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Freshly frosted cinnamon rolls, swirled with icing on a cooling rack styled with white pumpkins.

Homemade Cinnamon Rolls

Meg Austin
These homemade cinnamon rolls are made with pillowy soft bread dough and a sweet cinnamon filing.
5 from 2 votes
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Rising 1 hour 30 minutes
Total Time 2 hours 5 minutes
Course Breakfast, brunch, Snack
Cuisine American
Servings 24 rolls
Calories 439 kcal

Equipment

  • stand mixer
  • pastry cutter
  • Mixing bowl
  • Rolling Pin
  • 9X13 baking dish or (4) pie pans

Ingredients
  

FOR THE DOUGH

  • 2 Cups Whole Milk
  • 1 Cup Water
  • ½ Cup Butter
  • 8 Cups Bread flour
  • 6 Tablespoons Sugar
  • 2 Teaspoons salt
  • 9 Teaspoons Yeast

FOR THE CINNAMON FILLING

  • 1 Cup Brown sugar firmly packed
  • 1 Cup Sugar
  • ½ Cup Butter
  • 1 ½ Teaspoon Cinnamon

FOR THE CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

  • ½ Cup Butter room temperature
  • 8 Ounces Cream Cheese room temperature
  • 3 Cups Powdered Sugar
  • 1 Teaspoon Vanilla

Instructions
 

FOR THE DOUGH

  • In a glass mixing bowl, combine milk, water, and butter. Warm it in the microwave for about a minute or until the butter is mostly melted. The ideal temperature is about 110°
  • In a stand mixer, combine 7 cups of flour, sugar, salt, years and mix for about thirty seconds. Gradually add the luke warm liquids to the dry ingredients. Knead on a slow speed for about a minute, then gradually add remaining flour one tablespoon at a time until the dough clings to the dough hook and the sides of the bowl are clean. Knead two minutes more.
  • After the dough has kneaded, place it in a greased bowl to rise in a warm location for about thirty minutes to an hour, until doubled in size.

FOR THE CINNAMON FILLING

  • Melt the butter and pour it into a bowl with the brown sugar, sugar and cinnamon. Mix it together and set aside.

MAKING THE CINNAMON ROLLS

  • Spray two 9X13 OR four pie pans with cooking spray. Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface. Roll the dough to a 10X14 rectangle. Spread the cinnamon filling over the dough and roll it tightly, starting at the long end.
  • Cut the dough into 24 slices for two 9X13 or 36 slices for (4) pie pans. The rolls should be very close together, but not quite touching. They will double in size as they rise.
  • Place the rolls into the prepared pans. Cover loosely with a tea towel and let rise in a warm place, free from draft, for about thirty minutes to an hour. The rolls will double in size when they have risen fully.
  • Preheat the oven to 350°. Once the oven is heated, place the rolls in the middle racks and bake for about twenty to twenty-five minutes. They will be golden brown when done. I've noticed that it takes almost ten minutes longer to bake when I'm using a tall-sided ceramic baking dish, FYI.

FOR THE FROSTING

  • In a stand mixer with whisk attachment, add the cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar and vanilla. Whisk for several minutes until light and fluffy. Frost the cinnamon rolls while they are still warm from baking.

Notes

2 WAYS TO MAKE HOMEMADE CINNAMON ROLL FROSTING
  • CARAMEL GLAZE Place ½ cup of evaporated milk and two tablespoons of brown sugar in a small saucepan. Cook over medium heat until mixture begins to boil, stirring constantly. Place the milk mixture, 1 ½ cups of powdered sugar and one teaspoon of vanilla in a stand mixer with whisk attachment. Turn to a medium/high speed and beat for about two minutes, or until creamy. Pour immediately over warm cinnamon rolls.
  • CREAM CHEESE FROSTING In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine ½ cup of softened butter, eight ounces of room temperature cream cheese, three cups of powdered sugar and one teaspoon of vanilla. Whisk over medium speed until light and fluffy. I like to frost my cinnamon rolls while they are still warm. This is the recipe I used today.
VARIATIONS FOR HOMEMADE CINNAMON ROLLS
This recipe could absolutely be vegan buy substituting dairy-free products.
It’s hard for me to add the full amount of sugar to the filling of this recipe. If I am making it for my family, I usually use half of the filling. When I am making it for others, I bake the recipe exactly as written.
To add nuts or not to add nuts? This is an easy decision for me! I love nuts, so adding a cup of toasted pecans to the filling is realllllly tasty.
THE SECRET ABOUT THIS DOUGH RECIPE
Pssst… lean in. I’ve got some BIG news. This dough is the SAME dough that I use to make my bierocks and pizza pockets!
It’s also my basic white bread dough! This recipe makes two loaves of soft and perfect sandwich bread. I will say, it was a game changer when I purchased my Pullman bread pan for making sandwich loaves. Normal loaf pans are good, but this is what gives me the supermarket bread experience.

Nutrition

Calories: 439kcalCarbohydrates: 68gProtein: 7gFat: 16gSaturated Fat: 10gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0.5gCholesterol: 42mgSodium: 327mgPotassium: 113mgFiber: 1gSugar: 36gVitamin A: 516IUVitamin C: 0.01mgCalcium: 54mgIron: 1mg
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!