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close up of frosted cinnamon rolls

Homemade Cinnamon Rolls

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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.
Course Breakfast & Brunch, Desserts & Sweet Treats
Cuisine American
Keyword adult dessert, baking, brunch, Christmas, cinnamon rolls, cream cheese icing, homemade
Prep Time 40 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Rise Time 1 hour
Servings 12 servings
Calories 454
Author Laurie McNamara

Ingredients

FOR THE DOUGH:

  • 1/2 cup whole milk
  • 1/2 cup water
  • teaspoons active dry yeast
  • 1/4 cup unsalted butter melted and slightly cooled
  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 large egg
  • cups unbleached all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon oil for greasing bowl

FOR THE CINNAMON ROLLS:

  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
  • tablespoons ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter softened (see notes)

FOR THE ICING:

  • 4 ounces cream cheese softened
  • 6 tablespoons unsalted butter softened (see notes)
  • 1 pinch fine salt
  • 4 cups powdered sugar sifted
  • 1 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
  • 3 tablespoons half and half or whole milk (more or less depending on desired consistency

Instructions

MAKE THE DOUGH:

  • In a small saucepan add milk and the water and heat until an instant thermometer reads 110℉  Any hotter and you can kill the yeast.
  • Stir in the active dry yeast. Set a timer for 10 minutes to allow the yeast to activate.
  • Meanwhile add the melted (and slightly cooled) unsalted butter, sugar, salt and crack an egg into the bowl of your stand mixer. Mix until combined.
  • Add roughly half of the flour into your stand mixer and mix until incorporated. The mixture will be crumbly.
  • Next, pour in the yeast mixture.
  • Mix 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.

MAKE THE CINNAMON ROLLS:

  • Preheat your oven to 350℉ (180℃) and grease a 9x13 baking dish.
  • In a bowl, measure and add dark brown sugar, granulated sugar and ground cinnamon. Mix well until combined.
  • Once your dough has risen, use your hand to punch or press out the air to deflate the dough.
  • Turn the dough out on to a lightly floured surface. Dust your rolling pin and roll the dough out to an (approximate) 16x10 rectangle.
  • Use an offset spatula to spread the softened butter out evenly, corner to corner, leaving a 1/2-inch (on one of the longer sides) unbuttered.  See notes for how I get super soft spreadable butter.
  • Evenly sprinkle the cinnamon sugar 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. 
  • 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.
  • 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.

MAKE THE CREAM CHEESE ICING:

  • In a medium mixing bowl, add softened cream cheese, softened 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 (go ahead and just eyeball it) sifted powdered sugar to the cream cheese mixture with a splash of milk or half & half. Mix until smooth. Repeat, adding more powdered sugar and milk until both have all been used.
  • Add in the vanilla and mix until incorporated.
  • Once the cinnamon rolls have come out of the oven, let cool about 10 minutes before frosting.
  • Add dollops of the cream cheese icing over top of each cinnamon roll and use an offset spatula to gently spread.
  • Serve warm and enjoy!

Notes

For super soft spreadable butter:
Set the butter out the night before. Then slice into tablespoons and add to a bowl. Stir with spatula. If necessary, microwave for 6 second intervals, stirring until spreadable.
Make The Cinnamon Roll Dough In Advance:
This cinnamon roll dough can be made the evening before (or up to 3 days in advance) and stored in the fridge overnight. Pull it out the morning of and allow to come to room temperature before rolling out. 

Nutrition

Serving: 1g | Calories: 454kcal | Carbohydrates: 64g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 22g | Saturated Fat: 13g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 74mg | Sodium: 198mg | Potassium: 82mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 61g | Vitamin A: 712IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 51mg | Iron: 1mg