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    Home » Recipes » Breakfast

    Homemade Cinnamon Rolls

    Published: June 19, 2021 · Updated: August 8, 2020 · By: Krissy · 18 Comments
    This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.

    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

    Anyone can make these super soft homemade cinnamon rolls from scratch with the best brioche yeast dough and cream cheese frosting. I've made this sweet recipe more than enough times to share all my tips and tricks so that you'll have perfect results too. This is the best recipe you'll find.

    Cinnamon Roll on plate

    Why this recipe works so well:

    • These rolls are just as sweet and decadent as my famous Granny's Monkey Bread Recipe, but dare I say better? This recipe takes time because the dough, filling, and frosting are made from scratch, but is worth it.
    • Make them any time of year, but they are especially good on Christmas morning.
    • The bottom of the pan is coated with a creamy sweet layer that gets infused into the bottom of the roll.
    • My homemade cinnamon rolls can be prepared the night before and then baked in the morning.

    Ingredients needed to make this recipe:

    Here's the list of what you'll need so you can check the pantry and refrigerator before starting. Exact quantities are listed below in the recipe card.

    • whole milk
    • granulated, confectioners, and brown sugars
    • cinnamon
    • active dry yeast
    • large eggs
    • flour
    • salt
    • butter
    • heavy cream
    • cream cheese
    • pure vanilla extract
    Homemade Cinnamon Roll covered in cream cheese frosting

    How to make cinnamon rolls:

    These scratch made cinnamon rolls are a multi-step recipe. Not challenging to make, but there are a lot of steps. Here is a summary and full instructions are in the recipe card below.

    Start by making the cinnamon roll dough:

    1. Mix: The soft sweet brioche dough is created by mixing warm milk with a bit of sugar and yeast. Then three whole room temperature eggs get mixed in. This many eggs is what makes the roll so soft! Finally you'll mix in the flour and then some butter.
    2. Knead: Once all of the ingredients have been incorporated, knead the dough for 5-10 minutes until it's smooth and stretchy. I use my stand mixer with the dough hook however you can also knead by hand.
    3. Rest: Cover and refrigerate for a couple hours.

    Meanwhile you will prepare the pan, the filling, and make cream cheese frosting for cinnamon rolls.

    Prepare cinnamon roll icing:

    This cream cheese frosting is thicker than a simple glaze.

    • Beat cream cheese and butter and butter until light and fluffy.
    • Mix in powdered sugar, vanilla, and heavy cream.

    Prepare filling and baking dish:

    • Filling: Combine sugars, cinnamon, butter and salt. Set aside.
    • Bottom of pan: A combination of melted butter, heavy cream, and brown sugar are placed in the bottom of the pan underneath the cinnamon rolls.

    How to roll and slice cinnamon rolls:

    1. Form rectangle: Set your dough down on a clean surface covered with a bit of flour. Work the flour into the dough so it is no longer sticky. Roll the dough into a rectangle that is about 12 inches tall and 18 inches wide.
    2. Top with filling: Cover the dough with the filling mixture. Just leave a bit at the edge closest to you so that the dough can seal to itself.
    3. Roll: Start at the end farthest from you and tightly start rolling the dough towards you. Once it's in a log, use your hands to shape and roll as needed to get it into the most uniform log shape.
    4. Slice: Use a sharp serrated edge knife and cut slices that are 1 to 1 ½ inches thick.
    5. Arrange: Place the cut rolls in your prepared pan with the pretty swirl side facing up.
    • brioche dough topped with cinnamon sugar mixture
      top with filling
    • rolled cinnamon rolls prior to slicing
      gently roll
    • uncooked homemade cinnamon rolls in pan
      slice and place in prepared pan
    • uncooked Homemade Cinnamon Rolls that have risen
      let rise
    • baked Cinnamon Rolls in round pan
      bake

    At this point you'll cover the pan and let the rolls rise for about 45 minutes. If you're making overnight cinnamon rolls, you won't let this second rise happen just yet.

    Overnight cinnamon rolls:

    To make overnight cinnamon rolls, simply follow the recipe all the way up to the point where the rolls are cut and placed into your baking dish.

    Then, instead of letting them do their final rise in a warm area just before baking, you'll cover and refrigerate overnight instead.

    Then, to bake the next morning, you'll simply remove them from the refrigerator and allow the rolls to come to room temperature before baking. They will have risen slowly in the refrigerator overnight and will finish the process as they come to room temperature.

    cream cheese frosting for cinnamon rolls

    Recipe tips for best results:

    Baking tips:

    1. Dough rise: If your house temperature is 70°F or warmer, they will rise perfectly on the counter. If your house is colder, you may need to preheat your oven to the lowest possible temperature and as soon as it's warm, turn it off and open the door. Once the inside of the oven feels warmer than your kitchen (but not hot enough to melt the plastic wrap), place the covered rolls in the slightly warmed oven and allow them to rise in there.
    2. Oven rack: Place the cinnamon rolls in the center of your oven. If they are too high, the tops will get too browned while the bottoms are under cooked.
    3. Check doneness: Use a thermometer to ensure the center of the dough reaches 190° F. You can't trust how done they look and must verify the doneness using an accurate thermometer for best results.

    Frosting:

    Please note that this recipe makes a lot of frosting. My family likes it when I only use about half on the cinnamon rolls and then set the rest out for dipping.

    • Be sure your cream cheese and butter are both softened and mix them extremely well together before adding the remaining ingredients.
    • You can vary the sweetness with the amount of sugar you add. You can also make this a thinner frosting by using milk instead of heavy cream.

    Storage:

    Ensure they are fully cooled and store in airtight container. These cinnamon rolls can be left out at room temperature, but they will last much longer if refrigerated or frozen.

    Homemade Cinnamon Roll that has been pulled open

    Other great breakfast treat recipes:

    Love sweet breakfast treat recipes? You'll love these decadent favorites:

    • Granny's Monkey Bread Recipe
    • Pumpkin Spice Monkey Bread
    • Apple Fritter Monkey Bread
    • Crème Brûlée French Toast
    • Grand Marnier French Toast
    • Baked Challah French Toast
    • Baked Banana Macadamia French Toast
    • Campfire Blueberry Peach French Toast
    inside of a cinnamon roll

    Cinnamon Rolls

    Homemade Cinnamon Rolls are the absolute best! Scratch made ooey gooey brioche dough wrapped in a cinnamon filling and topped with cream cheese icing. YUM.
    5 from 13 votes
    Print Pin Rate SaveSaved!
    Course: Breakfast
    Cuisine: American
    Prep Time: 45 minutes
    Cook Time: 25 minutes
    Resting Time: 2 hours 45 minutes
    Total Time: 3 hours 55 minutes
    Scale: 12 servings
    Recipe Created By: Krissy Allori

    Ingredients

    For the brioche dough:

    • 1 cup whole milk (warm (about 110 degrees F))
    • ¼ cup granulated sugar
    • ¼ ounce active dry yeast (one packet)
    • 3 large eggs (slightly beaten)
    • 3 ¼ cups all purpose flour ((additional flour might be needed, see instructions))
    • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
    • ½ cup unsalted butter (softened)
    • vegetable oil spray

    For the pan:

    • ¼ cup butter (melted)
    • ¼ cup heavy cream
    • 5 tablespoons brown sugar

    For the filling:

    • 1 cup brown sugar (packed)
    • 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
    • 2 ½ tablespoons cinnamon (or pumpkin pie spice)
    • ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
    • ¾ cup butter (very soft)

    Cream cheese frosting for cinnamon rolls:

    • 8 ounces cream cheese (softened)
    • ¼ cup unsalted butter (softened)
    • 1 cup powdered sugar
    • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
    • ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
    • ¼ cup heavy cream

    Instructions

    To make the brioche dough:

    • Heat milk in small pot over low heat until it reaches about 105-110 degrees F. Remove from heat. Stir in sugar and sprinkle yeast on top. In about 5 minutes or so, your yeast should start to look slightly foamy. If there's no reaction at all, your yeast might be bad.
    • Mix the eggs into the milk mixture.
    • Add flour and salt to the bowl of a stand mixer. With the paddle attachment on and the mixer running on medium low speed, slowly add the milk/egg mixture until everything is combined. With the mixer still running, add butter one tablespoon at a time until fully mixed. Scrape bowl to ensure everything is well incorporated. Remove paddle and attach dough hook. Use dough hook to knead the dough on medium speed for about 5-10 minutes. The dough should start to look very smooth and stretchy. If dough is still wet and not pulling away from the sides of the bowl, continue to add flour (1 tablespoon at a time) until the dough comes together into one smooth and sticky ball.
    • Use vegetable oil spray to coat the bottom of a new bowl. Transfer dough to bowl. Dough should be very sticky, so use a silicon scraper to get it all out of the stand mixer bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 2 hours.

    Coat bottom of pan:

    • Combine melted butter, heavy cream, and brown sugar in the base and up the sides of an 11x17 baking dish. Set aside. Alternatively, you can use an extra large oven safe skillet like I did to melt the butter over low heat. Then add the heavy cream and sugar, mix, and set aside.

    Prepare the filling:

    • While the dough is chilling, mix together the sugars, cinnamon (or my preferred pumpkin pie spice), and salt. Mix in very soft butter. Mixture should look like a thick paste.

    Prepare the cream cheese frosting:

    • Also while the dough is chilling, make the frosting. Combine the cream cheese and butter in the bowl of a stand mixer. Using the whisk or paddle attachment, blend on high speed until fully mixed, light, and fluffy.
    • Add the powdered sugar, vanilla, and heavy cream. Mix on low. Once incorporated, increase the mixing speed and beat to combine until light and fluffy.

    To prepare cinnamon rolls:

    • Remove dough from refrigerator. It should have risen while chilling. Spread a thin layer of flour onto a clean working surface. Transfer dough to floured surface, an knead a few times. Use enough flour to prevent dough from sticking.
    • Roll dough into a large rectangle that's about 12 inches by 18 inches and uniform thickness. Dough will be very elastic, so you might have to get creative and use both a rolling pin and your hands to stretch. It will want to pull back, but keep at it.
    • Dump filling mixture on top of dough and use fingers to spread across entire surface.
      brioche dough topped with cinnamon sugar mixture
    • Roll the dough into a log. Starting at the long edge, roll all the way to the end and finish with the seal side down. At this point I like to use my hands to shape the log into a more uniform shape (sometimes parts are skinnier than others).
      rolled cinnamon rolls prior to slicing
    • To slice the rolls, use a sharp serrated edge knife and cut slices that are about 1-1 ½ inches thick. The filling will stick to the knife, so before each cut, coat the knife with flour.
    • Place the rolls in your prepared pan.
      uncooked homemade cinnamon rolls in pan
    • Cover pan with plastic wrap and allow to rise for about 45 minutes.
      uncooked Homemade Cinnamon Rolls that have risen

    To bake the cinnamon rolls:

    • Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
    • Cook in preheated oven until golden brown on top and the internal temperature of the dough reaches 190°F (this is important because they may look done but could still be doughy in the center). Total cooking time may range from 20-25 minutes or so depending on your oven, but be sure to trust the thermometer over recommended cooking time.
      baked Cinnamon Rolls in round pan
    • Remove cooked rolls from oven and add frosting when the rolls are still warm to the touch.
      cream cheese frosting for cinnamon rolls
    • Serve warm and enjoy!

    Notes

    1. Dough rise: If your house temperature is 70°F or warmer, they will rise perfectly on the counter. If your house is colder, you may need to preheat your oven to the lowest possible temperature and as soon as it's warm, turn it off and open the door. Once the inside of the oven feels warmer than your kitchen (but not hot enough to melt the plastic wrap), place the covered rolls in the slightly warmed oven and allow them to rise in there.
    2. Oven rack: Place the cinnamon rolls in the center of your oven. If they are too high, the tops will get too browned while the bottoms are under cooked.
    3. Check doneness: Use a thermometer to ensure the center of the dough reaches 190° F. You can't trust how done they look and must verify the doneness using an accurate thermometer for best results.

    NUTRITION INFORMATION

    Calories: 479kcal | Carbohydrates: 67g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 21g | Saturated Fat: 12g | Cholesterol: 97mg | Sodium: 428mg | Potassium: 129mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 39g | Vitamin A: 715IU | Calcium: 81mg | Iron: 2.1mg
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    This recipe was originally published in July 2019 and has been updated with helpful information and recipe tips. Don't worry - the recipe hasn't changed!

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Lyn

      January 21, 2023 at 12:02 pm

      I have a file full of cinnamon roll recipes and this one is absolutely the best!!!!

      Reply
    2. Kathy K

      February 11, 2022 at 8:03 am

      5 stars
      I have this to say: "très magnifique". I have never made cinnamon rolls with a dough so easy to work with. I didn't have any trouble rolling it out evenly and it gave me perfect spirals of dough and filling. I cut mine with dental floss. Just finished our breakfast cinnamon rolls and my husband said they were very good. That's high praise from him! This is now my only recipe for cinnamon rolls.

      Reply
    3. Vhp

      July 21, 2021 at 4:09 am

      Will your bread dough work in a bead machine?

      Reply
      • Krissy

        July 21, 2021 at 6:51 am

        I don't have a bread machine, but I think it should work!

        Reply
    4. Catherine O'Brien

      June 19, 2021 at 8:46 pm

      Hi Christine I like to know if you can use just the dough recipe for donuts

      Reply
      • Krissy

        June 22, 2021 at 6:28 am

        I've never done that but I do think it would work!

        Reply
    5. Ron

      May 09, 2021 at 1:58 pm

      5 stars
      These were delicious! The dough is very easy to work and the final product is out of this world, soft and cinnamony. I did end up using an additional 1/4 cup of flour but there could be several reasons for that. Not sure why others had problems. I've made these twice. Twice of many I hope

      Reply
    6. Kiska

      November 02, 2019 at 9:46 pm

      5 stars
      OMG! DELICIOUSLY PERFECT. Not sure what the problem was that some were having, I just kept adding flour until the dough pulled away from the bowl like Krissy said. My husband said, you keep amazing me with what you can do in the kitchen and I said, I just picked the right recipe to follow. Thanks Krissy, they were perfect.

      Reply
      • Krissy

        November 03, 2019 at 6:07 am

        Ah, Thank you so much!!! You just made my day. -Krissy

        Reply
    7. Chris Burrow

      August 03, 2019 at 5:11 pm

      I'm not sure who has actually made these, but the recipe I downloaded said 3.5 cups of all purpose flour, the dough never came together as dough. I added another 1/4 cup and it barely came together. I've made sweet rolls many times and this was the most wasted 4 hours to make disgusting lumps I ever wasted. Either use 4.5 cups or 5 cups would be better, what a waste of ingredient, I just threw it all away.

      Reply
      • Krissy

        August 05, 2019 at 1:51 pm

        Wow. I'm sorry to hear they didn't work out for you. I can't understand how they worked so well for me but you had issues with the dough.

        Reply
      • Kelleigh Pride

        October 08, 2019 at 11:59 pm

        I has the same exact issue with the dough not rising and it was just a sticky mess. I did follow my way through the whole recipe and cooked them for longer than it said and they were still all sticky doughy

        Reply
        • Krissy

          October 10, 2019 at 12:27 pm

          Hi Kelleigh, Do you know if your yeast was good? Did you allow them to rise in a warm area? You can always add more flour if the dough is too sticky. Also, some ovens take much longer to cook so I always encourage checking doneness with a thermometer. Hope that helps, Krissy

          Reply
          • Kathy K

            February 11, 2022 at 8:07 am

            5 stars
            Krissy-
            I've read that people have had trouble with the amount of flour. I also had to add a lot more in the mixing. I didn't measure, but I suspect it was an extra cup of flour. But your instructions to add flour until it formed a ball and pulled from the side of the bowl was spot on. My dough was pillowy soft and slightly sticky. It rose perfectly into light, airy cinnamon rolls.

            Reply
    8. Becky Hardin

      July 21, 2019 at 4:05 am

      5 stars
      These are the best cinnamon rolls ever!!! And that icing is the bomb!

      Reply
    9. Julie

      July 15, 2019 at 6:28 am

      5 stars
      Cinnamon rolls are my weakness, and these look amazing! Looks like I have a recipe to try this weekend!

      Reply
    10. Kara

      July 15, 2019 at 6:22 am

      5 stars
      It doesn't get much better than a homemade cinnamon roll, especially with cream cheese frosting! I love your idea of using pumpkin pie spice in place of the cinnamon. Can't wait to try that this fall!

      Reply
    11. Jen

      July 14, 2019 at 5:19 pm

      5 stars
      These look so amazing! I bet my family is going to go crazy over these!

      Reply

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