These cinnamon rolls are a perfect soft and tender roll full of cinnamon sugar and topped with the best vanilla icing. They’re easy and delicious and everyone loves them!
Photos Updated: 6/9/16
Pin these cinnamon rolls for later!
Did you know, that my mom and I are mormon? I think we’ve mentioned activities that we’ve done in church or assignments that we have at church, and I live in Utah, so maybe you assumed. I don’t want this fact to discourage anyone from reading our blog, so of course we won’t go into any big details of our religion here, but if you do have questions, know that we are happy to help.
Anyway, I grew up eating pillsbury cinnamon rolls for breakfast almost every Sunday before church. They are so easy and quick and delicious. Two times a year we have what is called General Conference, and instead of going to church on Sunday we have the opportunity to listen to our prophet and other speakers from our church at home, on tv or online. Well this was 2 weeks ago, and since I didn’t have to rush getting ready for church on this Sunday I decided I had time to make breakfast at home. I decided to make homemade cinnamon rolls. You know, keep up the tradition.
These rolls aren’t quite as quick as canned biscuits (don’t you just love the pop when you open those!) but they are still easy and probably more delicious. (FYI: These are not a Pillsbury copy cat recipe)
What are some of your family’s traditions?
Cinnamon Rolls
Ingredients
For the Dough:
- 2 1/2 tsp yeast (1 package)
- 1 cup milk (warmed)
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 eggs
- 4 cups flour
For the Filling:
- 1/3 cup butter
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 2 TBS cinnamon
For the Vanilla Powdered Sugar Frosting:
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 3 TBS half and half
- 1/4 tsp salt
For the Cream Cheese Frosting:
- 3 oz cream cheese
- 1 3/4 cup powdered sugar
- 3/4 tsp vanilla
- 1 TBS milk
Equipment
- Large Mixing Bowl
Instructions
- Dissolve the yeast in the warm milk in a large bowl.
- Add sugar, butter, salt, eggs and flour to the bowl and mix well.
- Once the dough starts to come away from the edges, knead for about 5 minutes (if you are using your hands, dust them lightly with flour to avoid sticking) until a large ball is formed.
- Cover the bowl with a towel and allow to rise for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until dough has doubled in size.
- Lightly flour your counter top and roll the dough out until it is approximately 16x21 inches, and 1/4 inch thick.
- Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
- Combine brown sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl.
- Melt butter for filling.
- Spread butter over the surface of your dough.
- Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar mixture generously over the surface of the dough (using the butter to make it stick).
- Carefully roll the dough from the long top edge to the bottom edge.
- Using thread (wrap the thread around the bottom of the roll, bring up and cross over each other and pull tight), or a knife, cut dough into 1 inch slices.
- Lightly grease a baking pan (or 2)
- Place rolls in baking pan and bake for about 12-14 minutes until they turn a lighten golden color.
- While they are baking combine frosting ingredients (both recipes are delicious). Add more powdered sugar to the frosting if it is too runny, add more milk or half and half if it is too thick.
- Remove rolls from oven and allow them to cool for about 5 minutes before frosting.
- Apply frosting generously to rolls.
Enjoy.
Shannon Aitken says
Do you have any suggestions for baking this recipe at higher elevations? 4800′
Aimee says
There shouldn’t be any necessary substitutions. If your dough is extra sticky you can try adding a couple extra Tablespoons of flour.
CEYLON GOLDEN CINNAMON says
It’s Gorgeous…. Thanks for sharing this with us…
Julie says
So so so easy and delicious!
Ellen says
So glad. We love them too.
Virginia Alvarado says
Just tried these abd love them!!!! I also made the banana version. What’s the best way to store them after baking? Giving them to my family the day after baking.
Aimee says
I usually just wrap the pan in plastic wrap and store them on the counter if I use the vanilla icing recipe and in the fridge if I use cream cheese frosting. Then zap them in the microwave for a few seconds when enjoying them again!
Deborah says
Amazing cinnamon buns thank you so much for sharing
Aimee says
Yay! So glad you liked them!
True Cinnamon says
OMG Awesome roll!
JoAnna says
After I let the dough rise for one hour and then form the cinnamon rolls, could I put these in the refrigerator overnight to let rise for a second time? I want to make them for breakfast, but I don’t want to spend the entire morning making them and not be able to eat them until noon. I want them rise for a second time overnight so they will double in size again and result in jumbo sized cinnamon rolls and because it won’t cause my back to hurt near as bad as if I did it all in one morning.
Thanks.
Aimee Berrett says
Joanna, I would find a specific overnight cinnamon roll recipe. As much as I want to recommend my own recipe because it’s delicious I’ve never baked it this way. And actually, when I have let them rise a second time, before the oven my rolls have ended up being smaller than when I just bake them after rolling them. They actually raise quite a bit in the oven while they are baking. It’s possible the recipe would work fine, they will rise in the cold fridge, but again, I’ve never tried them this way so I can’t recommend it as I don’t know the outcome.
Clare Beyersdorf says
I have made a very similar recipe to this one above and proofed overnight.
I took the cut rolls that were in a covered 13×9” pan overnight and rose the rolls the next morning on top of a warm oven with a towel over the top for one hour before baking.
Cinnamon Vogue says
As Cosmo says this is one of the best uses of Cinnamon ever. Beautiful instructions and fabulous photos. A labor of love that is bound to taste really good. Thank you. If you are going to do any more Cinnamon recipes, we would love to send a complimentary bag of our USDA organic Ceylon Cinnamon powder, whose aroma when baked redefines the Cinnamon aroma with a heady sophistication that is unparalleled.
Mamie says
Most yeast recipies require a second rise. Did you forget to add this in directions?
Aimee Berrett says
The rolls continue to rise when they are baking in the oven. When I’ve done a second rise after slicing the rolls and putting them in the pan they are actually flatter than when I don’t do a second rise at all.
Ashley says
Have you ever tried freezing them? I really want to bring them on a beach trip but I won’t have all the necessary equipment to make them. I love this recipe by the way!
Aimee Berrett says
Ashley, I actually have frozen them before. I would suggest freezing the rolls after they are all baked, and making the frosting fresh, or freezing it separately. Then allow them to defrost overnight before reheating in a microwave or oven! Let me know how it goes for you!
Tammi says
I have made these 3 times now, and the dough is rising as I type. I like to turn the oven on and set the bowl of dough on top of the oven to ensure the dough rises well. The extra heat from coming from the top of the oven keeps heat constant for the dough even in a chilly house. I also cover it with a towel to keep the heat in. Thanks for this great recipe, my boys love it. I will make them again Christmas morning. Cheers!
Aimee Berrett says
Great tips Tammi! And I am so glad you like them so much! Cinnamon rolls are my favorite on Christmas morning!
Rachael says
Its been awhile since I’ve made cinnamon rolls from scratch, but these are amazing and easy to make!!! So yummy, can’t wait to make them again!! 🙂
Aimee Berrett says
So glad they turned out for you Rachael! Thanks for letting me know! 🙂
misty1982 says
baking these now – I was worried my dough didn’t rise quite enough but I have 18 approximately 1 inch thick rolls baking as I type so I must have not been paying close enough attention. I’m hoping we love these cinnamon rolls because they were super easy to make!
Aimee Berrett says
I hope you end up liking them as well! I think the rising is just approximate and will vary alot depending on the temperature of your house and even how old your yeast is. But I really hope you like them! I love them. Let me know how they turned out once you taste them 🙂
clrkkdsmom says
I made these today and they are YUMMY! My boys love them! I did have to put mine in a warm oven to rise though. However, it is a chilly day in my neighborhood. I will be making these over and over!
aimeeberrett says
I haven’t had to put them in the oven, but sometimes they take longer to rise. I should specify on the recipe, but I also usually use instant yeast. I’m glad they turned out for you though! Thanks for letting me know!
AfricanKiwi says
OMG I have just made these….we’re in heaven!!They are awesome, thanks for the recipe 🙂
Rachel Rankin says
I tried this recipe and unfortunately I must have done something wrong because my dough didn’t rise. I followed your recipe but have a couple questions to see where i went wrong. Because this recipe seems amazing I would really like to try again. The warm milk what temperature approximately? 109 degrees fahrenheit? And the flour doesn’t specify, is it bread or all purpose? Another question am I to let them rise again after cutting therm and placing them in the pan before baking? Thank you
aimeeberrett says
Oh no, Rachel! I’m so sorry that it didn’t turn out for you! I’ll have to check what type of yeast I use when I get home and let you know – cause maybe that made a difference. I usually just microwave my milk for about 30 seconds or so and call it good, sometimes a few seconds longer. I also use regular all purpose flour dough. I have had problems with other things rising in the past when my house has been really cold, maybe that could have affected it as well. And lastly I have just let them rise the dough rise the first time in the bowl everytime (but in my new orange roll recipe I actually let them rise a little bit when they were cut up as rolls in the pan too) — I hope we can figure this out and you’ll give them another chance!
Rachel Rankin says
I was using Fletcher’s bread machine yeast so maybe that’s why. I will have to get some other yeast and try. I did the same on microwaving the milk for about 30 seconds. I tried to let the dough raise covered on the counter then switched it to the warm oven to see if that would help. Well thank you for your help I will have to play around with them a bit next time and see. I did notice the yeast didn’t foam in the milk so maybe something with the temperature of the milk wasn’t right. Thanks again. 🙂 -Rachel-
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aimeeberrett says
I bet the yeast does make some difference. We use Fleischmann’s rapid rise yeast
Lauren says
LOVE this recipe! The dough was easy to work with and they smell great. Thank you!
aimeeberrett says
Thanks for letting me know Lauren! Are they baking for you now? Hope you’ll love them as much as I do!
Noor says
BEST RECIPE EVERRRRRRRRRRR
aimeeberrett says
I am so glad that you liked it 😀
Rolled Up Pretty says
Okay, those look way too good right now! Thanks for sharing the recipe! 🙂
Tina says
Love that you make these homemade even though your tradition was Pillsbury. We make homemade cinnamon rolls every Christmas for the kids. Nothing better!
aimeeberrett says
Cinnamon rolls Christmas morning are one of my favorite things! Glad you share that tradition too!