This soft cinnamon rolls recipe makes super fat and fluffy cinnamon rolls that are incredibly moist and SLATHERED in a delicious cream cheese frosting. When I say this makes the best cinnamon rolls you've ever tasted I mean it! If you have a sourdough starter, try my sourdough discard cinnamon rolls for an even more tender version with a creamy tang from a full cup of discard.
Because we are using instant yeast, this cinnamon roll recipe is actually incredibly easy. Most of the time is spent just letting the dough mix or rise. Just place all the ingredients in the mixer and let it go!
The secret ingredient to making these super soft and moist is adding heavy cream to the cinnamon roll dough right before baking. The cream gets absorbed and results in ultra ooey gooey cinnamon rolls!
You can make these cinnamon rolls in one day or put them in the fridge and bake them the next morning. Just let the rolls rise in a warm place until they double in size and then bake!
If you enjoy working with yeast dough, you have to try my easy homemade bagel recipe next, or for another soft, buttery bread worth waking up for, make my panettone recipe for Christmas morning.
What's In This Blog Post
Cinnamon Roll Ingredients
Bread Flour - The secret to a super fluffy and soft cinnamon roll is bread flour. I actually LOVE caputo bread flour. I started using it after a trip to Italy where I noticed the baked goods don't upset my stomach as much. Obviously any type of bread flour will work and if you don't have bread flour, you can use all purpose flour. Your rolls will still be yummy!
Instant Yeast - Honestly I don't know why anyone uses active dry yeast anymore. With instant yeast you just add it to your ingredients and mix! No dissolving in warm milk necessary. If all you have is active dry yeast then just add it to your warm milk first with a Tablespoon of sugar and let it activate until it starts to foam before adding your yeast mixture to your other ingredients.
Corn Syrup - I know corn syrup gets a bad rap but hear me out. Corn syrup is an invert sugar which means it ATTRACTS moisture and keeps baked goods softer for longer. If you don't want to use corn syrup you can also use honey or maple syrup which does that same thing and adds a nice flavor.
Heavy Cream - If you want the best gooey homemade cinnamon rolls, don't skip this step!
Making The Dough
- Add your warm milk, sugar, instant yeast, and half the flour to the bowl of your stand mixer with the dough hook attached.
- Mix until combined.
- Add in the room temperature butter, eggs, salt, and the rest of the flour and mix on low until combined.
- Increase the speed to medium. Continue mixing for 10-20 minutes or until the dough begins to clean the sides of the bowl and forms a smooth ball. This is a very soft dough, so don't be worried if it seems like it is a sticky mess at first.
- Perform the windowpane test to make sure your dough is done mixing. If it's still sticky just keep mixing.
- Place your dough into a lightly greased bowl. Cover it and place it into a warm spot to rise for 90 minutes or until the dough has doubled in size. If your area is cold it will take longer to double. It's more important that you pay attention to the dough and its size than listed rise time. This is called the first rise and allows the yeast to start working as well as gluten structure to develop and is a key part of getting the best homemade cinnamon rolls.
- Roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface into a large rectangle with a rolling pin that is roughly 18" wide and 8" tall.
- Mix together the cinnamon, sugar, and melted butter until smooth to make the cinnamon mixture.
- Spread the mixture onto your cinnamon roll dough in an even layer. Leave about 1" without any filling on one side.
- Roll the dough up into a spiral. Seal the edge with a little water so that it doesn't pull away from the roll while baking.
- The easiest way to cut your cinnamon rolls is to use some unflavored dental floss. Cut the rolls into 12 equal pieces. Slide the dental floss under the roll, crossing the floss over itself and then cutting through the dough. Using dental floss avoids your cinnamon rolls from getting squished and mishappen. *I used a ruler to measure my rolls out into equal sized slices of 1.5" each.
- Place your rolls into your pan. Place them into a warm spot for 90 minutes or until they have doubled in size again. If you want to bake your cinnamon buns the next morning then now is the time to put them in the fridge. Just cover them with plastic wrap first so they don't dry out.
- Preheat your oven to 350ºF.
- After your cinnamon rolls have doubled in size, pour the heavy cream into the bottom of the pan.
- Bake your rolls for 25-30 minutes. If you want to be technical about it, the internal temperature of the rolls should be about 195º-200ºF when they are fully baked. Don't just go by looks because the dough could be lightly brown on top and raw in the center.
- One the rolls are done baking, remove them from the oven. Place them onto a cooling rack while you make the cinnamon roll frosting.
If you loved working with enriched dough here, my brioche bread recipe is the next step and makes the most incredible French toast with any leftovers.
How To Make Cinnamon Roll Frosting
This cream cheese frosting is softer than a traditional cream cheese. The frosting and less sweet but you can use the regular cream cheese frosting if you like a sweeter frosting.
- In a medium bowl, cream your room temperature cream cheese until its smooth and lump free. Then add in your softened butter and cream until smooth.
- Add in the sugar, salt, and vanilla and continue mixing until smooth.
- Spread the cream cheese frosting over the warm cinnamon rolls and enjoy!
More Recipes You'll Love
FAQ & TIPS
If you don't have the time to let your homemade cinnamon rolls rise or you want to make them ahead of time, cover the rolls tightly with plastic wrap and place them in the fridge. The rolls will continue to rise in the fridge but very slowly.
Take the rolls out of the fridge about 2 hours before you want to bake them, letting them proof until they double in size before baking.
Finish them off with your cream cheese frosting and enjoy your delicious homemade cinnamon rolls!
Cover leftover frosted or unfrosted rolls tightly and store at room temperature for up to 2 days or in the refrigerator for up to 5 days
Yes you can. Just place the yeast into your warm milk with a Tablespoon of sugar and wait for it to start foaming before you add it to the rest of your cinnamon roll dough.
Recipe
Equipment
- One sheet pan (13"x18") or similar sized pan
- Piping bag for frosting
- Digital Kitchen Scale
- Food thermometer optional
Ingredients
Cinnamon Roll Dough
- 8 ounces milk 90ºF
- 10 grams dried instant yeast
- 28 ounces bread flour or all purpose flour
- 8 ounces butter softened
- 4 ounces sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 large eggs room temperature
- 1 ounce corn syrup optional
- 8 ounces heavy cream (for soaking the rolls)
Cinnamon Filling
- 8 ounces unsalted butter softened to almost melted
- 8 ounces brown sugar
- 2 Tablespoons cinnamon
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 8 ounces cream cheese softened
- 4 ounces unsalted butter softened
- 4 ounces powdered sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 Tablespoon heavy whipping cream or less if you like a thicker consistency
- 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
Instructions
For the dough
- Place the warm milk, yeast, and half the flour into the bowl of your stand mixer with the dough hook attached and mix until combined.
- Add in the softened butter, sugar, salt, eggs, and the rest of the flour and mix until combined.
- Add the corn syrup (if using) and mix until fully combined.
- Increase the speed to medium. Continue mixing for 10 to 20 minutes or until the dough begins to clean the sides of the bowl and forms a smooth ball. This is a very soft dough, so do not be worried if it seems like a sticky mess at first. Just keep mixing.
- Pull off a small piece of dough and gently stretch it between your fingers. It should stretch thin enough to be nearly translucent without tearing. If it tears or still feels sticky, keep mixing.
- Shape the dough into a smooth ball and then place it into a greased bowl. Cover with a tea towel and let rise for 90 minutes in a warm place. To create a reliably warm proofing environment, preheat your oven to 170º F for 5 minutes, then turn it off. Place a bowl of warm water in the back of the oven, put the covered dough inside, and shut the door.
For the cinnamon sugar filling
- Mix together the cinnamon, sugar, and melted butter until smooth to make the cinnamon mixture.
To make the rolls
- Line a 13"x18" sheet pan with parchment paper (or similar sized pan)
- Once your dough has proofed, roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface into a large rectangle with a rolling pin that is roughly 18 inches wide and 8 inches tall. If the dough keeps springing back, cover it and let it rest for 5 minutes. Resting relaxes the gluten and makes rolling much easier.
- Spread the cinnamon filling mixture onto your cinnamon roll dough in an even layer. Leave about 1 inch without any filling on one side. This bare edge will help the log seal when you roll it.
- Roll up the dough length-wise. Make sure the first roll is very tight so you get a nice spiral, then continue pushing the dough until you reach the edge. Brush a little water or egg wash along the bare edge so it seals the loose end of the dough.
- The easiest way to cut your cinnamon rolls is to use some unflavored dental floss. Cut the rolls into 12 equal pieces. Slide the dental floss under the roll, crossing the floss over itself and then cutting through the dough. Using dental floss avoids your cinnamon rolls from getting squished.
- Place the cinnamon rolls into your pan lined with parchment paper, equally spaced apart. Cover loosely with a tea towel and place in a warm spot to rise until the rolls have doubled in size, about 90 minutes. For the overnight method, cover tightly and refrigerate instead of doing the second proof at room temperature.
- Before baking, pour your cream over the cinnamon rolls. This will make them extra soft and gooey after baking!
- Bake your rolls at 350ºF for 25 to 30 minutes. Once the rolls are done baking, remove them from the oven. Place them onto a cooling rack while you make the cinnamon roll frosting.
For the cream cheese frosting
- In a medium bowl, cream your room-temperature cream cheese until it is smooth and lump free. Then add in your softened butter and cream until smooth.
- Add in the powdered sugar, salt, vanilla, and milk, and mix until smooth and fully combined.
- Spoon the finished frosting into a large piping bag fitted with a round tip, or simply snip a small opening at the corner of a zip-top bag. This makes it easy to pipe the frosting evenly between and over all the rolls without dragging through the soft tops with a spatula.
- Pipe the cream cheese frosting over the warm cinnamon rolls in a back-and-forth motion, covering each roll from edge to edge. The frosting will melt slightly into the warm layers and create that irresistible gooey bakery finish.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Sally says
Hey Liz,
should I use bleached or unbleached flour, if either is ok do you recommend bread or so flour?
Elizabeth Marek says
You can use either, bread flour is great if you have it
Sarah says
These are so delicious. Made them today 🙂
All the way from Australia!
Debbie W says
If I make the dough the night before will recipe be the same?
Sugar Geek Show says
If you want to do it the night before, I would do all of the steps up until you proof before baking. So make the cinnamon rolls and have them on a sheet pan. Then refrigerate overnight and allow them to proof for 1.5-2 hours then bake!
Lexi says
Are there any ways you’d recommend to freeze the cinnamon roll dough to make later?
Sugar Geek Show says
Yes you can make the dough and form the rolls and put them on a sheet pan covered with plastic wrap in the fridge overnight. Just make sure to give them enough time to proof (1 1/2-2 hours) before baking.
Adrian benford says
Hi Liz my names adrian benford your recipe looks great
Pam says
exceptional. Used it last week and it was a big hit.
For some reason, this week it is in metric and when I try to
switch to US, almost all of the recipe stays metric.
Must be a software thing, thought you should know.
The Sugar Geek Show says
Ok I'll take a look 🙂
monica m says
Can i use carnation milk as a substitute for milk?
The Sugar Geek Show says
I am not sure, if it's condensed milk I think you would need to water it down but you can also use water instead of milk
Korey says
Hey Liz I only had bread machine yeast on hand... the bottle says to skip the first rise time when using in a regular recipe... is this what you would do?
The Sugar Geek Show says
Hi Korey, I am not familiar with using bread machine yeast but if that's what it says to do, you can definitely try it out. It might be instant yeast
Jennifer says
Your blog notes to bake for 20, but the recipe says 35-40. Is one for refrigerated dough?
The Sugar Geek Show says
It's 35-40 minutes 🙂
Shameka L says
awesome! Not overly sweet at all. I love these. Thanks Liz
Nancy says
Hi Liz! Trying to make the cinnamon rolls and it’s been mixing but it’s still very very sticky. What am I doing wrong? I followed your recipe.
The Sugar Geek Show says
Maybe you didn't measure right? Make sure you are weighing your ingredients and not using cups
Audelis Verhoff says
Your recipe calls for 2 eggs and yet in the video you use 3. Which is correct?
The Sugar Geek Show says
Follow the recipe 🙂
Laurie Fleisher says
The cinnamon buns are soooo delicious. Thank you for all the little tips like water in the oven when proofing and the window trick for telling when the dough is done. Watching the quick videos are also very helpful.
The Sugar Geek Show says
You're very welcome Laurie
John says
The amount of vanilla is missing from the cream cheese frosting. Thanks!
The Sugar Geek Show says
Oops! It's 1 teaspoon
BUKKIE says
LOOKS SO APPETIZING. I'M GOING TO GIVE IT A TRY AND GIVE YOU A FEEDBACK . NEED MORE OF THESE YUMMY RECIPES
tammy staten says
wonderful recipe!!!! comes out perfect everytime!!!!