sprinkle the yeast over the warm milk and let it sit for about 10 minutes to bloom.
While the yeast blooms, combine the dry ingredients in a stand mixer using the whisk attachment. After the yeast has rested, whisk in the egg, melted butter, and vanilla. Add the wet mixture to the dry ingredients.
Switch to the dough hook, mix on low until the dough comes together, then increase speed to medium and knead until the dough pulls away and sticks to the hook—about 6–8 minutes.
Form the dough into a ball, clean the mixer bowl, and lightly grease it with melted butter. Return the dough to the greased bowl, turn it once to coat, cover with a towel, and let it rise until doubled—about 1½ hours.
Filling and Baking Homemade Cinnamon Rolls
When the dough has risen, transfer it to a floured surface and roll it into approximately a 12″ x 15″ rectangle. Brush the surface with melted butter, leaving a 1/2″ edge unbuttered along the long side nearest you.
Mix the white sugar, brown sugar, and cinnamon in a bowl and sprinkle it evenly over the buttered area.
Roll the dough tightly toward the unbuttered edge. Lightly wet the unbuttered edge with water to seal the seam. Cut the log into 12 even pieces—unflavored waxed floss works well for a clean cut.
Line a 9×13-inch pan with parchment paper and arrange the rolls with a little space between each. Cover with a towel and let them proof for about 45 minutes while you preheat the oven to 325°F.
Bake until the rolls are golden brown, roughly 20–30 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow them to cool for about 15 minutes before frosting.
How to make Cinnamon Roll icing
Beat together softened cream cheese and butter until smooth. Add the powdered sugar and mix until incorporated, then add vanilla. If the frosting is too thick, thin it with a little milk until you reach the desired consistency.
Spread the frosting evenly over the warm rolls so it melts slightly and creates a gooey finish. For a softer, more melted glaze, allow the rolls to sit in the turned-off oven for a short time before adding the icing—but generally, spreading the frosting 5–10 minutes after baking works well.
Serve the rolls together in the pan and tear them apart to preserve their soft edges. Store leftovers in an airtight container and warm briefly in the microwave (about 10 seconds) before serving.
Cinnamon Rolls — Recipe Details
By: Jen Lunsford
Prep: 2 hrs 30 mins Cook: 25 mins Servings: 12
Ingredients
Dough
- 1 cup milk
- 2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 4 tbsp melted butter
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 2 3/4 cups flour
Filling
- 1/2 cup softened butter
- 1/4 cup white sugar
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 3 tbsp ground cinnamon
Icing
- 4 oz cream cheese, softened
- 4 tbsp butter, softened
- 2/3 cup powdered sugar
- 1/4 tsp vanilla
- Milk, a small amount to thin if needed
Instructions
- Warm milk to about 100°F, sprinkle yeast on top, and let sit 10 minutes.
- Whisk in egg, melted butter, and vanilla to the yeasted milk.
- In a stand mixer using the whisk, combine flour and sugar on low for 3 minutes.
- Replace the whisk with the dough hook. Add the wet mixture to the dry ingredients and mix on low until the dough comes together.
- Increase speed to medium and knead until the dough sticks to the hook, about 6–8 minutes.
- Shape the dough into a ball, grease the mixing bowl with butter, return the dough, and turn to coat. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 1½ hours.
- On a floured surface, roll dough into a 12×15″ rectangle. With the long side facing you, spread softened butter over the surface leaving a 1/2″ edge unbuttered.
- Mix brown sugar, white sugar, and cinnamon; sprinkle evenly over the buttered dough.
- Roll the dough toward the unbuttered edge, wet the edge slightly to seal, and cut into 12 even pieces.
- Place rolls in a parchment-lined 9×13″ pan leaving space between them. Cover and let rise about 45 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 325°F. Bake until golden brown, about 20–30 minutes. Cool for 15 minutes.
- For the icing, beat cream cheese and butter until smooth, add powdered sugar and vanilla, and thin with milk if necessary. Spread over warm rolls.
Notes
Leftovers keep well in an airtight container. Warm briefly in the microwave to restore that freshly-baked softness.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 374 kcal; Carbohydrates: 45 g; Protein: 5 g; Fat: 20 g; Saturated Fat: 12 g; Cholesterol: 67 mg; Sodium: 182 mg; Potassium: 97 mg; Fiber: 2 g; Sugar: 21 g; Vitamin A: 658 IU; Vitamin C: 1 mg; Calcium: 66 mg; Iron: 2 mg.
